NATURAL JUSTICE COMMENTARY OF THE NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY ECONOMY STRATEGY ( Government Notice No. 4448)

Natural Justice critiques the South African government's National Biodiversity Economy Strategy, specifically targeting the establishment of 'Mega Living Conservation Landscapes' and the expansion of the game meat and marine fisheries industries. The organization argues that 'fortress conservation' models lead to human rights violations and forced displacement. It advocates for the adoption of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs), the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and the implementation of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). The document recommends co-management frameworks, secure land tenure, and the removal of harmful subsidies that disadvantage small-scale fishers, aligning national policy with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the African Convention on Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

• The proposal to establish 'Mega Living Conservation Landscapes' risks perpetuating 'fortress conservation' strategies, which often exclude local people and lead to human rights violations, including forced displacement and the loss of traditional livelihoods.
• Indigenous custodianship and local stewardship are identified as more cost-effective and sustainable land management methodologies than traditional state-led conservation, providing superior biodiversity protection.
• The proposed expansion of the game meat industry (Action 2.3) may cause ecological degradation, disrupt habitat integrity, and risk the introduction of invasive species if large-scale harvesting is prioritized over sustainable, community-led management.
• Small-scale fisheries face significant barriers to entry, including poorly defined access rights and a subsidy gap where large-scale operations receive approximately 3.5 times more subsidies than small-scale fishers.
• Climate change poses a direct threat to small-scale fisheries by altering fish migration patterns, increasing the risk of equipment damage during storms, and creating income uncertainty for fishers.
• The strategy for scaling the cultivation of indigenous medicinal plants (Action 4.4) must include robust intellectual property protections and Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) to prevent the misappropriation of traditional knowledge.
• To ensure the success of conservation estate expansion (Action 5.1), the government should implement co-management agreements and secure land tenure rights for indigenous and local communities through land rights mapping.
• The document recommends the adoption of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) as a means to decolonize conservation and grant communities sovereign control over their natural and cultural resources.

APA

Natural Justice (2024). NATURAL JUSTICE COMMENTARY OF THE NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY ECONOMY STRATEGY ( Government Notice No. 4448). https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Final-Draft-comment-for-reviewed-national-biodiversity-economy-strategy-.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. NATURAL JUSTICE COMMENTARY OF THE NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY ECONOMY STRATEGY ( Government Notice No. 4448). 2024. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Final-Draft-comment-for-reviewed-national-biodiversity-economy-strategy-.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Natural Justice |title=NATURAL JUSTICE COMMENTARY OF THE NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY ECONOMY STRATEGY ( Government Notice No. 4448) |date=12 April 2024 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Final-Draft-comment-for-reviewed-national-biodiversity-economy-strategy-.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{naturaljustice2024natural, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{NATURAL JUSTICE COMMENTARY OF THE NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY ECONOMY STRATEGY ( Government Notice No. 4448)}}, publisher = {Natural Justice}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Final-Draft-comment-for-reviewed-national-biodiversity-economy-strategy-.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }