The Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy received the Conservation Driver Trophy for progressive conservation achievements at the 2022 Cape Fox Awards function hosted at Zevenwacht Wine Estate on 26 October.
The annual Cape Fox Awards are handed out by Conservation at Work (CAW), a non-profit organisation that promotes and supports the conservation of private land in the Western Cape.
There are five award categories for conservation agencies, individual landowners and conservancies.
The Conservation Driver Award recognises progressive conservation achievements of conservancies such as improving governance structure, income generation, getting projects going, making themselves visible, and increasing memberships.
Progress
The Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy (BHRC) is situated in the agricultural area between Stellenbosch and the suburbs of Brackenfell and Kuils River.
BHRC conservation manager Christel Liebenberg says the conservancy encompasses an area of about 10 000 hectares of which 1 500 hectares are retained as Swartland Granite Renosterveld.
Members Koopmanskloof and Mooiplaas both have proclaimed private nature reserves, while a further three BHRC members (De Morgenzon, Mooiplaas and Neethlingshof) have achieved World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Conservation Champion status.
As part of the Cape Winelands Biosphere, the BHRC serves as a buffer zone to protect and maintain the rich biodiversity of the area. Game such as caracal, grysbok, grey duiker, porcupine, bat-eared foxes, cape foxes, honey badgers and genets still roam naturally in the Bottelary Hills.
Liebenberg says the award acknowledges the BHRC’s remarkable progress and growth over the past two years. “The BHRC has grown its membership to 50 landowners and extended the Bottelary Hills MTB trail to span an impressive 130 km.”
During this period, they also launched a youth stewardship programme and several other community development initiatives.
Owner of Mooiplaas and chair of the BHRC Tielman Roos expressed his appreciation for the award and Liebenberg’s role.
“Having a dedicated conservation manager has given us a boost as it means that we could invest in building relationships, exploring funding opportunities and creating collaborative partnerships. Expansion and development at community level benefits directly from having people engaging on the ground,” Roos says.
Projects
Other BHRC projects included a WWF-funded baseline plant survey and extensive alien plant eradication in collaboration with the department of agriculture’s LandCare programme.
The conservancy also launched a trail run series, several guided hikes and hosted the inaugural Bottelary Hills MTB and Eco Weekend.
BHRC member Villiera Wines received the runner-up Cape Fox Award for Best Individual Landowner or Managed Property for their valuable contribution to conservation through environmentally friendly and regenerative farming methods, sustainable energy use, water conservation, recycling and greening initiatives.
As BHRC members since 2019, Villiera is home to a 220 hectare wildlife sanctuary, a thriving bee colony, over 100 000 indigenous trees and a solar production facility capable of generating 340 KW of power.
Role of landowners
Liebenberg says most of the remaining natural areas in the Western Cape fall under private landownership, many of whom have collaborated to form conservancies.
“The conservation efforts of these landowners are invaluable to preserve the level of species diversity and endemism that make the Western Cape an area of high conservation importance. Many of these properties fall within the Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve (CWBR) formally designated by Unesco in 2007 in accordance with the global Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme.”
Conservation at Work was established in 2004 as the Western Cape Conservation Stewardship Association. The organisation assists in conservation management best practice, expanding the protected area footprint on privately owned land and the mobilisation of resources for conservation projects.
It also drives the formation of new conservancies in the Western Cape. CAW represent all (more than 80 registered) conservancies in the Western Cape at the National Association of Conservancies and Stewardship South Africa (NACSSA).
Achievements despite obstacles
CAW chair, Carina du Toit-Becker, says judging criteria for the 2022 Cape Fox Awards were aimed at pitching entrants against themselves to measure their individual achievements and obstacles overcome.
“Lockdown restrictions and funding cuts post-pandemic have had a markable social impact and presented various conservation challenges to our members. In spite thereof, we have seen impactful conservation efforts across the board,” Du Toit-Becker says.
“We would like to congratulate all our Cape Fox Trophy Award winners for their respective efforts to support conservation and biodiversity during trying times as well as acknowledge all our members and their individual initiatives in the conservation landscape.
We acknowledge and thank our funders, partners and stakeholders –the LandCare project of the Western Cape department of agriculture, CapeNature, Table Mountain Fund, WWF South Africa and the various biosphere reserves – for their ongoing contributions and involvement,” Du Toit-Becker says.
The inaugural Mossie Basson Conservation Legend award for a conservation agency who have worked with CAW members was awarded to Cape Leopard Trust. The Best Supporting Partner award went to WWF South Africa.
Boschendal Wines won The Best Individual Landowner or Managed Property award and Rooiberg Breederiver Conservancy The Innovative Landscape Conservation award.
