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Good practice Imported

Kruger to Canyons Catchment Investment Programme — Invasive Alien Plant Clearing for Blyde River Water Security

South Africa · Hoedspruit · See the South Africa profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 64% 40/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

South Africa's Kruger to Canyons Biosphere launched a R125m ($7m) catchment investment programme in 2023, clearing 1,500+ ha of invasive alien plants in the Blyde River and Upper Letaba catchments and recovering 200+ million litres of water a year.

R125 million (~USD 7 million)
High-Impact Phase budget (5-year phase from 2023)
R254-260 million (~USD 14.5-14.9 million)
30-year programme cost
R657 million (~USD 37.7 million)
Projected 30-year benefits
670+ hectares
Invasive alien plants cleared since Sept 2022
~900 hectares
IAPs cleared in Upper Letaba catchment (2024)
200+ million litres/year
Water recovered annually
Kruger to Canyons Catchment Investment Programme — Invasive Alien Plant Clearing for Blyde River Water Security

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region NPC (K2C)
Period
2023–present
Keywords
water security, invasive species clearing, catchment conservation, biosphere reserve management

Context

The Kruger to Canyons (K2C) Biosphere Region in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, South Africa, depends on the Blyde River catchment for water security, but invasive alien plants (IAPs), illegal mining and land-use degradation have been eroding that supply.

Objectives

Launch a phased 'water fund': a R125 million ($7 million) five-year High-Impact Phase feeding into a projected R254-260 million ($14.5-14.9 million) 30-year programme modelled to unlock roughly R657 million ($37.7 million) in benefits.

Activities

Since September 2022, AFR100-linked clearing has removed IAPs, with a new phase begun January 2025. The Coca-Cola-funded Upper Letaba Catchment Restoration Project, launched March 2024 with The Nature Conservancy, Mountain Environmental Watch, the University of Limpopo and contractor Hlole Development Projects, cleared IAPs through 2024. Funding channels include the 'Go-Fund' partnership between the Nature for Water Facility and The Nature Conservancy plus corporate funders such as Coca-Cola.

Results

More than 670 hectares of IAPs cleared since September 2022, with the January 2025 phase targeting roughly 400 further hectares in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. The Upper Letaba project cleared nearly 900 hectares of IAPs during 2024 alone and reports recovering more than 200 million litres of water annually; pollinator-activity surveys to gauge ecosystem-health recovery were due to start in 2025.

Conclusions

Only the first five years of the 30-year plan are currently funded. Longer-term sustainability depends on carbon-credit, biodiversity-payment and catchment-levy revenue streams that the Business Case describes as aspirational rather than secured.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M) — R125m ($7m) 5-year High-Impact Phase; R254-260m ($14.5-14.9m) over 30 years
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Programme launched 2023; new clearing phase from January 2025; full plan spans 30 years
Staffing & skills
Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Region NPC (K2C) - programme lead, Nature for Water Facility / The Nature Conservancy ('Go-Fund' partnership), Coca-Cola - corporate funder, Mountain Environmental Watch, University of Limpopo, Hlole Development Projects - local contractor

Conditions for success

  • Multi-partner funding pool (Go-Fund, corporate funders)
  • AFR100-linked clearing targets and a phased, costed business case
  • Local contractor and university partnership for implementation and monitoring

Common failure modes

  • Only the first five years of a 30-year plan are currently funded
  • Longer-term revenue (carbon credits, biodiversity payments, catchment levies) is described as aspirational, not secured

Commonly funded by

Philanthropic / foundation funding Own resources / municipal budget

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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