Protecting the Northern Cape’s biodiversity

News from the WWF is that four new nature reserves have been established in the Northern Cape to protect the inselbergs or “island mountains” of Bushmanland, just east of Springbok. The new reserves will be known as Areb, Karas, Marietjie van Niekerk and Smorgenskadu nature reserves, and together they will form the greater Karrasberge Protected Area (57 km²).

The proclamation of the protected area has come about after some deliberation among NGOs, government and landowners. Among the vegetation types under protection are Bushmanland inselberg shrubland, Aggeneys gravel vygieveld and Bushmanland arid grassland.

These solitary mountains form part of the larger, 116 000 km² Succulent Karoo Biome, which includes much of south-west South Africa and southern Namibia. This biome is home to 6 356 plant species, 27 amphibian species, 121 reptile species, 68 mammal species and 431 bird species, many of which depend on the inselbergs for refuge. Because it’s unusual for arid regions to be teeming with this much life, UNESCO’s website has called the Succulent Karoo Biome the “most biologically diverse arid area in the world”.

However, the encroachment of man has put the Northern Cape’s biodiversity at risk. With the establishment of this protected area, it is gratifying to know that these ancient features will be with us for a long time to come.

I want to visit! Because the reserves are so new, landowners were still working on visitor protocol at the time of publication. Keep an eye on weg.co.za for updates.

Sources: wwf.org.za; whc.unesco.org; pza.sanbi.org This protected area has been the result of consistent effort on behalf of a few key players, including the Leslie Hill Succulent Karoo Trust, Wilderness Foundation Africa, and WWF South Africa, in co-operation with the landowners and the Northern Cape Department of Environment and Nature Conservation.