148 Executing entities: ©Errol Douwes Location: South Africa Dates: 2008–2025 Community Reforestation to Enhance Context The Buffelsdraai Landfill Site is the largest regional waste landfill site owned and managedby eThekwini Municipality’s Durban Solid Waste Department. All landfill sites by law arerequired to have a buffer zone to screen nearby communities from views and odours.The 787 ha Buffelsdraai buffer zone was under sugarcane production for around100 years, which resulted in a severe loss of biodiversity on the site and, in manyareas, wetlands were drained and forest pushed back for additional sugarcaneto be grown. The sugarcane farms did create employment, but mainly for workersfrom neighbouring Lesotho and few benefits were generated for local communities. The initial aim of the Buffelsdraai Reforestation Project was to offset a portion of the CO2 emissions associated with Durban hosting part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. However,the project quickly demonstrated how restoring forest can increase the capacity of peopleand biodiversity to adapt to, and support the mitigation of, climate change impacts. Project objectives: Improve the biodiversity of the site, through forest restoration using locally indigenous species. Ensure job creation and skills development for local community members. Offset a portion of CO2 emissions associated with Durban’s hosting of several 2010 FIFA World Cup™ football matches. Funding: Total project budget: R139,440,000 (ZAR) (approx. £7,027,706 GBP). a Buffer Zone Around a Landfill Site in a South African City with in-country partners Department of Environmental Affairs R36,940,000 (ZAR) Ethekwini Municipality R100,000,000 (ZAR) Danish International Development Agency R2,500,000 (ZAR) Biodiversity 786,894 trees and other plants of over 141 species plantedin 712 ha of land.Bird species increasedfrom 91 to 197. Climate On track to sequester42,214 tCO2e overa 20-year period. People 635 jobs created. Project achievements as of 2020: Ecosystem:Towns and Cities Nature-based Solution: Reforestation