"Spekboom thicket will sequester an 17.5 tons of CO2 per hectare per year more which involves continued degradation." |
Title: Development of a bio-sequestration project in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. |
Location: Eastern Cape province; South Africa |
PACE has assisted in the development of a bio-sequestration project in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The project involves the planting of sub-tropical thicket vegetation in order to re-establish an indigenous biome that has been severely damaged by overgrazing. The thicket vegetation is re-established through the planting of the succulent bush Portulacaria afra (known locally as “spekboom”) and by the initial exclusion of commercial goats.
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Based on the results of a pilot project it has been conservatively established that healthy re-established spekboom thicket will sequester an 17.5 tons of CO2 per hectare per year more than the business as usual state which involves continued degradation. This additional CO2 is sequestered in four carbon pools 1) above ground plant biomass, 2) root biomass, 3) soil carbon and 4) leaf litter. In addition to the measurable impact on GHG sequestration the project will contribute to improved soil moisture retention, increased biodiversity, reduced fire risk and much needed employment in this poor area.
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Since the roll-out of this methodology will take place over a range of sites in the project area, a programmatic CDM framework is being prepared. A certified programmatic CDM project will allow local farmers and other private sector land users to contribute to the project once they see the value and merits associated with the methodology.
The need to protect the region’s succulent biome and the potentially large return from carbon sequestration using P. afra were the key factors that initiated the project. This form of carbon sequestration has been quantified and the associated ecological and socio-economic benefits have been demonstrated over a 30-year period by a farmer living near to the project location.
The cost of rehabilitation, the cost of preventing the illegal grazing activities and the incentives faced by rural pastoralists to overgraze their land given insecure tenure regimes contribute to the barriers that have prevented this project from taking place without the benefit of carbon revenue.
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