White-winged Flufftail (Sarothrura ayresi) Case Study
Home > Biodiversity Nature & People > Conservation Philanthropy > Grants > MBZF Grant 222528736
Continent: Africa
Country: South Africa
Grant Amount: $14,550
Awarded Date: May 23, 2022
Kyle Lloyd
BirdLife South Africa
17 Hume Road
Johannesburg
Gauteng
2196
South Africa
Tel: +27 (0) 11 789 1122
Mob: +27 (0) 71 103 4464
Saving Africa’s rarest waterbird – White-winged Flufftail and wetland conservation
The project conserves wetlands in South Africa to address threats to the White-winged Flufftail and many other threatened wetland flora and fauna, using the bird as a flagship or ambassador species to gain support. This approach has demonstrated holistic and meaningful benefits not only for the White-winged Flufftail but also for the people who derive ecosystem services from high-elevation wetlands.
Vision: Maintain and improve the quality and quantity of healthy high-elevation wetlands in South Africa to provide suitable habitat for threatened species, like the White-winged Flufftail, and safeguard vital ecosystem services (provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural) that benefit local and downstream communities.
Mission: Address local and regional threats to water resources by using the plight of the Critically Endangered White-winged Flufftail (Sarothrura ayresi) as a flagship species of upper catchment wetland conservation. This involves a multi-pronged approach that addresses wetland management, rehabilitation, protection, stewardship, policy and advocacy, and awareness, while also improving our understanding of White-winged Flufftail and wetland ecology to inform conservation.
Scope: Including, but not limited to, the high-elevation wetlands along the Eastern Escarpment of South Africa within the mesic Grassland Biome (above 1 400 m.a.s.l., above 700 mm per annum). Biodiversity stewardship is focused in the Steenkampsberg, northern Mpumalanga Province, and Ntsikeni Nature Reserve, southern KwaZulu-Natal Province with ad hoc support provided to stakeholders and colleagues between these sites. Support is also offered to other BirdLife International Partners in sub-Saharan Africa where needed.
Grant documents
- A flyer advertising the Best Practice Guidelines for High-Elevation Wetland and Peatland Management in Southern Africa (the full document is too large to upload).
- Middelpunt Nature Reserve Management Plan approved by the government.
- National Wetlands Indaba
- SACNASP Candidate Mentorship Phase (CMP) Programme Final Report
- Biodiversity-Climate Nexus for Wetland Management
- Certificate for completing a 5-day workshop in wetland introduction and delineation offered by the Centre for Wetland Research and Training to aid development of the best practice guidelines.
- A progress report on the wildlife-friendly fence designed and installed at Middelpunt Wetland to help control grazing and incorporate into wetland management guidelines following an evaluation study.
- Middelpunt Nature Reserve Ramsar Certificate
- Certificate for completing a 7-day workshop in wetland legislation and rehabilitation offered by the Centre for Wetland Research and Training to aid development of the best practice guidelines for hig
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