Organisations involved
Implementer
Referring partner
Our mission
ReLISA aims to address the landscape-wide degradation of key biomes – thicket, grasslands and savannah - and make the economic case for restoration. By creating the conditions for a just transition of South Africa’s land-use sector and mobilizing investment, ReLISA seeks to restore degraded priority areas in key biomes, while recognizing the socio-cultural, economic and land tenure context. On-the-ground implementation in close consultation with stakeholders will contribute to adapt to climate change, address biodiversity loss, while improving livelihoods of rural communities and commercial farmers. Targeted capacity development and creating bankable investment opportunities for the private sector will support the upscaling of South Africa’s restoration efforts, climate objectives, green economy and other environmental targets under the Rio conventions and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Donors
Lead
Implementing Partners
Classification
- Grasslands, shrublands and savannahs
- Mitigates Climate Change
- Reduces Disaster Risks
- Safeguards Biodiversity
- Supports Livelihoods
50
Employees500
VolunteersImpact
ReLISA aims to restore critical habitats for biodiversity and ensure a sustainable provision of key ecosystem services (especially regulating ecosystem services such as GHG mitigation and hydrological services), and to ensure climate change mitigation and enhanced community resilience to climate change. All Outcomes are therefore designed around contributing to the improvement of the environment and remedying previous environmental damage in degraded regions. This will involve the protection and enhancement (restoration) of GHG sinks, notably in grassland, savannah and thicket biomes. Effective restoration at scale contributes to South Africa’s efforts to meet its obligations under the UNFCCC. The project will increase donor and private sector funding for restoration by inter alia measuring carbon sequestration potential and developing bankable projects for investment in mitigation and facilitating investor access to voluntary carbon markets. The project will support the expansion of protected areas, undertake restoration in existing protected areas including removal of invasive alien species and, rehabilitation of degraded habitat, support the establishment of a new biosphere reserve, and enhance on-farm agrobiodiversity, all of which contributes to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Hydrological modelling to assess the availability of freshwater under a Business-as-Usual scenario compared with a with-restoration alternative will contribute evidence to support restoration as a component of Disaster Risk Reduction strategy given South Africa’s water crisis. As such, ReLISA aims to make a positive contribution to the three dimensions of the triple planetary crisis.
