After two decades of large-scale thicket restoration projects in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, the experienced team attributes their success to four foundational actions: (1) upscaling was underpinned by peer-reviewed science, (2) collaborative public sector...
C4 EcoSolutions staff and collaborators publish peer-reviewed findings showing that boron deficiency is a primary geochemical driver excluding trees from savannas in the Kruger National Park. Grasslands are treeless landscapes, whereas savannas are grasslands...
Anthony Mills, CEO of C4 EcoSolutions, describes the current upscaling of spekboom thicket restoration in the Eastern Cape.
On 24 March, C4 Chairman Anthony Mills presented at the Global Forest Summit in Brussels on his efforts to catalyse the restoration of 1.2 million hectares of desertified land in the Eastern Cape Province using the plant Portulacaria afra, commonly known as...
In June 2021, Orms launched a photography competition on birding images to provide South Africa’s photographic community with a platform to display their finest work, showcase their unique creative expression while celebrating the splendour of birdlife. The...
The global project EbA South, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through its Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), was officially launched in Beijing, China, in April 2013. Implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme and executed by the...
Investments in ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), which usually entails building ecological infrastructure[1], will generate benefits for society for decades. EbA projects funded by governments or donors typically run for 5 years, or at the most 10 years, and...
The EbA South project achieved considerable engagement between EbA practitioners, government officials and scientists from China, Nepal, Seychelles and Mauritania. Data, findings, ideas and experiences from a wide range of ecosystems were shared during field trips...
The EbA South project demonstrated that EbA interventions at the scale of hundreds of hectares are technically feasible in Mauritanian drylands and in Nepalese mountain forests, and at the scale of tens of hectares in mangroves, wetlands and riparian forests of the...
When the EbA South project was designed, it was assumed that government staff would have the time available and technical capacity to manage, over a period of five years, the implementation of relatively small areas of land – tens of hectares of degraded mangroves...
The ending of 2018 provided an opportunity for the team at C4 EcoSolutions (C4) to celebrate how far we have come and to recommit ourselves to the journey ahead. Last year was a good one for C4, primarily because we: i) visited 31 countries (Figure 1); ii) were...
The 19th of November 2018 was World Toilet Day, an official United Nations observance day that intends to inform, engage and encourage people to contribute towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation[1]. Kenya-based social...
The clearing of primary forest for agriculture, urban expansion and industrialisation has increased across the tropics. In addition, marginal agricultural lands are being abandoned as communities seek more lucrative careers in urban centres. As a result, the...
Coral reefs are highly productive systems which form the cornerstone of livelihoods for coastal communities around the world. In Southeast-Asia the potential sustainable economic benefits from coral reefs amount to ~US$1.1–1.6 billion per year[1]. This economic...
The Kuzuko Thicket Restoration Project (KTRP) is planning to plant spekboom (Portulacaria afra) cuttings over 5,000 hectares in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Over a period of fifty years, the planted spekboom will sequester carbon and increase biodiversity,...
Rwanda is a small country with the greatest population density in Africa. Rural populations are largely dependent on subsistence agriculture and have few alternative livelihood options. Rwanda's dense population coupled with its dependence on agriculture has...
Fieldwork is a great opportunity for C4 consultants to engage with those who benefit most from our projects – communities at project sites. As part of a mission for the SCCF-funded Ecosystem-based Adaptation through South-South Cooperation Project (EbA South) to...
Homegardening is a form of agriculture that has been practised for centuries in tropical and temperate climates. Each homegarden is unique, but in general they are small‑scale (~30 m2) and maintained by individual households. These gardens are places of innovation...
In Nepal, rural communities rely strongly on goods and services from healthy mountain ecosystems. The effects of climate change are of grave concern because they threaten the health of the ecosystems. Local communities in the mid-hills and high mountains are...