Land degradation is a serious problem in the prorposed project site and indeed in the whole district of Mokhotlong, manifesting itself in encroachment of alien invasive shrubs and unpalatable grass species into rangelands and cropland; excessive runoff resulting in rill and gully erosion; and wetlands drying out and dissected by gullies. Contributing factors include unsustainable livestock grazing patterns, weak governance structures, uncontrolled fires and severe drought. Thus there is increased conflicts over rangelands, deterioration of quantity and quality of wool and mohair and threatening of the sources of the major rivers not only in the country but also in southern Africa. Being located in a mountain district, travelling to some parts of the targeted project site will be very challenging.
The main objective of the project is to rehabilitate and promote sustainable utilization of rangelands and to protect wetland resources within the Khubelu catchment through adoption of integrated catchment management approaches. Through a planning grant, a baseline study will be carried out to inform elaboration of the project concept into a full proposal.

Specifically, the project will work towards:
i. Carrying out a baseline study on the status and threats to the rangeland and wetland resources of Khubelu catchment and identification of key stakeholders
ii. Creating more awareness about wetlands protection among local communities and key stakeholders, particularly local herd boys
iii. Assessing the capacity of and recommending training and capacity development for members of the Society and other key goveranance structures
iv. Building on past initiatives, developing an integrated approach for range resources management and protection of wetlands
v. Developing a project proposal on Wetlands protection, rehabilitation and sustainable management of range resources in the proposed project site.