Page 15 - Landscape-Issue128

FEATURE

SPEKBOOM NET ZERO

SOCIAL CARBON PROJECT

Spekboom Net Zero (SNZ) is a large-scale carbon capture project in South Africa,
based on planting Portulacaria afra (Spekboom) on selected available farm land.

The first phase covers 7 311 ha, with the potential of capturing over 100 000
tonnes of CO per year using CAM photosynthesis. There is no ‘leakage’ of CO
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back into the atmosphere.

eaded by Philip Smith, SNZ’s mission is to offer an opportunity
Xolile James Sonji, one of the farmers from Phase I of the SNZ for Spekboom Thicket restoration, supported and financed
project. He shows Spekboom near his farm, Water Wayside Farmers Hthrough carbon markets. South African farmers are acutely
Primary Co-Operative, near Jansenville in the Eastern Cape. aware of the devastation caused by overgrazing, soil erosion and
very low rainfall, and eligible farms may plant Spekboom truncheons
where the plant once flourished before animal grazing rates overtook
Spekboom growth rates. These areas will be protected with fencing
to keep animal grazing away during the primary years of the plant’s
growth. SNZ is a grouped project, in which additional farmers and
landowners may participate over time.
SNZ social objectives begin with promoting decent work and
increasing income for local workers and their families. The project
will reduce unemployment in the Eastern Cape, where it is currently
at almost 50%. Besides sequestering CO as the Spekboom grows,
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it also engineers a pathway to improved biodiversity in the biome.
Project design and details
The Spekboom Regeneration and Carbon Sequestration Project
encompasses multiple activities. The design includes eight separate
farms for the initial phase, and the grouped project will allow farmers
and landowners to participate if they are eligible. Land ownership
remains with the farmer, while ownership of the carbon rights

Spekboom naturally creates a micro-environment under its crown ground
cover, which promotes better soil conditions and encourages biodiversity.

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Landscape SA • Issue 128 2023 13