31 May 1995 - Springbokvlakte farmers take the lead - a report by Derek McIntosh
THINGS ARE jumping on the Springbokvlakte - and I don't mean Antidorcus marsupialis (springhares). In recent months the Settlers farming community, has formed a local chapter of AGRED and, through the local Boerevereeniging, established a 50 000 hectare (and growing) conservancy.
And the conservancy and Agred have jointly launched a Francolin Management Research Project.
The Settlers farmers have long known their lands are home to large concentrations of francolin and guineafowl, and they have managed their farms in a way that kept these populations in a healthy state.
Owing largely to the vision and determination of one of them, Robbie Weir, it became an annual community tradition to harvest these gamebirds.
Realizing what a wonderful financial asset their gamebirds and other wildlife were, the Springbokvlakte Boerevereeniging was persuaded to form a sub-committee to look into the matter.
Lead by farmers Robbie Weir, Hannes van Heerden and Rob Manson, they decided as a first step to establish the conservancy - the Springbokvlakte Bewarea.
The Bewarea consists of neighbouring farms whose owners work together to conserve wildlife on their combined properties. The 50 000 hectares includes large areas of cultivation, large areas of grazing and also areas that are a good mix of both.
The benefits they expect to flow from the conservancy are:
• The conservation and joint management of all fauna and flora within the conservancy.
• The improvement of security measures to prevent arson, stocktheft and poaching.
• Minimizing the physical division of the farms by removing fences where practicable, and not erecting game fences.
• The creation of tourism opportunities.
• The co-ordinated control of harvesting and hunting.
Agred Springbokvlakte was formed to assist the conservancy with its skills and finances to pomote the sustainable utilization of gamebirds.
Agred and the conservancy decided jointly to launch a francolin research project aimed at developing low-cost, practical and readily applicable habitat management skills.
As only R12 000 (Agred RIO 000, the conservancy R2 000) was available to pay for research, because the research would take time to complete and as the status of the francolin in the Bewarea seemed stable and healthy, an interim plan was decided on.
This interim plan is based on the accumulated knowledge of the local community, local Fauna and Flora officials and the Gamebird Research unit at the Fitzpatrick Institute.
An essential part of the plan is involving the farm workers, obtaining their support for what is envisaged and determining what cash benefits derived from gamebirds can be channelled into meeting their educational or recreational needs.
It is hoped to involve the local children in a way that will make them aware of the methods of gamebird conservation and the overall benefits that gamebirds offer to the local community.
This will keep the situation in order until we have enough money to finance the main research project.
In the interim, the following practical hints on gamebird management are given to landowners:
• Water should be at ground level. Young birds cannot get into troughs, and if they do they often drown.
• Have your main bird watering points along the management routes/roads. This makes for good management and prevents the laying of snares. The birds soon know where the safe areas are.
• Headlands do not have to be weed patches. Keep them clean and from time to time mown, but otherwise leave alone as much as possible, especially when the birds are breeding.
• Keep all chemicals locked up or under supervision if possible.
• Try not to spray the headlands with any chemicals. Turn a little short of them.
• Try to disturb as little as possible the areas where you know the birds are, especially during the breeding season.
• Leave fallen trees on the ground. If possible, cut these trees to create a sanctuary. They are perfect cover for breeding as the grass grows protected from grazing.
• Encourage your children not to shoot without thinking about breeding pairs and young birds, and the general disturbance that can result from indiscriminate shooting.
• Tell your staff what you plan to do in the Bewarea. Try to involve them in all of the above and explain what the benefits can be to the community. Only by doing this can the snaring and poaching of gamebirds, all wildlife in fact, be reduced.
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Published in the AGRED newsletter of Summer 1995
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