Section 3.1 report – Review of existing policy. South African national carbon sinks assessment

Abstract

This research report was commissioned by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) with financial support from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). The DEA commissioned the South African National Carbon Sinks Assessment to better understand the magnitude and nature of terrestrial carbon stocks within the country as well as the potential contribution of agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This section report maps existing policies and measures that directly and indirectly affect GHG emissions and removals from the AFOLU sector. It is based on an extensive qualitative analysis of 116 national-level policies that may have an impact on terrestrial carbon stocks and GHG emissions from the AFOLU sector. This report is divided into eight in-depth modules that are organized into three sections. Each module describes a particular aspect of the research. The first set of modules (1-2) describes the context of the project and methodology. They include a description of the policy development process and a technical overview of the AFOLU sector. The second section (modules 3 – 6) details the impacts that policies may have on direct and indirect emissions from the agricultural sector, on natural and semi-natural landscapes and the built environment. It also describes the top 30 policies expected to have the greatest impact on the release and conservation of or increases in terrestrial carbon stocks. The third section of the report (modules 7 – 8) examines the relationships between policies – where there are gaps, conflicts and trade-offs between policy goals in the land-use domain. The modules are based on information captured in the policy catalogue, attached as an addendum to this report. This report has been produced for the National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) by The Cirrus Group for Evidence on Demand with the assistance of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) contracted through the Climate, Environment, Infrastructure and Livelihoods Professional Evidence and Applied Knowledge Services (CEIL PEAKS) programme, jointly managed by HTSPE Limited and IMC Worldwide Limited