Why Spekboom?
1.4 million hectares of the total 1.7 million Albany thicket has been severely degraded, and regeneration is unlikely without active restoration interventions. Spekboom (Portulacaria afra) is an “Ecosystem Engineer” and helps the natural recruitment of other species. It will restore biodiversity, vegetation structure and the broader ecosystem, as well as improving land productivity.
Project Phases:
- Phase 1 started in May 2024 and covers 10,000 hectares with 30 million spekboom plants.
- Phase 2 will expand the project by an additional 50,000 hectares and Phase 3 will see the project reach a total area of 100,000 hectares.
- Following the final phase, there is also potential to expand across 1 million hectares in the wider landscape.
Spekboom is one of the largest ecosystem restoration efforts in South Africa.
The project represents one of the most significant private sector commitments to nature-based restoration in the history of the Republic of South Africa. It transforms damaged farmland into thriving thicket, boosts biodiversity, removes carbon from the atmosphere, and creates significant local job opportunities.
By combining international capital with infrastructure grade project delivery, robust scientific rigour and local knowledge we are delivering a truly landscape scale rural transformation.
Project Information and Recognition
The Project is an Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) initiative, (Verra project ID No.5027).
The Project has received an ex-ante rating of ‘AApre with low execution risk’ (on a rating scale between AAApre and Dpre) from BeZero Carbon, a carbon ratings agency, putting the Project amongst the highest rated ARR projects for which BeZero has issued ex ante ratings (top 10% globally).” Testimonials: Imperative | BeZero Carbon
In December 2025, spekboom restoration in South Africa was announced as one of the UN Environment Programme’s flagship World Restoration Projects. We are proud that our project is one of those featured here. South Africa’s native thicket awarded as a UN World Restoration Flagship – Watch this video to find out more.
The Spekboom Field Restoration Nursery
The Spekboom Field Restoration Nursery is one of the largest of its kind, spanning 7 hectares and capable of holding more than 20 million Spekboom plants at a time. Equipped with climate-controlled greenhouses, retractable shade nets, and Ellepot rooting technology, the nursery ensures plants are healthy and resilient. The nursery roof captures up to 4.8 million litres of rain water per year, ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of water for the nursery in this arid landscape.
Imperative
Imperative South Africa Projects (Pty) Ltd is a subsidiary of Imperative Global Solutions Pte Ltd, a multi-jurisdictional ecosystem restoration company headquartered in Singapore. The organisation has significant experience in developing ARR carbon Projects and leverages its differentiated major Projects approach and a composite set of expertise and know-how, to deliver high-quality Projects at massive scale.
Other Specialist Local Partners
