Agri Kultuur September 2014 | Page 55

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