Biodiversity Assessments for new sites

January to March are great periods for getting biodiversity assessments done on Stewardship sites just before the growing season ends.  The Custodian of Rare and Endangered Wildflower (CREW), the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agent (ECPTA), the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT) joined the Greater Kromme Stewardship initiative team to conduct biodiversity assessments for a number of potential Biodiversity Stewardship sites, including the Rocky Coast Farm, Bushbuck Garden, Pabala Game Farm and the Kabeljous state land.  The purpose of the biodiversity assessments is to determine the conservation value of a site and the results of the assessments will be used to determine the most appropriate categories of Biodiversity Stewardship that the various sites qualify for (e.g., Nature Reserve, Protected Environment, Biodiversity Agreement Area).

The Rocky Coast Farm is a coastal property with extraordinary biodiversity in the Cape St Francis region and includes threatened habitat types, endangered species, and archaeological features of provincial significance.  Absolutely breath-taking site!

The Bushbuck Garden property close to the Impofu dam.  The vegetation on the site forms an interesting forest-thicket-fynbos mosaic which results in an extraordinary diversity of species and habitats.  The property also contains a very rare and unique vegetation type that is nationally endangered, namely Humansdorp Shale Renosterveld.

Pabala Game Farm is a beautiful area that is hidden away deep in the rolling hills on the outskirts of the Gamtoos Valley.  Pabala includes an area of about 1603 ha of breath-taking landscapes with open plains and undulating hills.  One cannot help but to be mesmerised by the splendour of this site.  During the assessment of Pabala, numerous rare and threatened plant species were recorded, including species such as Cussonia gamtoosensis, Eriocephalus tenuipes and Otholobium heterosepalum.

The Kabeljous state land is located towards the north-east of Jeffreys Bay, directly adjacent to the Kabeljous estuary and the Kabeljous coastline.  The site includes significant wetlands, estuarine salt marches, primary coastal dunes, and dune thickets.  The site includes a variety of threatened species, as well as a number of important archaeological features.