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Warriors for survival of the Sixth Kingdom
Writer Elaine Davie
I
f this headline sounds like the title of a video game, it’s a misnomer. Actually, it’s about the passionate commitment of 300-plus, generally mild-mannered, peaceable members of the Kleinmond Nature Conservation Society (KNCS), who are prepared to give their all to ensure the well-being and survival of their part of the smallest Floral Kingdom in the world. It might be instructive to remind ourselves of its fragility and what a huge responsibility rests on our shoulders to protect it. This tiny portion of the earth’s surface, located on the southernmost tip of Africa, originally comprised 40 000 m²; that figure has now shrunk to a mere 18 000 m², of which only 5.6% is preserved in nature reserves. It is estimated that this amazing mini-kingdom once consisted of more than 6 000 unique species; of these, 125 have already become extinct or are in imminent danger of extinction, and a further 1 134 are vulnerable or rare. The challenge is spelled out in one of KNCS’ newsletters: It is the actions of our present generation which will decide whether future botanists will count only five kingdoms and we earn for ourselves a reputation which will ring down through History as wanton, irresponsible destroyers – or whether we are remembered as the generation that woke up before it was too late. When the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve (KBR) was established in 1998, Kleinmond was incorporated into the 100 000 hectare UNESCO-designated conservancy, which begins in the Atlantic Ocean 7.5 km off-shore and stretches from Bot River to Gordon’s Bay. As Botha Maree, current chairman of the KNCS points out: “That
means that Kleinmond is surrounded on three sides by a proclaimed nature reserve, which is home to the most complex biodiversity on our planet and includes mountain, coastal and intermediate fynbos coverage. We have more than 1 800 different plant species in the reserve, 77 of which are found nowhere else in the world – compare that with the next richest, the South American rain forest with just 420 species per 10 000 square kilometres!”
The KNCS has a proud 44-year-old history which has seen it actively participating since the beginning not only in the management structures of the KBR, but in hands-on initiatives to protect and publicise its riches. Today it has 354 members, which include residents of neighbouring towns, Betty’s Bay, Pringle Bay and Rooi Els, with just over a quarter living outside the area, some as far away as Europe.
Hikers on one of the many trails created by the Kleinmond Nature Conservation Society (KNCS) in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve. PHOTO: Supplied
From the word go, one of its chief functions has been the never-ending task of hacking out alien invaders, like hakea, myrtle, Port Jackson wattle, black wattle, spider gum and pines. Indeed, some residents as far back as the 50s were already doing their best to keep them under control. One of the KNCS’ longest-serving members, Peter Slingsby remembers how in 1978 it mounted a determined effort to rid the Palmiet area of exotics. “It seems unbelievable now, but R200 a month funded three municipal labourers and two students, who worked long days with bow-saws and axes. Sample counts led to estimates that over 100 000 pines were removed from the West Bank area alone.”
along the R44 between Kleinmond and Arabella being a prime example of what it can look like if unattended. Most of this land is privately owned and with a few exceptions (like the proposed Wildlife Sanctuary), little has been done to clear it.
These efforts were not always greeted with enthusiasm by locals who lamented the ‘barrenness’ of the mountains without trees, as well as the lack of shade that followed their removal. The battle against this ‘green desert’, as it has been dubbed, continues today, with some of the areas
Sadly, a lot of these originate from household gardens and municipal open spaces in Kleinmond and he pleads with residents to consider planting indigenous trees rather than exotics.
Botha Maree points out that since a hacking group was formally constituted by the KNCS in 1994, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of invasive exotic trees have been removed in the nature reserve bordering the town. “Our hacking group of roughly 25 members still goes out once a month to continue the battle, but it’s a never-ending task because the aliens grow much faster than fynbos and their seeds are widely dispersed.”
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