Living Lake project summary | Mahlathini Development Foundation

Living Lake project summary: MDF: Oct2024-May2026

Implementation team: Erna Kruger, Lungelo Buthelezi, Hlengiwe Hlongwane, Nqobile Mbokazi

and Thabani Madondo, plus 10 eco-champs (2 per village)

Area: Bergville

Villages: 5: Stulwane, Ezibomvini, eMajwetha, eMadakaneni, eQeleni (proposed)

Overall objective: Sustainable improvement of climate resilient agriculture and water and natural

resources management, and thus the living and environmental condions, for over 375 people in the

ve rural communies of Stulwane, Ezibomvini, eQeleni, Vimbukhalo and eZinyonyane in Bergville, in

KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

Acvies and target values:

- 4 village level local water and resource management plans (360 parcipants: 2 exisng, 2 new)

- 150 smallholder farmers acvely pracsing CA, increased average yield of maize to ~3,2t/ha on 30

ha.

- Alien clearing in 4 villages (riverine and upper catchment), roughly 3ha in total

- Wetland rehabilitaon and management in 2-3 villages (reduced grazing, erosion control and water

ow management, planng of wetland species), for a minimum of 2 sites in each village allowing for

improved wetland management over an area of around 1ha per village and impacng a further 20-

30ha in each village.

- Water access: spring protecon and reculaon of 1 addional village (50 beneciaries, ~2650Kl)

-Improved local governance: water, livestock and resource management commiees are funconal

and set guidelines for management and use (2 addional villages, 4 villages in total)

Below is a list of measures, methods and outcomes for set of activities proposed.

1.Local (village level) resource management plans: for 5 villages (150 beneciaries).

Process involves setting up learning groups, undertaking participatory social-ecological

mapping, and adaptive planning (village walks, focus groups, community level

meetings, map development, strategies and planning for implementation. This includes

also working with clusters of villages for joint and expanded plans cutting acrossthe

areas.

Biodiversity and wetlands benet envisaged: Increased community level awareness and

action towards restoration and management of the landscape including wetlands, to

restore and maintain landscape ecology and functioning of the system, including the

numerous small seeps, bogs, marshes and larger low-lying wetlands.

2.Climate Resilient Agriculture implementation: 5 villages (150 beneciaries). Learning

group members prioritize climate resilient practices (Conservation Agriculture (CA),

fodder production and supplementation, small livestock integration and intensive

homestead food production) and undertake seasonal farmer level experimentation with

prioritized practices (including intercropping in CA, planting of summer and winter cover

crops, planting of fodder crops, cut and carry systems, cutting and baling of veld grass,

greywater management and mixed cropping in organic vegetable production and

introduction of multipurpose chickens for eggs and meat)

Biodiversity and wetlands benet envisaged: Conservation agriculture in the eld

cropping patches of the landscape involving reduced tillage, increased soil cover and

increased cropping diversity, provide of improved erosion control through reduced runo

(roughly 3% of rainfall reduction per annum), increased water use eiciency (leading to a

volumetric water benet of around 7 million litres of water/ha), increased intensication

and productivity on existing elds reducing the need to use more land for cropping and

increase agricultural cropping diversity (including production of fodder for

supplementation of livestock in winter – allowing for production of between 5-10% of

feed requirements for livestock). This provides for an overall improvement of land-use

management in the landscape with reduced sedimentation, chemical contamination

and water ow pressure on local streams and wetlands.

3.Water and resources management at village level: 5 villages (375 direct beneciaries

and ~1000indirect beneciaries). Implementation of prioritized actions in resource

management for each village. This includes alien clearing, erosion control, solid waste

management, road and low-level bridge repairs, wetland repair and management and

local water access (spring protection). Learning group members are supported by 2

youth per village, selected as eco-champs and provided with stipends and skills

development. The community members volunteer to undertake these activities through

the learning groups and are supported in their activities by the eco-champs.

Biodiversity and wetlands benet envisaged: Activities in alien clearing, grazing

management, erosion control and spring protection are the rst steps towards restoring

and maintain functionality of the ecologicalpatches comprising the landscape. Visual

improvement in reduction innumber and extent of alien species, reduction of erosion,

improvement of natural vegetative cover and reduction in damage due to ooding is

expected from these initial management activities. It is recognized that the damage in

these communities is already severe and that these initial activities will only be a

building block towards a longer-term strategy of management and restoration. These

activities will assist in developing further funding options and more intensive

management strategies going forward.

4.Multistakeholder engagement and local economic development: 5 villages. Manage

village-based savings and loan associations (100 beneciaries), local marketing

activities (50 beneciaries) and involvement in local forums and platforms such as the

Northern Drakensberg Collaborative, the uThukela Catchment Management forum,

open days and village level cross-visits and processes.

Biodiversity and wetlands benet envisaged: Involvement of stakeholders and experts

more experienced in wetland rehabilitationand management will allow for capacity

enhancement in the community and for the supporting organisations and teams, for

more joint activities and planning for more multi-stakeholder engagement in more

extensive implementation processes, along with levering of funding opportunities. For

the communities themselves, the presence of local savings groups assists in stabilising

the beneciaries’ nancial situations leading to a reduction in purely extractive land-

based activities and small investments into productive and management activities.