Drylands Fund Booklet

DRYLANDSFUNDSaving lands and livelihoods

The fixed criteria for project applications to the Drylands FundPartnerships are keyto the success of theinitiative (promoting,demonstrating andscaling up the principleof subsidiarity, and policyand actions proportionalto the challenges faced)IntroductionWhat we do as a society in the next 10 years will likely resonate for all life onearth for the next 10 000 yearsThe Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity in National and International Policy Making (Earthscan 2011)The establishment of a Drylands Fund, under the auspices of the Department ofEnvironmental Affairs (DEA), has been a collective effort by all sectors of society(business, government and community/NGO). The Fund became operational inApril 2011. The Fund is housed as an Agency in the Development Bank of SouthernAfrica.The Fund aims to significantly scale up efforts to address environmentaldegradation, climate change and rural poverty across South Africa (with stronglinkages into the region).The Fund is rising to the challenge to avoid unprecedented scales of humansuffering and address a legacy of social inequality through promoting sustainableland use management practices, ecosystem restoration and the growth of green,healthy and resilient rural communities and economies.Biodiversity/naturalresource/ecosystemmanagement is ofstrategic importance tothe initiative (promoting,demonstrating and scalingup the creation of healthyand resilient livelihoodsand landscapes)The Initiative addresseskey poverty issues andsocial inequality in societywhilst promoting a rapidtransition to a greeneconomy (promotingdemonstrating andscaling up low carbon,biodiversity rich economicdevelopment andassociated job creation)The Nature and Scope of the FundThe Drylands Fund is primarily a pro-poor rural development fund,grounded in the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)which was ratified by South Africa in 1997.Desertification in terms of the UNCCD is interpreted tomean land degradation in arid, semi-arid and drysub-humid areas – these zones currently

cover over 91% of South Africa and as such the Drylands Fund is established toservice all areas in South Africa.The Fund covers rural areas and will fund urban projects where strong benefitswill accrue to rural and peri-urban communities.The Fund was created to be a flexible financial vehicle that could rapidly moveto plug financial gaps as key initiatives evolved. It was created because business,government and civil society were all experiencing the need for strengtheningpartnerships to address the severe and critical limitations in existing financialresources, financial mechanisms and funding flows in rural areas of greatestpriority need.The Fund operates across a complex and dynamic field to address policy,institutional and market failures in driving sustainable development agendas. Itaddresses• policy and legislation• planning• science and technology• skills development and knowledge sharing• institutional capacity and partnership building• programme and project investmentsTo these ends the Fund promotes a suite of development approaches, tacticsand tools such as systems thinking, cradle to cradle, community based naturalresource management, payment for ecosystem services, offsets and easements.Monitoring and Evaluation• The monitoring and evaluation framework is consistent with the overallnational framework for monitoring and implementation of the UNCCD andSouth African National Action Plan to Combat Desertification and Poverty• The impacts of the Fund will be reviewed at key milestones by independentmonitoring and evaluation teams• The Fund is independently audited on an annual basisDRYLANDSFUND

Department of Environmental AffairsDirector of Resource Use: Jones Muleso KharikaT: +27 (0)12 310 3451 • F: +27 (0)12 320 4087Jkharika@environment.gov.zaDrylands Fund PIU Unit DBSADrylands Fnd PIU Manager: Julie ClarkePO Box 1234 • Halfway House • 1685T: +27(0)11 313 3099 / +27(0)82 909 4637juliec@dbsa.orgenvironmental affairsDepartment:Environmental AffairsREPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICADRYLANDSFUNDA reverence for all life- Ubuntu -