Home: Sustainable Resource Management: LANDCARE
General description
The conservation of the natural resources of the Western Cape is vital for the agriculture industry and all inhabitants of the province, who rely directly and indirectly on these resources. The sub programme: LandCare Services concentrates on the conservation of the soil resource, which is the precious foundation of this industry and the key to all life.
As wisely stated by Indian Chief, Buffalo Tiger:
"You can’t make it. You can’t buy it. And when it’s gone, it’s gone forever."
The estimated loss of topsoil in South Africa is approximately 400 million tons per annum. The Western Cape is no exception to this degradation, which is a result of the incorrect utilisation of the plant, water and soil resources.
The alarming rate of erosion and large-scale degradation of this precious resource must be halted, brought under control, and be rebuilt to insure the sustainable existence of our resources and inhabitants.
Our mission, therefore, is to strive to rebuild, maintain and improve the natural resources in the Western Cape by promoting efficient conservation practices to all land users.
To this end, we mainly concentrate on the following fields:
The Department of Agriculture is also a signatory member of C.A.P.E (Cape Action for People and the Environment). The book FynbosFynmense; People making biodiversity work, can be downloaded or read here. Other projects we are involved with includes the clearing of invasive species and junior landcare.
The Landcare programme is also involved with the Klapmutskop conservancy. The Klapmutskop Conservancy was estblished in 2004 as part of Cape Nature's Stewardship programme by the five farms that share ownership of Klapmutskop - Delheim, Elsenburg, East Hill, Le Bonheur and Warwick. These farms act as curators of the conservancy. Read more about the Klapmutskop conservancy and the rare Renosterveld biome here.
