Agulhas Biodiversity Initiative (ABI)

The Agulhas Biodiversity Initiative (ABI) comprises one of three complementary GEF initiatives in support of C.A.P.E. aimed at strengthening systemic, institutional and individual capacities and establishing the know-how needed for conservation in different ecological and socio-economic conditions as needed to attain and sustain positive conservation outcomes. The initiative has been designed to distil lessons and best practices in Phase 1 of C.A.P.E., through demonstration activities geared to addressing gaps in the management framework, to inform implementation of subsequent phases. The Agulhas Plain constitutes one of the largest extant storehouses of lowland fynbos and Renosterveld habitats in the world. The diversity of habitat types, wetland ecosystems, Red data plant species and local endemics is unmatched in the CFR. The area is currently being threatened by a range of anthropogenic pressures, but nevertheless constitutes one of the best remaining opportunities at an in situ site level for conserving the CFR’s lowland habitats. ABI would pilot new management measures and institutional arrangements for conservation at a sub-regional level, tied closely to the activities of the productive sectors and rooted in decentralised governance frameworks.