To secure the long-term conservation and management of the remaining fragments of threatened natural vegetation in the lowlands of the Overberg, South Africa, through active partnerships with landowners, conservation authorities and NGOs, thereby improving the overall quality of farms, sustainable livelihoods, and landscapes in the region.
The Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust was established in 2012, by the current Director, because although the dire status of renosterveld was recognised by national government, very little focused efforts to secure the last remnants for conservation were in place. From a floral perspective, lowland renosterveld is amongst the richest (if not, the richest) of Mediterranean habitats on the planet. Sadly, it is also one of the most threatened habitats on Earth, with over 95% having been converted for agriculture (crops and planted pastures). The remaining remnants are essentially all found on privately-owned land, thus working with commercial farmers in the ‘wheat-belt’ is crucial to the survival of this special ecosystem and all the life which depends upon it.
The ORCT focuses on building relationships with landowners which ultimately result in the highest level of commitment: A conservation servitude registered on the farm in perpetuity. In return for this significant commitment from the landowner, the ORCT assists with the management and restoration of the renosterveld on the property. To date, the Trust has signed 21 easements totalling 4500 ha of renosterveld. The Trust is also involved with facilitating key land purchase priorities for the largest and most connected remnants, where viable.
The ORCT is a relatively new WLT partner: Our partnership having begun through the WLT assisting, together with other partners, with the purchase of a large remnant of renosterveld which will be incorporated into an existing renosterveld reserve, managed by the ORCT. Together, the two sections will include close to 1000 ha of protected renosterveld. This may sound like a relatively small area, but in order to appreciate the significance of this, the context of this reserve must be appreciated: There are fewer than 60 renosterveld remnants of over 100 ha in size remaining in the Overberg (where the largest remaining lowland renosterveld remnants on Earth are found) and about 10 remnants which are larger than 300 ha.
The areas that have been / are being purchased are a foraging and / or breeding refuge for many locally threatened or rare animals, in particular the Endangered Black Harrier. They contain over 600 plant species, at least 50 of which are species of conservation concern.
Please see our South Africa page.
The ORCT works across the Overberg ‘wheat-belt’ to conserve, manage and facilitate studies on the remaining 5% of renosterveld and all those species which depend on it for their own persistence.
Activities thus include the following: