the richtersveld cultural and botanical landscape - SAHRA

Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape World Heritage Site Nomination 17
Eastern Buffer: Nababiep (Helskloof) Provincial Nature Reserve and the Orange
River (and international border with Namibia)
The Nababiep Provincial Nature Reserve is a rugged, uninhabited reserve of stark
mountains and the deep Helskloof Canyon. The mountains extend eastwards
beyond the reserve into the ERF 226, a very large property currently under the
jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works but under discussion to be handed
over to the Vioolsdrif Community for the creation of the Vioolsdrift Community
Conservancy, largely modelled on the Richtersveld Community Conservancy. It is
land unsuitable for most land uses except conservation and limited livestock
herding and has only a few tracks in it that are suitable for 4x4 vehicles.
The Orange River boundary is one of the most remote stretches of Orange River
along its entire course from Lesotho to the Atlantic Ocean. There is no human
habitation along this stretch of the river and most parts of the river remain
unreachable from both sides because of the high mountain ranges that run along
the river. There is currently one road which can access the river from the
Conservancy’s side and it is seldom used, and then only by extreme 4x4
adventurers. The Namibian side is mostly completely unreachable, as it consists of
rugged ridges and high cliff walls several hundred metres high.
Southern and Western Buffer: Communal Grazing Area
The Richtersveld communal grazing area is a vast area where local people herd
goats and sheep at very low densities due to the dryness and low grazing potential
of the land. The permanent human population in the area is very small. Most people
who use the area for grazing are inhabitants of the small villages of Kuboes,
Eksteenfontein and Lekkersing, with a total combined population of 2,613 (2000
statistics), and those who use the area number several hundred at most. The
communal grazing area is owned by the Sida !hub Community Property Association
(CPA) and is comprised of three main grazing areas:
• The large traditional grazing area formerly zoned as Richtersveld ‘Coloured’
Reserve that will soon be transferred to legal ownership by the CPA while