Begin with the exact land
Restoration starts by identifying the specific area that needs repair.
The Restoration Polygon is the mapped area within the farm to which the programme applies. It may be smaller than the whole farm, and individual tasks may take place within smaller works areas.
Keeping this boundary clear ties the starting condition, authorised work and later evidence to the same land. It does not by itself include the whole farm or determine any later legal footprint.
Understand what changed and why
Restoration begins with the condition of the land before work starts.
The baseline records how water moves, where soil has been lost or compacted, which vegetation remains and how far the damage extends. It also identifies the pressures that caused or continue to worsen the degradation.
This starting record guides the restoration response and provides the reference against which later change can be assessed.
Define the task before anyone acts
The work area, method and limits are defined before restoration begins.
The signed Task Order records what is authorised, who is responsible, what evidence must be collected and how completion will be assessed.
It also defines what follows the work, including maintenance, correction of defects, a later programme stage or another governed outcome.
An RP stage describes a class of work. It does not authorise work by itself.
Match the work to the land
Restoration is carried out through a sequence of defined programme stages, from early stabilisation and water repair to more complex ecological work.
The appropriate RP stage depends on the condition of the land, the cause of degradation and the response required. A programme may use one stage or several stages across different works areas.
The stages organise the work. They do not turn every restoration site into the same journey, and they do not make RP7 the required destination.
Each stage must still be authorised, completed, recorded and assessed within the boundary of the Restoration Polygon.
Completed work is not yet accepted work
When a task is completed, the required field records are assembled against the authorised Task Order.
The record may include photographs, measurements, location data, notes and evidence of the completed works area. It must show what was done, where it was done and whether the authorised limits were followed.
Submission does not make the work accepted. The evidence is reviewed against the task requirements, and the work may be accepted, returned for correction or found incomplete.
Only accepted evidence supports the programme record for that work.
Look for the land's response
Accepted work does not mean that ecological recovery is complete.
After the task, the works area is monitored to see how water, soil and vegetation respond. Maintenance may still be required, defects may need correction and some measures may need time before their effect can be assessed.
The record distinguishes between the completion of the work and the response of the land.
Only observed and supported change may contribute to a restoration outcome.
Protection is determined by the land and the law
RP7 may involve work whose long-term value depends on the repaired area remaining protected.
That requirement is not automatic, and the Restoration Programme does not itself transfer ownership, create a servitude or determine a legal footprint.
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Farm title remains
The Landowner retains title to the farm. Entering the Restoration Programme does not transfer ownership.
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Restoration Polygon defined
The Restoration Polygon identifies the mapped area of the farm to which the Restoration Programme applies.
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RP7 work designed
Any RP7 work is designed and authorised for the specific area required by that task.
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Protection requirement assessed
Before tenure-dependent RP7 work proceeds, the required form of long-term protection is assessed for that farm.
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Legal process determines the result
Where a legal instrument is required, its form and surveyed footprint are determined through the applicable professional and legal process.
RP7 does not automatically create a servitude or determine its nature, location or extent.
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See Eco Guilds, registered farms and mapped land across South Africa.
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