Nature Positive Cities Efforts to Advance the Transition Durban 2024

3 Exemplary solutions Impact A full-time conservation manager and field staff manage the area. This includes the control of invasive plants, fire management, research activities and the maintenance of trails.43 The Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct was started as a pilot and is the only environmental SRA in South Africa.44 However, it has proven to be a successful mechanism for public- private cooperation with potential for scalability in other areas of Durban as well as in other South African cities. Solution In 2009, the local community and eThekwini Municipality established the Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct as a non-profit organization to protect the area under the SRA model. SRAs, or Community Improvement Districts (CIDs), are legal mechanisms designed to levy additional property rates to finance the provision of additional municipal services within a given area.40 In the case of the Giba Gorge, each landowner pays a special monthly rate averaging about ZAR 50 ($2.7).41 The additional funds are collected by the municipality and then transferred to a non-profit company administering the provision of services. eThekwini Municipality provided support throughout the process of establishing the SRA. A new SRA should be spearheaded by a group of residents of their own initiative. After receiving a majority endorsement by landowners in the precinct, they need to develop a business plan, an implementation programme and management agreements. Only then can the not-for-profit company be established. This company needs to report audited financial statements, and the agreement has a lifespan of five years, after which it needs to be renewed.42 Challenge The Giba Gorge, situated in the outer west of the Durban metropolitan area, is a significant natural landscape that encompasses the Winston Park and Gillitts suburbs.36 Standing as one of the last remaining open spaces near the uMhlatuzana River catchment,37 it covers 400 ha and is home to a diverse range of Sandstone Sourveld Grassland and Eastern Scarp Forest, making it a unique and valuable ecosystem.38 The Giba Gorge’s complex property distribution makes it unsuitable for the land acquisition programme, however. Approximately 50% of the land is privately owne by 200 individuals. Another 20% is owned by the municipality, and the remaining 30% is under the jurisdiction of the National Road Agency.39 The purpose of SRAs SRAs are a commonly used mechanism to tackle crime and disrepair, although they have also served to finance large infrastructure projects. This occurred in Claremont, Cape Town, when the town received a long- term loan from the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) to establish an SRA. The program, in partnership with the local government, established an SRA management company to build a road. This was the first instance in South Africa of levies from an SRA being used to construct public infrastructure.45Public-private collaboration to protect the Giba Gorge through SRAsExemplary solution 3 Nature Positive: Cities’ Efforts to Advance the Transition 38