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Biodiversity and Wine Initiative Update
Rooiberg races ahead!
Sue Winter
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Sue Winter
Rooiberg Winery near Robertson has made history by becoming the first co-operative winery in South Africa to achieve membership status with the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative (BWI). They have achieved this by conserving valuable natural veld within an important succulent karoo region on their co-op member's farms, and by embracing the principles of sustainable production. The award to Rooiberg was made at the BWI member awards function held in November 2005 at Hartenberg in Stellenbosch (see February edition of Wineland for more detail of this event).
Eight out of the 18 farms belonging to Rooiberg were selected as having the most conservation-worthy land and a letter of commitment was signed by each of the respective property owners and Rooiberg's CEO, agreeing to not develop new vineyards on the pristine areas identified. The 8 farms collectively contain some 6343 hectares of unploughed, natural land which represents 57.3% of the total area belonging to co-op (11 069ha). These are areas that have pristine lowland vegetation, wetlands, rivers or mountain regions.
The Breede River valley between Worcester and Ashton provides a remarkable meeting place for 3 major vegetation types namely Succulent Karoo, Renosterveld and Fynbos. This explains why the number of plant species found here is exceptionally higher than in other areas and cannot be matched anywhere in the world for a comparable arid region of the same size. No less than 431 plants species are completely unique to this particular portion of the Breede River Valley, and at least 83% of those species have Red Data status as they are highly threatened. However, less than 0.5% of this region enjoys any form of formal protection. The biggest threat to rare species such as these in this area is agricultural development of the deep, alluvial soils next to the Breede River.
As part of Rooiberg's membership application, preliminary surveys were made of flora, fauna and bird species. One exciting finding was an endangered, indigenous fish called the Breede River Redfin2 (previously called Burchells Redfin), which is found only in a few, untouched Western Cape Rivers and is a superb indicator of river health. This special fish was discovered in the deeper pools of the upper Noree River in the Vinkrivier area.
Breede River Redfin - an endangered fish, indigenous to the Western Cape and found only in the Breede River. (Photographer: Dean Impson)
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With conservation highlights such as these, discussions with CapeNature have already commenced to obtain formal conservation status for the natural areas on Rooiberg's priority farms and linking these farms together in a conservancy3. At this stage Rooiberg is also working with Graham Beck Wines who directly neighbour the Rooiberg about joining the conservancy and increasing its size.
Johan Van Zijl, conservationist from McGregor, was instrumental in assisting Rooiberg prepare their BWI membership application and assessing the condition of their biodiversity. Seen here is Johan Van Zijl (left) with Johan Du Preez (right), studying a unique aloe species from the area. The photo was taken on the farm Goedereede, a member of Rooiberg Winery, showing the winery's hallmark, the Rooiberg mountain in the background (Courtesy: Rooiberg Winery)
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BWI member criteria for co-operative/producer cellars
(these differ to the estate or single farm criteria)
- 1. The co-op must have a minimum of 5-10% of the total land in the co-op consisting of indigenous, natural vegetation or rehabilitated habitat.
- 2. 75% of the co-op members who possess natural vegetation on the property must complete the biodiversity guideline self-assessment form (available on BWI website) and obtain a minimum of 60%.
- 3. The best 5 pieces of natural habitat within the co-op must be identified which are the most important conservation priorities. A letter of commitment or CapeNature Conservation Site registration form must be signed by each of the respective property owners, and the co-op CEO, committing to conserve each of the natural areas, and to not develop new vineyards in these sites in the future.
- 4. A summary report (approx. 2/3 pgs) should be produced for each of the 5 natural areas, containing:
- (i) A description of the biodiversity features (type of vegetation, ecological value, special species etc.)
- (ii) General management recommendations for the site
- 5. The farms of every co-op member and the co-op cellar need to be in possession of an IPW certificate for the most recent harvest year.
NEWSFLASH!
Joan Isham, the new BWI extension officer. Joan brings with her valuable conservation extension experience gained in the Western Cape that will be an asset to the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative.
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Additional extension officer welcomed on board
Due to the encouraging, increasing interest being shown by producers in becoming members of the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative, more hands on deck are needed to cope with the demand. Therefore a second extension officer, Joan Isham, has been employed to assist Sue Winter in providing conservation support and to process member and champion applications. Joan Isham's contact details are:
Ph: 021-886 8428 (located at SAWB office)
Fax: 021-882 9510
Email: bwi.joan@bermar.co.za
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NEWSFLASH!
BWI focuses on priority areas
The BWI has also taken a fresh look at its strategy and decided to identify specific areas of operation that are known to be high conservation priorities and focus on enlisting as many of the producers in these areas as members or champions. This will have the best conservation return for the resources invested in this initiative. Producers located outside these specific areas will still be able to participate in BWI, but shall need to make use of a BWI-approved consultant to do the necessary site visit and help them collect information needed for the member application. To these ends, BWI is in the process of offering training to consultants regarding the specific requirements of the BWI. A map will be available either on the BWI website (www.bwi.co.za) or in the next edition of Wynboer indicating the boundaries of the areas that BWI extension staff will service, and the areas where consultant support will have to be relied upon.
If you would like to become a member or champion of the Biodiversity & Wine Initiative, visit the BWI website www.bwi.co.za for more information on the qualification criteria, then contact Sue Winter or Joan Isham at (021) 886 8428, or bwi@sawb.co.za
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