NEWS
Figure 2 . One of the threatened Polhillia species in the foreground , with most of the population ( and an entire habitat ) ploughed up unlawfully . quietly disappear piece by piece without anyone noticing patches of Renosterveld shrinking year by year or vanishing altogether .
This technology also has significant potential application in providing evidence for enforcement , so that it can be proven using data and imagery that land cover change has definitely taken place , as well as when it took place .
It is hoped that the Global Overberg Renosterveld Watch will play a significant role in slowing down the illegal loss of these highly biodiverse , threatened ecosystems .
Further Reading
Figure 3 . Burning of veld is often followed by unlawful ploughing of the last remnants of Critically Endangered renosterveld .
be identified and targeted prior to the complete loss of the Renosterveld vegetation .
The Global Overberg Renosterveld Watch application is now available online via cloud services and can be viewed wherever there is an internet connection anywhere in the world . The application runs effectively and is extremely cost effective .
As these technologies become available and are further developed , it means that ‘ eyes in the sky ’ from satellite imagery can translate into people on the ground who are then able to target where monitoring of potential illegal ploughing events takes place .
This increases the likelihood of awareness among biodiversity professionals and enforcement of the occurrence of illegal ploughing events ( a function of the
Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning , as well as the National Department of Agriculture , Land Reform and Rural Development ). No longer can Renosterveld
37 Grassroots Vol 21 No 4 December 2021