LAB: Wetlands SA
Through the LAB: Wetlands South Africa project, ICLEI aimed to protect priority natural wetland resources located in South African municipalities, thus enabling the supply of ecosystem services and promoting resilient communities under a changing climate. The project raised awareness of the value of wetlands, mainstreamed wetlands into land-use planning and initiated pilot wetland projects. The LAB: Wetlands SA Project supported 11 municipalities with improving local government knowledge and understanding of the value of wetlands and how wetlands can support municipalities with achieving their mandates through the provision of ecosystem services; initiating the process of integrating wetlands, climate resilience, and biodiversity management into local government land-use planning and decision making. This to ensure that resilience and natural asset management is considered and factored into development planning; and implemented via small-scale pilot wetland projects with selected participating municipalities.