Cattle and conservation

The overgrazing of Egoli Granite Grassland in the Rhenosterspruit Nature Conservancy has long been a concern.  The recommended stocking rate is one large stock unit per six or seven hectares.  At present 200 to 300 cattle graze on approximately 800 ha - over the carrying capacity by up to threefold.

The Conservancy committee approached the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) for assistance and a meeting was held with local cattle farmers on 10 June.

“The purpose of the meeting was to make an awareness presentation on veld management principles to the cattle farmers in the Conservancy,” said Nompumelelo Maqondose, Senior Agricultural Adviser.
“We covered the key issues of veld management and also informed farmers about the services they can access from GDARD.”

This was just the start of a process to find a long-term solution to often clashing needs – the protection of the area's environmental resources, the rights of landowners and the needs of residents, some of whom have deep roots in this area.

A follow-up meeting will be held.

Invaders and conservation

Each year the RNC takes on a range of “enemies”.  Pompom, Verbena, Lantana and Queen of the Night, to name a few, are invader plants that displace or damage indigenous vegetation. Landowners in the Conservancy have cleared hundreds of hectares of these invaders at considerable personal cost – but the battle is far from won.

Conservancy members have been working with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and GDARD to clear invasives, particularly Pompom.  Many landowners ignore the problem and re-infestation occurs on ”clean” lands.  In future the Department will issue directives and fines to these landowners.

The RNC attended DAFF's  Declared Weed and Invader Plant workshop on 28 May in Pretoria and will submit the requested comment on their future programmes.

Pom-Pom

Lantana