CLIMATE · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
South Africa's New Gold Rush: Spekboom-Led Ecosystem Restoration
WHY IT MATTERS
This restoration project has the potential to revitalize South Africa's degraded ecosystems, providing a second chance for the environment and supporting biodiversity.
What happened
In South Africa's Eastern Cape province, a new approach to ecosystem restoration is underway, led by the spekboom plant (Portulacaria afra). Nick Hamp-Adams, general manager of Return to Thicket, is carefully replanting a young spekboom shrub that had been damaged by a kudu.
The spekboom is a tough plant that can thrive in degraded areas, but it requires gentle care during planting.
This restoration project is part of a larger effort to revitalize the region's ecosystem, which has been impacted by decades of heavy livestock pressure.
PRIMARY SOURCES
South Africa’s new gold rush: Big promises, closed books in new carbon frontier
Mongabay · John Cannon · Discovery and factual synthesis only; publisher copyright terms apply