Across South Africa, conservancies bring landowners, residents and other local stakeholders together voluntarily to care for the natural environment within a defined area. Their activities vary according to local needs and capacity but may include protecting biodiversity, managing invasive alien plants, monitoring wildlife, restoring natural areas and encouraging environmental awareness. Conservancies are considered voluntary conservation areas and do not have the same formal legal protection as proclaimed nature reserves. CapeNature’s stewardship framework recognises them as an important way for people to participate directly in conservation.
There are many conservancies within the Gouritz Biosphere, each making a valuable contribution to conservation in its own area. Collectively, their work also advances the wider goals of the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR) by protecting biodiversity, strengthening ecological connectivity and encouraging communities to become active stewards of their natural surroundings. GCBR therefore wants to support and enable these conservancies as much as possible, helping them strengthen their structures, share knowledge and translate their enthusiasm into practical action.
In August, GCBR hosted its first Conservancy Workshop, with six conservancies represented. The workshop created an opportunity for conservancies to learn from one another, exchange ideas and focus on practical actions that they could adopt within their own areas.
The programme covered a range of topics, including conservancy governance, planning small-scale invasive alien plant (IAP) management, incorporating ecological monitoring into existing activities, building ecological corridors through indigenous gardens, and finding different ways to engage conservancy members and local communities.
Jacques Smit from Ertho recently completed his MPhil in Environmental Management, focusing on conservancy governance. He shared his findings with the conservancies, many of which had participated in his research. His presentation highlighted some of the critical elements that need to be in place for a conservancy to establish a strong foundation and continue operating successfully into the future.
Jacques also introduced a tool he developed to help conservancies plan their next steps according to their size, the portfolios represented on their committees and the activities they would like to pursue. The tool helps conservancies determine when activities should take place and who should be responsible for them, creating accountability while supporting more strategic planning. Jacques’ passion for conservancies, and for the important role they can play in biodiversity conservation, came through strongly in his presentation and in the practical tools he has developed to support them.
Bruce Taplin, CEO of Apex Conservation, shared his extensive knowledge of invasive alien plant clearing and management planning. His presentation focused on what conservancies can realistically do at a smaller scale to identify and prioritise areas for IAP clearing.
Bruce demonstrated how a simplified IAP management plan can be developed using an Excel spreadsheet, together with mapping IAP-infested areas into manageable clearing blocks. This provides conservancies with a practical way to understand the extent of the work required and plan according to the resources available to them. The key message was clear: plan for the initial clearing, always make provision for follow-up work, and be realistic about what can be achieved.
Claude Schippers, a Landscape Coordinator at GCBR, shared practical ways in which conservancies can incorporate ecological monitoring into activities they are already undertaking. These included placing camera traps and organising the information collected from them.
He also demonstrated how something as simple as a regular walk or hike can become a valuable monitoring activity. By walking the same route during each season and recording what they observe, conservancies can begin building a picture of how their local environment changes throughout the year. Claude also shared his passion for involving children in conservancy activities and creating opportunities for them to experience nature, helping to inspire enthusiasm for conservation among the next generation.
Jolandie Buck, Landscape Manager at GCBR, introduced the conservancies to geocaching; a global scavenger hunt that offers a fun and different way to encourage people to explore their local environment. Conservancies can create their own geocaches and use the platform to share information about an area, its biodiversity or local conservation activities with anyone who finds their hidden “treasure”.
Jolandie then shared one of her personal passions: indigenous gardens. She highlighted ten indigenous plant species available from local nurseries as examples of plants that can increase indigenous diversity in gardens across urban conservancies.
Even individual gardens can contribute to conservation by creating small ecological islands. As more indigenous gardens are established across neighbourhoods, these islands can begin to form corridors that provide food, shelter and opportunities for movement for birds, insects and other animals.
The day concluded with representatives breaking into their conservancy groups to consider what needed to happen next in their respective areas. Priorities differed between groups and included identifying activities they would like to implement, strengthening committee structures, and considering organisations they could approach and work with.
The conservancies were encouraged to continue sharing their activities and lessons with one another and, where possible, to support each other’s events. There is a great deal of knowledge and experience across the different conservancies and exchanging it can help strengthen the network as a whole.
CapeNature added valuable input during these planning sessions, joining the speakers in engaging directly with each conservancy about its ideas and helping participants identify gaps, opportunities and areas in which they could continue working.
We would like to thank the speakers, conservancies and CapeNature for joining us and for their willingness to share their knowledge and learn from one another. The aim of the workshop was not for every conservancy to leave with a long list of additional tasks, but rather to identify practical and achievable next steps suited to its particular circumstances.
We look forward to seeing how the conservancies grow and develop from the ideas shared during the workshop, to continued knowledge exchange across the network, and to exploring how GCBR can support them in becoming even stronger and more impactful in the future.