Project

Reducing vulnerability from climate change in the Foothills, Lowlands and the lower Senqu River Basin

Lead country

Lesotho

Participating countries

Lesotho

Project status

Under implementation

Implementing period

From June 8, 2015 to June 8, 2021

SDGs addressed by this project

SDG targets

  1. 13.2 Integrate climate change into national policies, planning
  2. 13.1 Strengthen resilience, adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards
  3. 15.2 Promote sustainable forest management, restoration, afforestation

Project ID: 4630

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Technical team

  • Ecosystems and Biodiversity Programme

Technical area(s)

  • Mainstreaming Biodiversity

Sub-area(s)

  • Ecosystem-based adaptation

Landscape(s)

  • Forests
  • FreshWaters

Sub-landscape(s)

  • Montane forests
  • Rivers and river basins

Transformed sector(s)

  • Forestry and other land use

UNDP role(s)

  • Capacity development / Technical assistance
  • Direct support / Service Delivery
  • Policy advice

Strategy

  • Governance
  • Capacity building
  • Management operation

Sub-strategy

  • Institutional framework
  • Awareness raising
  • Sustainable land management

Social inclusion

N/A

Gender equality

  • Women's access to and control over resources
  • Women farmers
  • Livelihoods for women

Gender result effectiveness scale

  • Gender responsive

Pathway(s)

  • Systems pathway

Risk reduction target(s)

  • Improve resilience

SDG target(s)

  • 13.2 Integrate climate change into national policies, planning
  • 13.1 Strengthen resilience, adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards
  • 15.2 Promote sustainable forest management, restoration, afforestation

Conventions and protocols

N/A

Private sector(s)

N/A

Hot topic

  • Poverty reduction

About this project

Description

LesothoÔÇÖs vulnerability to climate change emanates from its high dependency on the flow of ecosystem goods and services for socio-economic developmentÔÇöparticularly water provisioning and quality regulation, soil formation and fertility maintenance, and rangeland resourcesÔÇöwhich are projected to be disrupted by the effects of climate change and variability. The small landlocked country occupies 30,588km2 of largely grasslands dominated habitats, divided into 4 ecological zones: the lowlands (17%), the foothills (15%), the mountains (59%), and the Senqu River Valley (9%) . Over 80% of productive arable land and the highest population densities are found in the lowlands. The foothills range in elevation from 1,800 to 2,000 metres above sea level along the lower mountain range. The Senqu River Valley (SRV) is a major grassland area marked by shallow soils. The mountain region ranges from 2,000 to 3,400m above sea level and is primarily used for summer grazing; it hosts some unique alpine and sub-alpine habitats of the Drakensburg range. The country is generally considered to be a grassland biome with a limited forest cover along rivers and in selected sheltered mountain hillsides, where dense woodlands were reported at the turn of the 18th century, dominated by Podocarpus, Cussonias, and Eucleas. Most forests, marshes, reed and Cyperus beds have however disappeared, and been replaced by grasslands and/or bare ground.

Objectives

To mainstream climate risk considerations in the Land Rehabilitation Programme of Lesotho for improved ecosystem resilience and reduced vulnerability of livelihoods to climate shocks.

USD $8,398,172

Grant amount

USD $27,600,000

Leveraged amount (co-financing)

1

Source(s) of fund

Sources of fund

 

  • Least Developed Countries Fund ($8,398,172)

Implementing partner(s)

  • Government of Lesotho

Project metrics

Related resources

Geospatial information

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Project reports and documentation

 

FEATURED STORY

Reducing vulnerability from climate change in the Foothills, Lowlands and the lower Senqu River Basin