The World Congress on Biosphere Reserves, is well underway, in Hangzhou, China.
Speaking at the Congress on Monday morning, Narend Singh, Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, said it is important to reflect on the significance of biodiversity in daily lives.
“Biosphere demonstration projects are key in the implementation of the Man and Biosphere Programme, as this becomes the practical way of communicating messages of sustainable development to the community at large” said Singh.
South Africa has pledged support to the Hangzhou Action Plan, which is also aligned to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
About 4,000 delegates are gathered in China, to map the future for people and nature.
Community protecting Vhembe Biosphere
A river has become a monitoring system, northeastern of South Africa, part of the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve.
Its climate ranges from tropical to Savannah.
Thousands of residents live in the Biosphere and rely on farming to make a living, but the Luvuvhu River, which supplies drinking water and irrigation to nearly 70% of households in the Limpopo, is drying up, due to climate change, leaving nearby villages without water, for up to fourteen days.
Elders in the community have a wealth of knowledge about the natural world.
For example, as identified in a workshop gathering elders and scientists together, organized by UNESCO and the African Institute’s Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIIKS), tree frogs intensify their calls, before floods.
Local participants compared traditional indicators with scientific measurements for flood and drought. Citizen Scientists, equipped with tools such as velocity planks, pH meters, E. coli tests were taught how to collect data on flow speed, pH, bacterial presence, and overall water quality.
Madzivhandila Adolf, Local farmer, of Tshakhuma Community Trust, said “as farmers, we’re going to start collecting the data and having reliable weather warnings. We realize that with climate change, weather patterns have changed, and we need facilities like this to help us improve our farming methods.”
Community members also teamed up to discuss and identify effective climate change adaptation plans for the Luvhuvu River Basin, using UNESCO’s Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) approach.
Picture: UNESCO