Global demand spurs sustainable fynbos harvesting
Silver brunia, a plant with perfectly shaped silver-green baubles that is endemic to the Cape Floral Kingdom, has been dubbed “white gold” because of escalating demand in the East.
It is helping to focus attention on the more than 9,000 indigenous plant species in the Cape. Broadly known as fynbos, many species have been exported for decades but some of them, such as the king protea, protea compacta and silver brunia, are trending in Europe, Asia, Russia and other global markets. They have unusual aesthetic appeal and last longer than other flowers.
The Cape Floral Kingdom, also known as the Cape Floristic Region, covers an area of 90,000km², mainly in the Western Cape but also parts of the Eastern Cape as far as Port Elizabeth. Of the 9,000 species, 6,000 are endemic to the region, which is the smallest and richest floral kingdom in the world — surpassing many tropical forest regions in its diversity.
Cape Flora SA statistics indicate that in 2016-17, about 1,7-million stems of silver brunia (Brunia laevis) were exported. It is included in the mixed green stems category used to make up fynbos bouquets. The number of mixed greens exported in 2015-16 was 12-million and in 2016-17, it was 13.17-million, a 9% increase.
Silver brunia is the second most harvested species in the wild in the mixed greens category. The most harvested is Geraldton Wax, which is not an indigenous fynbos species.
“A species like silver brunia, which is wild-harvested in the Overberg region, highlights the importance of sustainably managing this industry, supporting research and monitoring to understand the effect of harvesting fynbos species and working to control the poaching of species in high demand,” says Flower Valley Conservation Trust conservation director Roger Bailey. The trust was founded in 1999 and is based on Flower Valley Farm outside Gansbaai in the Western Cape.
To manage the fynbos industry sustainably, the trust launched the Sustainable Harvesting Programme for fynbos in 2003. Its committed team of about 15 people partners with farmers, harvesters, communities and government and conservation organisations. Included in its focus is environmental, social and labour compliance for harvesters and pack sheds. CapeNature, a government organisation responsible for biodiversity conservation in the Western Cape, is a major partner in the programme.
The programme’s code of best practice for wild harvesters sets out how they should pick fynbos to conserve the plant and surrounding vegetation. The stem should be cut at a certain length and at a 45-degree angle. It is also vital to leave seed stock in the veld.
For silver brunia and a few other species, research suggests that only 25%—50% should be harvested each year.
The programme’s vulnerability index advises what should and should not be picked for the market. For example, Erica irregularis used to be harvested, but now may not be picked due to its endangered status on the South African National Biodiversity Institute’s Red List.
“The Sustainable Harvesting Programme demonstrates that it is certainly possible to sustainably harvest fynbos in a commercially viable way, creating green businesses and decent, sustainable jobs for people living in the fynbos region,” says Bailey.
Fynbos harvesters range from subsistence harvesters to commercial harvesting teams. The programme is voluntary and is intended to promote the green economy and increase the number of biodiversity stewards on private land.
To support the programme’s work and its expansion drive the Nedbank Green Affinity Programme via the World Wide Fund for Nature Nedbank Green Trust committed three years of funding, starting in 2015. The funding covers the salary of conservation extension and applied research co-ordinator Kirsten Retief.
She collaborates with 18 harvesting teams working over a 75,000ha area to assist them in developing monitoring skills and in completing their management plans as part of compliance. “It’s essential to build trust with the harvesters over time as people don’t always readily share information or participate in research,” she says.
“Through research, we can better understand many of the threats to fynbos. In addition to overharvesting, threats include invasive alien plants and poor land-management.”
The programme’s focal area has been the 270,000ha Agulhas Plain between Hermanus and the De Hoop Nature Reserve in the Western Cape. The trust also works in the Boland and around Riversdale. There are close to 2,500 plant species in the Agulhas Plain of which about 100 are endemic, at least 110 are on the Red List and about 40 are unique vegetation types. About 150 species from this region are harvested for the flower trade.
The Flower Valley Conservation Trust also co-ordinates an alien-clearing project across the Agulhas Plain, called the Agulhas Biodiversity Initiative Alien Clearing Project.
The project works across the Overberg to clear mainly pine, rooikrans, Port Jackson, myrtle and hakea.
Farmers, landowners or fynbos harvesters interested in joining the programme can contact the Flower Valley Conservation Trust.
The harvesters sign a statement of commitment that commits them to working towards best practice environmental, social and labour principles as set out in the Flower Valley Code of Best Practice for Wild Harvesters.
An improvement plan is provided to farmers, landowners and harvesters to assist and support to them as they start the journey.