Photo: Slingshot Media
been placed on areas where wild
fynbos is harvested: the Riversdale
area, the West Coast and the Boland area.
Flower Valley’s work as an NGO
also includes promoting good fynbos landscape management. Good
management of the veld not only
entails the sustainable use of our
natural resources, but also the
clearing of invasive alien plants. As
such, Flower Valley coordinates a
project called the Agulhas Biodiversity Initiative (ABI) Alien Clearing
Project. The project is clearing alien
plants on about 30,000 hectares of
natural vegetation a year across the
Agulhas Plain, creating more than
200 jobs in the process.
This project is also testing a new
model in bringing government departments, conservation authorities,
municipalities, landowners and land
users together. The Department of
Environmental Affairs is funding the
salaries of the alien clearers, while
landowners, represented by their
conservancies and farmers’ associations, are providing co-funding for
the project. Municipalities and authorities are also represented on the
committee implementing the project, and have offered invaluable
input and assistance. While this is a
three-year project, it is hoped that
the model will encourage partners
to roll this out over the next 20
years, in order to dent the impact
of alien plants on our fynbos landscapes and other natural vegetation.
The opportunity also exists to develop new industries using the invasive
biomass – thereby supporting other
sectors linked to agriculture. After
all, if income generated from such
activities can further support good
natural resource management, then
economic sustainability can be improved while bringing about a
healthier landscape and better opportunities for those dependent on
the landscape.
For more information, contact Flower Valley Conservation Trust. www.flowervalley.org.za; Facebook: Flower Valley Conservation Trust; Twitter: @flowervalleyct; or email: [email protected].
Photo: Heather D’Alton
Photo: Slingshot Media