OVERBERG RENOSTERVELD CONSERVATION TRUST NEWS

Newsletter 19, July 2019

by Dr Odette Curtis-Scott.

Here’s how we know there’s hope for Renosterveld yet

When I started the ORCT in 2012, my dream was that we would be the voice for Renosterveld in the Overberg and that we would encourage more landowners every year towards conserving, rather than mistreating this biodiversity gem.  

Looking back on seven years of dedicated Renosterveld conservation, I can say with confidence that this dream is being realised. Not yet to the extent that we need it to be. Not yet by enough landowners. But by a growing number of fantastic farmers who are saying ‘enough – this cannot go on!’

We are making a difference and we are being heard. The most tangible evidence of this lies in the growing number of Conservation Easements that we are signing up and thus the number of hectares that can now be considered ‘safe’.

The extraordinary landowners who have (and are) committed to these easements are the reason that Renosterveld has a future and any hope at all. We thank these incredible individuals for making a stand, for thinking about the future, and for realising that we are all here for a very short time in the greater scheme of things and thus have one crucial role to play: to protect what is here and ensure it is not lost.