OVERBERG RENOSTERVELD CONSERVATION TRUST NEWS

Newsletter 24 | Apr 2021

by Dr Odette Curtis-Scott.

Devastating new research: The extent of Renosterveld lost to illegal ploughing in just 4 years

This newsletter is one with a difference!

It brings to light the more difficult aspects of Renosterveld conservation – the issues that those of us ‘in the coalface’ are up against on a regular basis: the heart-breaking, ongoing loss of virgin Renosterveld due to illegal ploughing.

A recent, hard-hitting paper by Glenn Moncrieff from SAEON (the South African Environmental Observation Network) tells the harrowing tale of how much Renosterveld we are still losing and how this can be tracked (on a daily basis, if required) through satellite imagery and clever algorithms.

Earth Day (today, 22 April) seeks to Restore our Earth. This research, however, shows the continuing loss of our precious Renosterveld and the wealth of diversity it houses. So it’s our hope that this paper will shake more conservation authorities and donors into urgent action.

We realise that our followers prefer our ‘good news stories’ – but it is high time we share this one: there are many ongoing issues that are obstructing our mission to stop this extinction process.

We work with many gems in the farming community and there are many more that we have not even met yet. But there’s also an urgent need to increase our capacity in order to reach more landowners to encourage pro Renosterveld mindsets, while at the same time enabling and capacitating government agencies to do more effective law enforcement. Or we will lose this battle. 

Odette Curtis-Scott
Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust