Study proves the economic worth of biodiversity rehabilitation projects

Abstract

Water and the economy Can we put a price on rehabilitation projects and are some more valuable than others? A recently-completed project, funded by the Water Research Commission (WRC), aimed to answer these and other questions. Article by Petro Kotzé. natural resources to supply high quality and quantities of ecosystem goods and services such as fresh water, grazing, soil stabilisation and climate amelioration through the sequestration of carbon dioxide is weakening. One way to reverse this trend is through the restoration of natural capital – the elements of nature that produce value to people, including rivers, land, minerals and oceans. In South Africa such activities are often enforced by legislation that makes provision for mandatory restoration projects, such as mining rehabilitation. Another example is government’s Natural Resource Management Programmes, which work toward the eradication of alien vegetation. Since 2005, the Working for Water programme, for example, has been responsible for the clearance of more than one million hectares of invasive alien plants.

Authors

Categories