From its vast savanna to its rugged coastlines, to its flower-rich montane grasslands, South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province is rich in natural beauty.
But those ecosystems are more than just alluring – they provide services to people by trapping carbon, filtering water, and performing a host of other essential functions. Now, for the first time, a study has mapped a suite of the services provided by KwaZulu-Natal’s natural systems and placed a monetary value on them. It’s a key step, experts say, in helping to protect the province’s wild spaces.
“The services provided to humanity by nature are often undervalued, or not valued at all,” said Salman Hussain, the coordinator of the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity initiative, which is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “But by showcasing the services that natural systems provide to our economies and societies, we can further the argument for protecting habitats and restoring ecosystems that have already been impacted by development.”
KwaZulu-Natal has the second-largest economy of South Africa’s provinces, contributing around 15 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. It also has a broad array of ecosystems and a wealth of biodiversity. Read more…
