urrent livestock farming practices in South Africa threaten endangered birds. South Africa is not unique. Globally, the
intensification and expansion of agriculture has led to the reduction of bird communities.
These farming practices centre around the annual burning of grasslands, which are one of the most diverse ecosystems in South Africa. They support 12 of the 40 endemic birds, five of which are globally threatened.
South Africa’s grasslands host five RAMSAR wetland sites. RAMSAR is the convention on wetlands. It is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international co-operation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
These grasslands, including the wetlands, comprise around 16.5% of South Africa’s land surface. They are one of the most threatened ecosystems. More than 60% of the grasslands have been irreversibly transformed by agricultural cultivation and forestry and only 2.8% are formally protected.
Moist highland grasslands in South Africa, of which only 1.5% are conserved, were historically maintained by winter and spring fires. This was probably done at intervals of four years or more, and by summer grazing by migratory, medium-sized antelope.
Today these grasslands are managed by livestock farmers, who in most areas burn annually at the start of the rainy season, in early summer. This coincides with the onset of the breeding season for birds. The two major drivers of grassland disturbance, fire and grazing, have therefore been altered dramatically.
All is not lost. Changes to agricultural practices can provide surrogate habitats for certain bird species without compromising the economics of livestock farming.
Simple changes to current management could translate into immediate biodiversity benefits without compromising the economics of livestock farming. If managers burn biennially or every three years in a patchwork – so that their farms contain grasslands of different ages – biodiversity benefits will be demonstrable and immediate.
Grassroots
August 2017
Vol. 17, No. 3
What South African farmers can do to protect endangered grassland birds
Rob Little and Ian Little
University of Cape Town, South Africa
[email protected], [email protected]
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