Climate Change Updates

News:

SANBI accredited as South Africa's National Implementing Entity for the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund

At its recent meeting in Bonn, the Adaptation Fund Board announced that SANBI had been accredited as South Africa's National Implementing Entity (NIE) for the UNFCCC's Adaptation Fund, which is a global fund of the UNFCCC's Kyoto Protocol, which supports adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are signatories to the Protocol.

National Implementing Entities (NIE) are the national legal entities that have been accredited by the Board after having met the strict fiduciary standards set by the Board. NIEs serve as the bodies that facilitate direct access to the resources of the Adaptation Fund for financing projects and programmes whose principal and explicit aim is to improve society's ability to adapt and cope with the risks posed by climate change.

South Africa joins four other developing countries that already have accredited NIEs (Jamaica, Uruguay, Senegal and Benin). SANBI aims to carry out a full planning process with the assistance of the Department of Environmental Affairs, which is the national Designated Authority, in order to achieve maximum value through transparency, inclusivity and alignment with national adaptation imperatives in its operations. SANBI aims to launch this exciting new role formally at COP17 in Durban, in December this year, and hopes to initiate the programme early in 2012.

For more information visit our NIE page or contact: Gigi Laidler.

Focus on bats : a new landmark SANBI/Wits University Press book

Bats are among Africa's most fascinating, but least-known and -understood groups of species. To help remedy this, SANBI has collaborated with Wits University Press and four of Africa's best bat biologists in publishing the exciting new landmark reference book, "Bats of Southern and Central Africa: a biogeographic and taxonomic synthesis."

Contact Dr Phoebe Barnard

Quest highlights SANBI projects in the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity

SANBI has collaborated with the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and other partners in biodiversity science and conservation, in producing a special biodiversity issue of the glossy magazine "Quest." This quarterly magazine reaches secondary and tertiary students, their teachers and policymakers all over the country. This issue highlighted a range of exciting biodiversity work underway in South Africa. Topics include:

red-listing threatened frogs and toads
the use of SABAP2, the civil society bird atlas, in documenting species range changes in response to land use and climate change
the role of soil microbes and respiration in influencing climate change
invasive species threats to biodiversity
cool tools such as web platforms, Google Earth
systematics and statistical ecology in understanding conservation science

The magazine is available from ASSAf's Patrick Nemushungwa (Patrick_at_assaf.org.za).

Sustainable farming for biodiversity : two new booklets

Farmers in South Africa manage no less than 80% of the country's land area. Biodiversity conservation which excludes the farming community therefore would fail utterly. SANBI and its partners at the University of Cape Town's Animal Demography Unit (ADU) are therefore proud to announce the publication of two new booklets, "Farming for the future: farming sustainably with nature" and "Boere vir die toekoms: boer volhoubaar met die natuur" by James Harrison and Donella Young.

These publications are being widely circulated in the agricultural sector and highlight 12 important guiding principles for sustainable land management, from the responsible use of poisons to the protection of ecological corridors and wetlands. Eight threatened bird species, for which the civil-society supported Coordinated Avifaunal Roadcounts (CAR) Project at the ADU has contributed important statistical information, are also highlighted. These clear and accessible booklets are available from the ADU (downloadable under "Conservation Resources" at http://sabap2.adu.org.za/index.php) or may be downloaded by clicking on the document images above, or by contacting SANBI (email Dr Phoebe Barnard).

Milestones in the SABAP2 PRoject:

: The dedication of 554 bird-watchers is certainly paying off. At about 07h23 on Monday 29 June, the one millionth bird observation was submitted to the project. Professor Les Underhill, Director of the Animal Demography Unit (ADU) at the University of Cape Town which is coordinating the project, said "The 30th June 2009 was the second anniversary of the project, with 780 000 of the million records being submitted in the past 12 months".

SABAP2 data indicating Verreaux's (Black) Eagle range change trends

Early analysis of data for the SABAP2 Project for Verreaux's (Black) Eagle are showing some concerning trends in the range-change maps between SABAP1 and SABAP2, that populations are on the decline in certain areas. Birders are encouraged to assist the project by collecting and submitting data on sightings of Verreaux's Eagle. Visit the SABAP2 website http://sabap2.adu.org.za for more details.

Some useful Publications of the Climate Change & BioAdaptation Division

Birds and Environmental Change: Building an early-warning system in South Africa

Are Quiver Trees a Sentinel for Climate Change in Arid Southern Africa?

The Heat is On

Adapting to Climate Change in the Cape Florisitc Region