Description: <DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>The conservation plan was produced through an analysis of Biodiversity data, Protected Areas, Landcover, and Existing Spatial Plans such as SDFs and EMF collected for the Gauteng province from various data custodians</SPAN><SPAN>. </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>The Gauteng C-Plan spatial layer contains the final C-Plan Map category classification for each planning unit. The CBA map category indicates the desired ecosystem state of a planning unit in terms of achieving the province’s conservation goals. The final map is made up of six categories, namely: </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>1 - PA: Protected areas</SPAN><SPAN /><SPAN>2 - CBA1: Critical Biodiversity Areas – irreplaceable sites</SPAN><SPAN /><SPAN>3 - CBA2: Critical Biodiversity Areas – optimal sites</SPAN><SPAN /><SPAN>4 - ESA1: Ecological Support Areas – natural/near-natural condition</SPAN><SPAN /><SPAN>5 - ESA2: Ecological Support Areas – not-natural condition</SPAN><SPAN /><SPAN>6 - ONA: Other Natural Areas </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>Description of the categories that appear in the C-Plan are explained and further expanded on below: </SPAN></P><P STYLE="font-weight:bold;margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>Protected Areas (PAs)</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>Includes protected areas and conservation areas:</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>A protected area is an area of land that is formally protected in terms of the NEM: Protected Areas Act and managed mainly for biodiversity conservation. It includes state-owned protected areas and contract protected areas (SANBI 2023).</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>A conservation area is an area of land that is not formally protected in terms of the NEM: Protected Areas Act but is nevertheless managed at least partly for biodiversity conservation. Because there is no long-term security associated with conservation areas, they are not considered a strong form of protection. Conservation areas contribute towards the conservation estate but not the protected area estate (SANBI 2023). </SPAN></P><P STYLE="font-weight:bold;margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>Critical Biodiversity Areas (CBA): </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>CBAs are areas included in the C-Plan Map because of their biodiversity importance and contribution to achieving conservation targets. They should be maintained in a natural state, with no further loss of habitat and no deterioration in ecological condition.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight:bold;">CBA1:</SPAN><SPAN>Irreplaceable Sites: Mandatory sites required to meet conservation targets where there are no other options to meet these targets (i.e., the remaining extent of the biodiversity feature is at or less than the conservation target). Typically, CBA1 sites include Critically Endangered and Endangered Ecosystems and known populations of threatened species.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight:bold;">CBA2:</SPAN><SPAN>Optimal Sites: Best sites selected to meet conservation targets where there are spatial options to meet these targets (i.e., the remaining extent of the biodiversity feature is more than the conservation target). </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>Some CBAs are degraded or irreversibly modified but are still required for achieving specific targets, such as cultivated lands for threatened species foraging area or maintaining ecological connectivity in the landscape. </SPAN></P><P STYLE="font-weight:bold;margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>Ecological Support Areas (ESA): </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>ESAs are included in the C-Plan Map because of their role in supporting various ecological processes. They should be maintained in their current condition and land use, and intensification of land use or reduction of ecological condition is discouraged. ESA sites are excellent targets for restoration programmes.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight:bold;">ESA1:</SPAN><SPAN>Natural and near-natural sites: These are sites in a natural or near natural condition important for supporting ecological processes.</SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight:bold;">ESA2:</SPAN><SPAN>Sites with no natural habitat remaining: These are sites that are intensively modified and are non-natural including cultivated land and small-holdings, but are important for supporting ecological processes. These areas are included as they provide critical linkages in the ecological corridor network or provide buffers to CBA areas. </SPAN></P><P STYLE="font-weight:bold;margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>Other Natural Areas (ONA): </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>Other areas with natural or near natural habitat that were not selected as one of the above categories. With habitat loss these sites may be designated as a CBA or ESA category in the future, or site assessments associated with development applications may indicate that ONA sites should be designated as a CBA based on ground verification of biodiversity present and condition of a site. </SPAN></P><P STYLE="margin:0 0 1 0;"><SPAN>For detailed methodology, kindly refer to the REVISION OF THE GAUTENG C-PLAN (v4.0 2023) TECHNICAL REPORT. </SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
Service Item Id: 07fe14164f104b04a4edbac1e7c2068c
Copyright Text: Gauteng Department of Environment (GDEnv) and Ecosol GIS