Conservation

The Black Oystercatcher's land has been dedicated to conservation.
The property forms part of the Nuwejaars Wetland Special Management Area (SMA), the first venture of its kind in the country. Through the SMA, 25 landowners, including those wine farms that make up the Elim wine ward, are working together to manage their land collectively. They have combined agriculture and biodiversity conservation to the benefit of the environment and to all who live in the area. Key to this is fighting climate change, and facilitating species survival in the face of global warming. Dirk Human, the founder, owner and wine-maker of the boutique wines at the Black Oystercatcher, is also the Chairman (and a founding member) of the Nuwejaars Wetland SMA.

The SMA has already enjoyed numerous successes. For one, it has encouraged a new way of conserving the region's unique biodiversity and promoting a sustainable ecology, by working closely with conservation agencies like SANParks. The venture also recently received a vote of confidence from national government. The Department of Environmental Affairs stated its intention to proclaim the SMA a national protected environment (PE)- the first national PE in South Africa.

The Nuwejaars Wetland SMA operates according to the Man and the Biosphere principles, a United Nations programme which encourages a balanced relationship between man and nature. In order to succeed, however, members of the SMA have had to show their commitment to conservation. They have agreed to title deed restrictions, to ensure biodiversity conservation is entrenched on their land in perpetuity. Through this conservation initiative, nearly 46 000 hectares of land on the Agulhas Plain - including many rare and endangered fynbos species - are now enjoying formal protection. Big game has also been reintroduced: buffalo and hippo, which became extinct on the Agulhas Plain in previous centuries, have been released on SMA land, close to the Black Oystercatcher Restaurant. Bontebok, red hartebeest and eland have also been reintroduced, and now roam the area.

The Nuwejaars Wetland SMA has to date focused on land management and fire management over the collective properties. Through money obtained by the German government, the SMA until recently supported around five percent of those living in the Cape Agulhas Municipal area. The venture employed local people in alien clearing, wetland rehabilitation and veld management projects. Further nature-based opportunities are being developed, particularly for small businesses operating in the eco-tourism sector.

October 2011
The first buffalo calf in approximately 200 years has been born on the Agulhas Plain. The calf forms part of a herd of buffalo reintroduced into the area by the Nuwejaars Wetland Special Management Area (SMA) venture. Records show buffalo were last seen on the Agulhas Plain in the late 1700s. According to Dirk Human, Chairman of the Nuwejaars Wetland SMA, the buffalo calf signifies the first step in turning back the clock on the Agulhas Plain.

“Aside from buffalo, we’ve also reintroduced hippo, last seen here some 150 years ago. We’re slowly moving towards bringing back the natural systems as they existed in previous centuries.” The buffalo calf will be given an appropriate indigenous Khoisan name still to be decided upon. More