Saturday 23 May, 1998

Conserving Our Cape Flora - No mean task to ensure diversity of mountain treasure
The Cape region is a repository of plant diversity of global significance, according to Professor Richard Cowling.

"It is our responsibility to ensure this diversity persists in the wild, " he writes in Sabonet News, the South African Botanical Diversity Network newsletter, adding "this is no mean task ". "The Cape has been battered and brutalised by centuries of land use that had no brief for biodiversity. People were doing the best they could to make a living - the indigenous flora merely got in the way. Almost 90 per cent of the Renosterveld disappeared beneath the plough.

"This means to realise a modest conservation goal, say 10 per cent reservation, all of the remaining Renosterveld is irreplaceable. If we are serious about developing a representative reserve system for the Cape region then we cannot shy away from tackling conservation of the Renosterveld. It is much easier, both practically and politically, to proclaim another large park in the remote inland mountains. One can envisage the headlines 'Boost for Cape Flora. New park will conserve remote mountain treasure'.

"The mountains of the Cape are well conserved and there is a real danger additional reserves will make the implementation of a representative reserve system less feasible. We may reach a politically acceptable limit to the area of our reserve system before this system is fully representative of the region's biodiversity. Which is why the recent initiative to establish a national park in the fragmented and largely privately owned but incredibly diverse Agulhas Plain is both threatened and irreplaceable - it thus has high conservation value and represents a priority for action. The same is true of Renosterveld, but not of the arid fynbos ecosystems of the inland mountains.

"The Cape, like most other areas of the world, has suffered from decades of ad hoc conservation planning. It is essential to develop a logical and coherent plan, mindful of irreplaceability, threats and priorities, before we lose the opportunity to implement a representative reserve system. The donation by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) of $1-million (about R5-million) as part of the Cape Peninsula Biodiversity Conservation Project to develop a strategic plan for conservation of the Cape floristic region, must be regarded as an opportunity of unprecedented significance.

"The creation of this plan, co-ordinated by WWF-SA, will have a far-reaching impact on conservation and development issues in the Cape. It will have three cornerstones - biodiversity, socio-economic aspects and the legal and institutional framework. " Prof Cowling sees the first component addressing representivity of the reserve system and priorities for future action. The socio-economic study will identify constraints and opportunities for a comprehensive biodiversity plan for human development and the last component will assess the extent to which current legal and institutional frameworks have capacity to implement the plan. "Ultimately the plan will provide concrete directions, including estimates of cost, for implementation. The implementation phase is likely to attract a second injection of GEF funding, probably to the tune of $100-million (about R500-million).

"We have an incredible opportunity to get it right. A huge responsibility lies on our shoulders. Our institutions, must get themselves in order. Our politicians must take this plan seriously and encourage biocentric planning at all levels in this, the smallest Floral Kingdom. And we biodiversity workers must help wherever we can. "

A veritable feast for bird lovers
Durban, South Africa will host South Africa's biggest birding event ever with the inclusion of a Birding Indaba and a Birds and Birders Fair to be held at the same time as the World Ornithological Congress in August. BirdLife South Africa chairman Aldo Berruti said the Indaba, fair and congress constituted the biggest meeting of natural sciences in Africa.

"With the tremendous increase in birding interest in this country we saw a need to allow people to participate, especially as the congress is a scientific event involving the world's leading ornithologists and not open to the public. The best way we could do this was to invite South Africa's top ornithologists to give a series of layman's talks to amateur birders and by holding a birding fair for exhibitors, " he said. The four-day indaba at Unisa's Durban campus from August 14-17, offers birders a chance to hear the top thirty ornithologists in the country, including Geoff Lockwood, Guy Gibbon, Hugh Chittenden, David Johnson, Steven Piper and Aldo Berruti. The talks will cover every conceivable topic on birds from why we watch them, gardening for birds, nesting, photography, sights and sounds through to specific birds as well as birding in African countries and identification of the continent's top birding spots.

There is a daily rate for those not able to attend all four days. The Birding Fair, at Durban's International Convention Centre from August 16-22, will show a wide range of products and accessories related to birding. To attend the Indaba enroll through BirdLife South Africa at Tel:(011) 789 122 or fax (011) 789 5188 or e-mail: info@birdlife.org.za.

Click Here for more information.

Courtesy of the Pretoria News, Pretoria.