Planting trees in grasslands won’t save the planet – rather protect and restore forests
Why rangelands matter, and why misguided initiatives here do more harm than good …
Technology can boost farming in Africa, but it can also threaten biodiversity – how to balance the two
Can we step up technology on farms while preserving biodiversity? A look at agriculture in Africa.
Overberg media trip: Flower Valley Farm (part 8)
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).
Overberg media trip: fynbos packhouse (part 7)
The world is divided into six floral kingdoms, according to the plant types occurring in each given region. The smallest and richest of these is the Cape Floral Kingdom, found only in the southern tip of Africa – in the Western Cape through to Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape – and nowhere else in the world.
Overberg media trip: A research centre and a place to stay (part 6)
On our second day, the Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Reserve and its Research and Visitor Centre were on the agenda. It was an overcast day, and we travelled with the promise of rain in the air.
Overberg media trip: Conservation management – what’s in it for farmers? (part 4)
The aim of the Overberg Renosterveld Conservation Trust (ORCT)’s efforts is to improve habitat condition and increase ecosystem resilience. When you are looking after nature, it looks after you.
Overberg media trip: setting the stage (part 1)
I had done a quick reconnaissance of Napier, the Overberg Renosterveld and fynbos before setting out on the field trip – but no amount of desk research prepares you for the open spaces of the Overberg!
West Coast media trip: part 1 (setting the stage)
In the week when farmer association KwaNalu reported that there were thousands of oil and gas exploration applications to prospect on KwaZulu-Natal farmland (Farmer’s Weekly 23 Sept 2016), a group of journalists and team assembled by the WWF Nedbank Green Trust were looking at how the possibility of a tungsten mine spurred a group of farmers to have their area classified as a Protected Environment.
Biodiversity and ecosystems services
Threats to biodiversity, Payment for Ecosystem services (PES), Biodiversity stewardship and agriculture, Different Stewartship models