CONSERVATION IN THE NORTHERN CAPE

Over the past ten years, the Northern Cape Land Project has enabled the declaration of five new nature reserves and one new protected environment, with several more in the pipeline. Conservationists recently gathered in Namaqualand to celebrate a decade of successful expansion of protected areas within the Succulent Karoo biome of the Northern Cape. The celebration was held in the town of Kamieskroon, a gateway to the Namaqua National Park which is world renowned for its annual spring flower display.

Conservation work is being done mainly through stewardship agreements with landowners, who retain ownership of their land but commit to managing it in conservation-compatible ways, while continuing to derive economic benefit from it.

A key benefit of the project has been the support provided by Wilderness Foundation Africa (WFA) to streamline processes and mechanisms for protected area expansion. The work they have done in the Northern Cape has paved the way for biodiversity stewardship nationally.

Threats to the Succulent Karoo are considerable, in particular due to climate change which could see rainfall in the region decrease by some 40%, along with plant poaching and mining. This makes efforts to secure ecological corridors increasingly urgent.

Matthew Norval, WFA’s chief operations officer of conservation, says that without funding from the Leslie Hill Succulent Karoo Trust and the leadership of WWF South Africa, the opportunity to conserve these areas would be lost.

www.wildernessfoundation.co.za