the richtersveld cultural and botanical landscape - SAHRA

Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape World Heritage Site Nomination 58
the 2001 showed little movement of units since a previous mapping exercise in
1995, although there was a significantly greater number of |haru oms over that six
year period. This is indicative of the revival of cultural identity amongst the Nama in
the post liberation period. Conversely |haru oms out in the field are still moved from
stock post to stock post in the age old tradition of the south-western corner of
Africa. The layout of stock posts follows a fairly typical tradition and occasionally
combines a |haru oms with a structure that is not portable.
2.b History and Development
The describable history of the Richtersveld starts from 2000 million years ago when
the first recognizable geological events occurred. Ever since and until modern day
the unusual landscape and climate of the Richtersveld have influenced the modes
of survival of the Richtersveld’s plants and animals and, finally, also its people. All
life in the Richtersveld has been and continues to be influenced by its severe
temperature fluctuations, the arid, craggy, mountainous landscape, the difficult to
negotiate sandy plains and the cool air and fog deposits which originate from the
cold Benguela current of the Atlantic Ocean. These factors have made the
Richtersveld a unique community of plants, animals and societies which have
speciated and evolved in often radical ways to cope and succeed in one of Africa’s
most difficult environments. The Richtersveld Community Conservancy comprises a
large area in the most undisturbed part of the Richtersveld representing all of the
aforementioned factors.
Fossil records extend back to 300 million years and the evolution of life has tracked
the dramatic changes in the environment over time. 17 million years ago much of
the region was forested and inhabited by giant horses, bear-dogs, giant shrews and
four-tusked elephants. As the forests disappeared and the region dried and became
warmer, the biota evolved accordingly. Plants decreased in size, became highly
adapted to specific microhabitats, found ways to conserve water in becoming
succulent and strategised to create or seek out cooler aspects of the environment.
Despite the aridity, the rich biodiversity and the permanent waters of the Orange
River enabled humans to survive in the region since the Early Stone Age, as can be