Estate Living Magazine Precinct Living - Issue 33 | Page 47

Benefits of the Biodiversity Area Standard
Guiding Principles:
• ecologically sustainable resource utilisation
• maintain natural ecosystem, life supporting functions
• reduce the negative impacts of industrial and urban
sprawl on the natural environment
• sustainable carbon uptake (reducing carbon footprint)
• eliminate need for irrigation
• reduction of maintenance, labour and resource input
costs
• elimination of additives (fertilisers, pesticides,
herbicides, fungicides, insecticides)
• greater interaction between people and the natural
environment.
the site with no chemical fertilisers or pesticides, and follows
an environmental management plan. This is the minimum
requirement to qualify for an Ecocert certification audit.
So how do we do this? Not just by thinking ‘green’ and going for
an ‘indigenous style’ – that’s a good start, but it goes way beyond
this … to the Local Biodiversity Model. Which is best portrayed
by the Royal Canin Eco Industrial Park, where an abused
tract of land with non-existent topsoil was transformed into an
ecologically diverse area with countless species of birds, insects
and a variety of small animals such as hedgehogs, mongooses
and porcupines.
The land was rehabilitated by recreating a self-sustaining
landscape as close as possible to the once naturally occurring
Highveld environment centred around existing natural
topographical features. The plant communities in the park
include grassland, open woodland, woody boulder outcrops
and a riparia n zone with rocky cascades, moisture-loving grasses
and herbaceous plants, wetland areas and open water. It’s not
just decorative – it’s also used as a natural treatment system
for water from the effluent treatment plant, which reduces
capital, operation and maintenance costs. One huge benefit
of implementing the Local Biodiversity Model compared to
just a ‘green space’ is the substantial reduction in water usage.
A ‘green space’ would generally require 1,000,000 litres per
hectare per month, whereas a ‘local indigenous’ space would
require zero water after the first two years of development.
and reusing water, a non-chemical approach to weed
control, programmed burning, and the maintenance of all
natural features and processes critical to healthy, functioning
ecosystems. By moving its thinking from ‘green’ and ‘indigenous
style’ to creating its own local biodiversity land-use model, the
Royal Canin Eco Industrial Park set itself up to be awarded the
prestigious international Eve® Ecological Area Certification
from Ecocert in 2013 – ten years after it committed to putting
local fauna and flora at the heart of the development.
‘Yes,’ says John, ‘there can be hope for a better world. The
nihilistic philosophy that “once lost, never to be regained” may
be accurate in a number of instances, but in many cases, within
a decade, humans can bring about biodiversity restoration
sustainability.’
So gazing upon rolling hills of pristine grassland abuzz with bees,
birds and butterflies may not be a pipe dream after all …
Prerequisites for Ecocert Certification Audit:
• must be managed organically – no chemicals
(herbicides, pesticides, etc.) and no synthetic
fertilisers
• must have an environmental management system in
place
• must have biodiversity as a cornerstone.
For more information – www.localbiodiversity.org
An environmental management plan ensures adherence
to sustainable natural resource principals, such as recycling
Tessa Buhrmann
www.estate-living.co.za
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