Broad habitat units (BHU’s)
The concept of broad habitat units (BHU’s) arose out of the need for a system of
land classes which could be used as biodiversity surrogates at a region wide
scale. After many years of vegetation related research a system of broad BHU’s
were developed by Cowling and Heijnis (2001) which could be used at a 1: 250
000 scale or larger to incorporate systematic and strategic conservation planning
in the Cape Floristic Region [CFR] (Pressey et.al 2003).
Broad habitat units (BHU’s) were derived by identifying areas with a unique
combination of homogenous climate, geology, and topography based on
vegetation type coverage from Low and Rebelo (1996). Within the CFR (87 892
km2), 15 primary and 88 secondary BHU’s were identified and of the latter, 69 are
included in the Fynbos Biome (Cowling and Heijnis 2001). These secondary
BHU’s collectively, total 81.5 % of the CFR.
Cape Action Plan for the Environment
Introduction
The efforts undertaken towards the conservation of the unique flora within the
CFR lead to the granting of a US$ 12.3 million grant by the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) in support of the Cape Peninsula Biodiversity Conservation Project
(Younge and Fowkes 2002). The bulk of the Funding was contributed towards
the conservation of the highly threatened Cape Peninsula but US$ 1 million was
set aside to develop a strategy and action plan to conserve the whole CFR. The
project lasted 2 years (1998-2000) with the goal to develop a strategy to
conserve biodiversity in the CFR (Cowling et.al 2003) as well as a 5-year
investment program (2002-2006) which is now known as Cape Action for People
and the Environment.
The CAPE project aims to:





Identify conservation priorities
Develop a long term conservation strategy for biodiversity within the CFR
Develop a 5 year action plan to address conservation priorities
Identify sources of funding
Involve stakeholders in the process
In partnership with the government, private sector and communities, the
CAPE project set out to address the conservation of biodiversity in the
terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems of the CFR (Cowling and Pressey
2003, Lochner et.al 2003, Young and Fowkes 2003).
CAPE Planning
Framework
Identifying and consulting
key stakeholders
Assess policy, legal and
socio-economic constraints
for conservation
implementation
Identify goals and strategy for
conservation planning and
implementation
Data collection on factors that
affect biodiversity
Identify targets for biodiversity
features
Review existing conservation
areas and their effectiveness
Select additional conservation
areas
Implement framework in
selected areas
Cape Planning Framework
The project was undertaken in three phases:
 Stocktaking and analysis
 Strategy development
 Implementation programming (action
planning)
The entire framework is outlined in figure 1 and
involved public participation at each level.
Implementation
During the stocktaking and analysis phase, key
obstacles were identified which lead to the
formulation of strategic objectives which were
recognized as key components in developing an
implementation strategy:
 Conserve and protect biodiversity in
priority areas
 Promote sustainable use of biodiversity
 Promote community involvement in
decision making, strengthen institutions
and augment co-operative governance
The Implementation strategy centered on
conservation of biodiversity with the main focus
on the strengthening of on- and off-reserve
conservation as well as instituting a support
system for bioregional planning in the region
(Cowling and Pressey 2003, Young and Fowkes
2003). Implementation of the CAPE project also
required the co-operation of different sectors to
enforce legislation aimed at protection, coordinate efforts in research, encourage training
and capacity building and engage communities
to ensure participation in, and support of,
conservation priorities (Gelderblom et.al 2003
Figure 1 adapted from Cowling and
Pressey (2003) and Young and
Fowkes (2003)1
1
The planning framework used in the CAPE project was developed by Pressey and Logan (1997) and later
modified by Margules and Pressey (2000) and Pressey and Cowling (2001) and provides a logical
framework in which to set up the best strategy to arrive at the best planning outcomes.
References:
Cowling R.M. and Pressey R.L. 2003. Introduction to systematic conservation
planning in the Cape Floristic Region. Biological Conservation 112, 1 - 13
Cowling R.M., Pressey R.L., Rouget M. and Lombard A.T. 2003. Conservation
Plan for a global biodiversity hotspot- the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa.
Biological Conservation 112, 191-216.
Cowling R.M. and Heijnis 2001. The identification of Broad Habitat Units as
biodiversity entities for systematic conservation planning in the Cape Floristic
Region. South African Journal of Botany, 67 (1), 15-38
Gelderblom C.M., van Wilgen B.W., Nel J.L, Sandwith, Botha M. and Hauck M.
2003. Turning strategy into action: implementing a conservation action plan in the
Cape Floristic Region. Biological Conservation 112, 291-297.
Lochner P., Weaver A., Gelderblom C., Peart, Sandwith T. and Fowkes 2003.
Align the diverse: the development of a biodiversity conservation strategy for the
Cape Floristic Region. Biological Conservation 112, 29-43.
Low, A.B. & Robelo, A.G. (eds) Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and
Swaziland. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria.
Margules, C.R. and Pressey R.L. 2000. Systematic conservation planning.
Nature 405, 243-253
Pressey R.L. and Logan V.S. 1997. Inside looking out: findings of research on
reserve selection relevant to off-reserve nature conservation. In: Hale P. and
Lamb D. (eds). Conservation outside nature reserves. University of Queensland,
Centre for Conservation Biology, Brisbane, pp. 407-418.
Pressey R.L. and Cowling R.M. 2001. Reserve selection algoriths and the real
world. Conservation Biology 15, 275-277
Pressey R.L., Cowling R.M. and Rouget M. 2003. Formulating conservation
targets for biodiversity pattern and process in the Cape Floristic Region, South
Africa. Biological Conservation 112, 99-127.
Younge A. and Fowkes S. 2003. The Cape Action Plan for the Environment:
overview of an ecoregional planning process. Biological Conservation 112, 1528.