Climate Adaptation Corridors in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The process involved technical experts from various NGOs and government departments who identified large corridors that met specific criteria. These criteria included low levels of fragmentation and degradation, high conservation significance, low vulnerability to climate change, high potential for restoration, and low levels of competing land uses. Whole river valley corridors were prioritized, as they are likely to include features that maximize the opportunity for species movement. These features include avoiding climatic anomalies, macro-climatic gradients, and sufficiently large areas to allow ecological processes to function. In the Eastern Cape, 14 corridors were identified, while in KwaZulu-Natal, 45 corridors were identified. The prioritization of corridors was based on the percentage of each corridor that comprised Critical Biodiversity Areas (CBAs) and the percentage of natural land. In the Eastern Cape, corridors with low levels of transformation and degradation, and high levels of biodiversity significance, were elevated. The prioritization results are shown in Tables 1 and 2, and the maps of the corridors, colour-coded to show their priority, are shown in Figures 1 and 2. The delineation of corridors in the Eastern Cape was based on selecting all sub-quaternary catchments that fell within the broad boundaries identified by the technical experts. In KwaZulu-Natal, whole river corridors were identified by the experts and later overlayed with planning units used in the EKZNW Conservation plan. Both sides of the river valley were selected, considering the planning units were based on a fine-scale hydrological basin. The implementation of climate adaptation corridors will require private and communal landowners to be involved, and formalized stewardship is a key mechanism to secure these corridors. The process of delineating a corridor's location required that criteria be defined as to what makes a good corridor and translating such criteria into a spatial location. The criteria for a 'good' corridor include low levels of fragmentation, low levels of degradation, high conservation significance, low vulnerability to climate change, high potential for restoration, and low levels of competing land uses. The maintenance and improvement of ecosystem services are critical elements for biodiversity conservation and sustaining livelihoods. Protecting and restoring the important biodiversity in South Africa increasingly means allowing space for species and ecosystems to adapt to changing conditions, such as higher temperatures, drier or wetter conditions, and more variable weather events. A network of viable corridors through the landscape that link existing protected areas can improve the ability of species and systems to persist in the face of climate change.