Ecosystem Goods and Services
For many, the term ‘ecosystem services’ is not so much foreign as much as it is confusing. Simply put, ecosystems goods & services are the services that we as society are receiving from the natural environment, free of charge, either directly or indirectly.
Having been launched with great excitement in 2011, the Ecosystems Goods & Services Programme has performed well in fol-lowing its mandate: To demonstrate the value of biodi-versity and ecosystems to human well-being From corpo-rate workshops, brochures, pamphlets, active research, newspaper articles and radio shows, the Ecosystems Goods and Services Programme is an ambitious and proactive pro-gramme that will, amongst other achievements, showcase the role that Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife plays in conserving natural capital, to bene-fit society, and raise awareness on ecosystem goods & services to the general public of KZN, staff of EKZNW and to stakeholders.
Social Research
The Social Research and Assessment Unit plays an active role in coordinating, facilitating, monitoring, quantifying and recommending the sustainable use of appropriate indigenous resources within and outside of protected areas in the province, in partnership with communities.
Furthermore, the unit measures the effectiveness of Ezemvelo’s social programs by conducting strategic assessment, monitoring and evaluation and compiling perception indices on people’s attitudes to protected areas, Ezemvelo and conservation. The unit develops community profiles in areas surrounding Protected Areas through socio-economic baseline studies. We also play a crucial role in determining and demonstrating the social benefits and livelihoods of protected areas to local communities.