The rationale behind the Flower Valley Conservation Trust (FVCT) is straight-forward: “… if we pick all the fynbos this year, there will be no fynbos to pick in the future” (Van Deventer et al, 2015).
The media party was greeted by Roger Bailey (Operations Manager) and Kirsten Watson (Conservation Manager). Heather D’Alton (Communications Manager) had accompanied us from the packhouse (see previous blog). After a short restroom break, we set out on a tour of the farm to see the harvesting operation.
The benefits of fynbos go beyond the economic value referred to above. When they aren’t pollinating fruit trees, honeybees feed from the fynbos flowers. In a particularly water-stressed province, fynbos allows more water to make its way to rivers and dams because it does not consume as much water as invasives do. (Not only do invasive alien plants guzzle precious water, but they also prevent fynbos from growing).
Fynbos is protected by law. It is illegal to pick it without the appropriate licence from a conservation authority like CapeNature, and if you clear fynbos veld to make way for another crop you face jail time and a fine.
To protect both fynbos and the jobs that it makes possible, the Sustainable Harvesting Programme (SHP) was initiated in 2003, the result of ten years’ work by FVCT, Cape Nature, experts and the fynbos industry.
Recognising that farming enterprises need to make money from their operations, the SHP offers landowners certain benefits in exchange for joining the Programme:
- Greater access to markets which are increasingly environmentally conscious
- Help in meeting all the criteria set out in environmental and labour/social legislation
- Extension support
- Access to tools to monitor your harvesting
The SHP Toolkit offers supports with securing the necessary floral license, field assessments and training opportunities. In short, it allows for both responsible harvesting and fynbos veld monitoring.
Most of the land in the fynbos biome is owned by farmers whose margins are tighter than ever before. If they don’t turn a profit they go out of business, a consideration among the many other concerns, be these political, social or environmental. It is noteworthy that the work being supported by the WWF Nedbank Green Trust – like the Flower Valley Conservation Trust – includes practical assistance for landowners.
Soon we are on the road again, making our way to Cape Town. And out through the bus windows, sky and land appear to give a thank-you to the people who are making the effort to ensure that the Cape Floral Kingdom is looked after.
