What we do
The success of the Succulent Karoo Programme is due to a committed partnership in supporting conservation and sustainable development activities in the Succulent Karoo Hotspot.
The Succulent Karoo Programme is involved in the following activities:
- Securing land in priority areas
- Expanding partnerships
- Linking livelihoods and biodiversity
- Building local government capacity
- Strengthening linkages between natural and social science and management in the Succulent Karoo
- Capitalising on climate change and renewable energy
- Involving the mining sector
- Raising awareness
Where we work
- Greater Richtersveld
- Bushmanland Inselbergs
- Central Namaqualand Coast
- Namaqualand (Kamiesberg) Uplands
- Knersvlakte
- Hantam/Tanqua Roggeveld
- Central Little Karoo
- Central Breede River Valley
Reason for our programme
The Succulent Karoo has breathtaking scenery, interesting endemic animals, a geological paradise and a coastal strip, and some of the oldest communities who still follow a traditional lifestyle.
The Succulent Karoo has about 6 300 plant species of which 38% are endemic. In addition to its annual flower displays, it boasts a large number of geophytes and dwarf succulents.
What we have achieved
- Protected areas doubled
- Half a million hectares better managed
- New discoveries made
- Conservation jobs created
- Social capital strengthened
- State support secured
- More support mobilised
- Industry brought on board
Who we are
The SKEP partnership is currently being co-ordinated and governed by an Interim Steering Committee whose Secretariat role is based and being provided by the Hantam National Botanical Garden.
How to contact us
Tel: +27 (0)27 218 1117
Email: Eugene Marinus
How you can contribute
- Send us your news and events in and around the Succulent Karoo.
- Like and share your Succulent Karoo news, events and activities on the Succulent Karoo Ecosystem Programme (SKEP) Facebook page.
Partners and Resources
The success of SKEP is dependent on the co-operation of all its partners in supporting conservation and sustainable development activities in the Succulent Karoo Hotspot. SKEP seeks to expand its network of partners to ensure that the people of the Succulent Karoo are taking ownership of and enjoy their unique living landscape in a way that maintains biodiversity and improves livelihoods, now and in perpetuity.
The participating SKEP partners:
- Agricultural Research Council (ARC)
- Agri-Kameelkrans Vereniging
- Arid Zone Ecology Forum (AZEF)
- Botanical Society of South Africa (BotSoc)
- Cape Action for People and the Environment (CAPE)
- Cape Leopard Trust
- CapeNature
- Cape Winelands District Municipality
- Centre for African Conservation Ecology
- Conservation International (CI)
- Conservation South Africa (CSA)
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
- Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)
- Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN)
- Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)
- Eden District Municipality
- Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT)
- Environmental Monitoring Group (EMG)
- Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR)
- Grassland Society of Southern Africa (GSSA)
- Griekwa National Council (GNC)
- Indigo Development and Change
- Matzikama Local Municipality
- Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Namibia
- Namakwa District Municipality
- Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF)
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU)
- Northern Cape Department of Environment and Nature Conservation (DENC)
- Richtersveld Cultural & Botanical Landscape
- South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI)
- South African National Parks (SANParks)
- Surplus People Project (SPP)
- University of Cape Town (UCT)
- University of Pretoria
- University of Stellenbosch
- West Coast District Municipality
- Western Cape Animal Production Research Trust
- Wildlife and Environment Society of SA (WESSA)
- World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA)
- Nama Khoi Local Municipality
- Richtersveld Local Municipality
- Hantam Local Municipality
- Kamiesberg Local Municipality
- Khai-Ma Local Municipality
- Department of Agriculture, Rural Development & Land reform
- Department of Economic Development & Tourism
- Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements & Traditional Affairs
- Komaggas Environmental Justice Network
- Black Mountain Mine
- Trans Hex Mining
- Alexkor
- Northern Cape Department of Agriculture and Land Reform
SKEP Resources
SKEP Strategies
- SKEP 20 Year Strategy
- A Research Strategy for the Succulent Karoo Biome
- Succulent Karoo Ecosystem Programme Phase Two 2009- 2014
SKEP Reports
- Ecosystem Profile of the Succulent Karoo Hotspot
- SKEP Biodiversity Technical Report
- Assessment and Evaluation of Ecosystem Services in the Succulent Karoo Biome
SKEP Case Studies
- Maximising economic and ecological benefits from wetland rehabilitation from the Leliefontein Wetland Project
- Building biodiversity stewardship capacity in the Bokkeveld
- Discoveries on Succulent Karoo insects
- Local champions in Namaqualand
- Production from alien wood in Kamieskroon
- Ratelgat Farm and the Consolidation of the Knersvlakte Conservation Area
- The importance, challenges, and benefits of SKEPPIES
- Using dogs for predator control
Other