Accessing the LUDSS

The ECBCP Land Use Decision Making Support System can be accessed via the webite http://www.ecoplanners.co.za/.

WHAT THE SYSTEM CAN DO:

This system zones the rural landscape of the Eastern Cape into three categories based on how biodiversity should be managed in each zone. These zones are referred to as Biodiversity Land Management Classes or BLMC for short. All land use decisions need to be considered within the context of the objective of each Biodiversity Land management Class.

Land use recommendations are given as: permissible, non permissible and conditional. ‘Permissible' land uses should not require further environmental authorization; while a ‘conditional' land uses will require an environmental authorization procedure to be followed including a site inspection.

BLMC 1: manage for zero loss in biodiversity;
BLMC 2: manage to maintain system in near natural state:
BLMC 3: maintain ecosystem functioning to ensure sustainable agricultural production

WHAT THE SYSTEM CAN'T DO:

This system should not be used for urban planning. The system has made use of the best available spatial information to date. In many cases the scale of information may be inappropriate for fine scale planning. The information layers are at various scales, varying from a minimum of 1: 250 000 but some layers may be accurate up to 1: 10 000 scale. Population and land cover data may have changed as these were based on data gathered during the years 2001 and 2000 respectively. While this system can be used to support decision making for environmental authorization, all mapping outputs and recommendations should always be verified by site inspections.

Only the most common forms of rural land use are considered.