Africas restoration economy: insights from South Africas wetland

The research paper explores the concept of a restoration economy in Africa, focusing on the South African 'Working for Wetlands' programme. It identifies key enablers for success, such as linking restoration to poverty relief and vocational training, while noting constraints like bureaucratic rigidity and over-reliance on public funding. The author argues that for Africa to 'build back better' post-COVID-19, ecological restoration must be integrated into development planning and funded by the production sectors (mining, agriculture, forestry) that impact ecosystems, moving toward a circular economy model.

• The 'Working for Wetlands' programme in South Africa, established in 2003, has rehabilitated approximately 1,300 wetlands and employs 1,650 people annually by adopting a poverty-relief approach.
• Four primary enablers of the Working for Wetlands programme include a shared vision among political and scientific leadership, a strong link between restoration and poverty relief (accessing Expanded Public Works Programme funds), an operational model using semi-independent contractors with vocational training, and ongoing engagement between practitioners and scientists.
• Heavy reliance on poverty-relief funding creates constraints, including the risk that ecological outcomes are eclipsed by social goals in reporting, bureaucratic rigidity in funding cycles and supply chains, and the fact that most workers remain economically dependent on the programme.
• Effective ecological restoration requires holistic, catchment-wide planning and a strong foundation of trust with local communities, often requiring several years of lead-in time to avoid sabotage or opposition.
• To ensure sustainability, the restoration economy should shift away from over-reliance on government and donor funds toward contributions from production sectors. Examples include the South African plantation forestry sector, which withdrew over 12,000 hectares of timber plantations from wetland areas since 1998.
• A circular economy approach can integrate restoration into production, such as a pilot in KwaZulu-Natal where invasive black wattle biomass is used as livestock feed for dairy cows supplied to Nestlé.
• Ecological restoration is a critical part of the mitigation hierarchy for high-impact sectors like mining. In South Africa, the Zaalklapspruit project successfully reduced metal pollution and water acidity from coal mining through wetland rehabilitation.
• Other African restoration examples include the rehabilitation of the Logone floodplain in Cameroon via dam water releases, the Green Belt Movement in Kenya which planted over 30 million trees, and the Great Green Wall initiative along the southern edge of the Sahara Desert.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2021). Africas restoration economy: insights from South Africas wetland. https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-restoration-economy-insights-from-south-africas-wetland/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Africas restoration economy: insights from South Africas wetland. 2021. https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-restoration-economy-insights-from-south-africas-wetland/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Africas restoration economy: insights from South Africas wetland |date=9 June 2021 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-restoration-economy-insights-from-south-africas-wetland/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2021africas, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Africas restoration economy: insights from South Africas wetland}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/africas-restoration-economy-insights-from-south-africas-wetland/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }