South Africa

Stakeholder involvement

Relevant stakeholder groups are involved in the LDN target setting process through the LDN national working groups in order to ensure ownership and evaluate trade-offs early on in the planning process and implementation. In South Africa, the LDN working group was established and it is composed of Government Ministries/Department, research institutions, NGOS and Civil Society Organizations as well as private sector. The LDN working group inform policies and decision-making process and pave the way for implementation of the targets and ongoing policy related initiatives.

A coordinating mechanism/platform

LDN Target(s) are integrated into existing environmental, agricultural, infrastructure and overall development policies and plans, including UNCCD NAPs, NDCs, SDG and restoration targets. Most importantly, LDN targets should become an essential component of integrated land-use planning. The Land restoration cross-sectorial task force was established to bring together all the relevant institutions for coordination of stakeholders and monitoring of the key milestones or restoration activities. The proposed time horizon for the achievement of LDN targets is the year 2030 in order to align to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. All targets set should be measurable according to the LDN indicator framework endorsed at national and global levels. All targets should be validated by the national LDN working groups and endorsed by the Government at the highest possible level which allows their effective implementation.   

Capacity building

Capacity building is a key element of achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN). The creation and sharing of knowledge, skills, and techniques are instrumental for effective implementation of the set targets.  From the beginning of the target setting process, LDN working group identified the lack of capacity as a major stumbling block to effectively implement the Convention. Over the working group has called for the development and strengthening of capacity – in particular at the grassroots level. The LDN has adopted many decisions concerning capacity building, and Strategy emphasizes capacity building as a key operational objective. 

Partnership

Establishment of LDN Target(s) is foremost a political process that utilizes the best available knowledge, including the LDN baseline, to set ambitious and aspirational yet realistic targets. It means defining broad, yet clear, time-bound and measurable objectives on what a country wants to achieve in terms of halting and reversing land degradation and restoring degraded lands through a wide range of possible measures. High level commitments require effective collaboration and partnership to achieve the plans and target milestones. South Africa set LDN targets at national scale with ambition to reach LDN for the entire country taking into account all LDN indicators and stakeholders.