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The Umzimvubu Catchment Partnership (UCP), established in 2013, works to restore the ecologically diverse but vulnerable Umzimvubu catchment in South Africa's Eastern Cape. Facing threats from climate change and invasive species, the UCP employs a collaborative, ecosystem-based approach to secure water for over two million people and improve local livelihoods. Key achievements include protecting 43 springs, designating 49,200 hectares for stewardship, and creating thousands of jobs through conservation and livestock-based economic support.

This policy brief by WWF South Africa examines the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus in rural South Africa, specifically the Eastern Cape. It advocates for a transdisciplinary, bottom-up governance approach that integrates local and indigenous knowledge to address systemic inequalities and resource insecurity.