A Technical Guide
for Wine Producers

RECENT ARTICLES   |   WYNBOER HOME

Become Members Or Champions Of The Biodiversity & Wine Initiative


Sue Winter

The Biodiversity & Wine Initiative (BWI) is a pioneering initiative between the South African wine industry and the conservation sector to minimise the further loss of threatened natural habitat, and to contribute to sustainable wine production, through the adoption of biodiversity guidelines by the South African wine industry. The December edition of WineLand (pgs 81 & 82) gave an overview of what the initiative entails.

How can you become involved?

One of the strategies of the BWI is to identify and enlist interested producers to champion the initiative by implementing the biodiversity guidelines, conserving critical ecosystems and incorporating a biodiversity story into their winery experience. Assisted by BWI, champions could leverage the marketing opportunities of being the industry leaders in sustainable wine production and associating their brand with the unique biodiversity on their farms.


Spectacular fynbos of the Cape floral kingdom (courtesy of Trevor Sandwith).

Now there are 2 options available for producers interested in biodiversity.

1. Become a MEMBER of the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative.
2. Become a CHAMPION of the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative.

For both members and champions, the revised section 2 of the IPW Guidelines (now referred to as the "Biodiversity Guidelines") are most important, as a core purpose of the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative is to promote the uptake and implementation of the biodiversity guidelines. E-mail Sue Winter (bwi@sawb.co.za) for a summary of the new biodiversity guidelines or refer to the IPW website for the full guidelines (www.ipw.co.za).

To become a Biodiversity & Wine member, the following criteria apply:

  1. The property must have an ecologically viable portion of natural vegetation still intact or rehabilitated after alien clearing - e g this can include pristine natural vegetation fragments that have not been ploughed, or include part of a wetland or river system. This status must be verified through a site inspection done by the BWI extension officer or other approved conservation officer.
  2. Members must score a minimum of 60% on the biodiversity guideline self assessment form, verified by the BWI extension officer, or other approved conservation officer.
  3. The farm and cellar must be awarded with an IPW Certificate. Note, this is not just IPW registration, but requires that the evaluation forms must be completed and handed in and a minimum score of 50% must be obtained. (Refer to the article on "IPW skerp oudits op" for more information on other qualification parameters to obtain an IPW Certificate).
  4. Within two years of being a Biodiversity & Wine member, producers are under the obligation to develop a Conservation Management Plan for the farm, which must be approved by the BWI extension officer.
  5. Provide a written and signed statement of intent to declare a portion of the ecologically viable, natural vegetation on their farm as a voluntary Conservation Area, outlining the producer's commitment to conserving the natural area and not developing new vineyards in this area.


Some of the spectacular bulbs that can be found in Renosterveld (courtesy of Botanical Society of South Africa).

To become a Biodiversity & Wine champion, the following criteria apply:

  1. As for the BWI members, the property must have an ecologically viable portion of natural vegetation still intact, but which is not less than 10% in area of the total farm size. This status must be verified by the BWI extension officer or other approved conservation officer.
  2. Champions must score a minimum of 85% on the biodiversity self assessment form, verified by the BWI extension officer.
  3. The farm and cellar must be externally audited by the independent IPW auditors and awarded with an IPW Conformance Certificate (for more detail about these Conformance Certificates, refer to the IPW article on pgs 68 & 69).
  4. A champion must have developed a Conservation Management Plan, approved by the BWI extension officer and, most importantly, started implementing key scheduled activities from the plan. Champions must be able to show tangible results of their commitment to biodiversity conservation and have a minimum two-year track record of good conservation practice.
  5. Champions should, where appropriate, give conservation status to their pristine natural areas (which must be a minimum of 10% of the farm size), through one of CapeNature's Stewardship Programme options. This action translates the BWI member's intent into a formal commitment to conserve their biodiversity for future generations.

Note: A site inspection must be done by a BWI extension officer before member or champion status can be awarded.

How will BWI members & champions be selected?

A small committee is being established to review applications from potential members and champions to ensure that decisions made are peer-reviewed and defensible. This implies a producer must voluntarily apply to become a member or champion by submitting the relevant documentation to the extension officer, according to the criteria outlined above.


Biodiversity & Wine Initiative staff - Tony Hansen (Project Co-ordinator) and Sue Winter (Extension Officer).

Certificates

All producers that are officially awarded "member" or "champion" status will receive a certificate and be featured on the BWI website (currently being developed). Certificates will be re-issued every 2 years once a review of their status is done. Champions will also be recognised through press releases and articles in various newspapers and magazines. BWI members and champions may not claim association with the BWI prior to receiving their certificates.

Biodiversity & Wine Initiative Awards

As the number of BWI members and champions increases, an award system will be introduced by giving recognition to individual producers that show excellent progress and commitment to biodiversity conservation. Please note, considering that the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative has only recently been launched, the criteria outlined above are subject to revision in the future by the Technical Working Group of the initiative. For more information, please contact Sue Winter, tel (021) 886-8428, or bwi@sawb.co.za.

 Wynboer is incorporated in WineLand, magazine of the SA wine producers.

Subscribe to WineLand

Visit our sister sites:


South African wine farmers' representative organisation


Facts, figures, contact details and much more in the 2009/10 Directory

UP COPYRIGHT (C) 2000 WineLand