South Africa

Building on the success of its inaugural edition, the African Biotrade Festival (ABF) in collaboration with the Organic & Natural Products Expo, returned for its second year at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, 18-20 September 2025, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, researchers, and communities to unlock opportunities in Africa’s growing biodiversity economy.

The Natural Resources Stewardship Programme (NatuReS) is spearheading efforts to establish a Stewardship Multi-Stakeholder Partnership (SMSP) approach as an instrument for consensus-building processes for Just Transition in selected economic zones with extreme resource use pressure in South Africa.

As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen water stewardship in the uMhlathuze Catchment, the GIZ NatuReS team recently participated in a stakeholder field visit.