Using the analytic hierarchical process to identify potential sites for rural ecological infrastructure investment in South Africa: examples from Cacadu and Tsitsa Catchments

Climate change, population growth, and land degradation are causing various socio‐economic consequences in low‐ to medium‐income countries. To address this, it is essential to prioritize restoration interventions at specific locations to maximize their effectiveness and the supply of valuable ecosystem services, such as water regulation. A stakeholder‐driven spatial multi‐criteria analysis was applied in two degraded and rural catchments in the Eastern Cape (the Cacadu and Tsitsa River Catchments), South Africa. The process combined metrics for ecosystem health, hydrological functionality, and socio‐economic benefit to visualize areas that can be targeted to maintain or enhance flow regulation. These criteria were identified based on the guidance of local stakeholders concerning their valuable ecological infrastructure (EI). The EI types investigated were wetlands, riverbanks, rangelands, and old croplands. Human and climate change impacts threaten these EIs but are the most relevant for communal needs and sustainability. According to the analysis, more places require better management to maintain the existing flow regulation service of focal catchments than areas that require a high level of human intervention (implying areas that can enhance flow regulation). This work highlights the importance of including and contextualizing the socio‐economic benefits expected from Nature‐based Solutions or EI investment initiatives.