WHO is the GCBC?
The Greater Cederberg Biodiversity Corridor (GCBC) is a conservation initiative of global importance.
Conserving the Cape Floral Kingdom
This partnership project seeks to conserve and restore the biodiversity of the Cape Floral Kingdom, covering a vast area stretching from the Karoo to the adjacent marine environment of the West Coast, while delivering significant benefits to the people of the region. This landscape represents a significant part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, covering a wide altitude range and extending across climatic and habitat gradients.
Involving communities
The GCBC is about people – primarily rural communities – and the way that they use their land, now, and in the future. It is about their environmental value systems, their fears and aspirations, their livelihoods, and the drivers of their land-use patterns.
The GCBC is not about forcing communities to change their land-use patterns by introducing new rules, regulations or zonings. The GCBC aims to provide incentives to land users to manage the economical, social and natural aspects of their environment within the capacity of the available natural resources, and to the long-term benefit of all.
Forming partnerships
Establishing lasting partnerships is crucial to the success of the GCBC. The successful implementation of GCBC projects rely on the integrity of the partnerships that are being formed with community leaders, municipalities, national and provincial government departments, non-governmental organisations and interested individuals and stakeholders.
Implemented by experts
The GCBC is proudly co-ordinated by CapeNature, the provincial conservation authority in the Western Cape and jointly implemented by our partners in the GCBC. CapeNature ensures that the GCBC receives all the support it needs to achieve success. CapeNature assists the project management team through access to adequate resources, scientific and technical advice, and management assistance.
Sharing knowledge
The GCBC strives to involve local communities in its work, and to share in its indigenous knowledge and available expertise. For this reason a steering committee has been appointed to enable stakeholders on all government and non-governmental levels to have input. This ensures a hands-on approach.
On our agenda – forming partnerships and promoting sustainability
We strive to establish firm partnerships and to promote sustainable living by undertaking appropriate conservation and management actions. We do this by:
- Encouraging all in the GCBC to learn and work together
- Encouraging all in the GCBC to live sustainably with their natural resources
- Encouraging all in the GCBC to benefit from their natural resources