the richtersveld cultural and botanical landscape - SAHRA

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Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape World Heritage Site Nomination 91 Richtersveld, including the Core Area and buffer zones, population is sparse and development limited by environmental and economic parameters. One sector of growth and development which is facing the Conservancy is a welcome one: tourism. The only infrastructural development underway in the Conservancy is for the upgrading of eight campsites, upgrading of the existing guesthouse and the development of a small overnight wilderness hut. Despite the small size of these developments, environmental impact assessments were carried out on request of the Management Committee. Additionally, social and heritage impacts assessments were part of the process to ensure that any tourism development, no matter how small, does not infringe on the livelihoods of local pastoralists and is kept a suitable distance from seasonal livestock posts. To further ensure that tourism development is managed appropriately, a Tourism Plan and a Zoning Plan are being developed for the Conservancy. These plans will outline specifically the areas in which tourism can operate and under what conditions. Tourism pressure is specified in more detail in Section 4.b (iv) (Visitor/Tourism Pressures). In all arid areas, desertification and overgrazing are significant issues. Elsewhere in Northern Cape Province and across the border in Namibia, there are visible signs of the environmental impacts of unsustainable use of the grazing resource and unwise land use practices leading to environmental deterioration. The Conservancy, as a result of its topography and traditional natural resource management remains in good condition. Pastoral goat and sheep herders also rotate herds between grazing areas to prevent overutilization of any particular area. Theft and illegal harvesting of succulent plants poses a problem throughout the entire Succulent Karoo and Fynbos biomes. Theft of reptiles, such as tortoises, also occurs. In such vast and sparsely populated areas as one finds in the region, control is often difficult. There have been few reports of plant harvesting in the Conservancy, and the Management Committee is initiating a programme to engage the traditional goat and sheep herders who reside throughout the Conservancy to report any incidents and to assist in preventing plant and animal theft. Past environmental awareness campaigns in the Conservancy, specifically those
Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape World Heritage Site Nomination 92 focused on youth, such as the annual Youth Summit in the Conservancy, have also contributed to awareness about the importance of conserving and retaining the environmental and cultural heritage objects, including plant an animal species. Additional awareness campaigns are planned for 2006 and 2007. As described in Section 3.d. (Integrity and Authenticity), mining development does not pose a threat to the site. In addition to the zoning restrictions which are currently written into the municipality’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and the Management Plan of the Conservancy and forthcoming legal restrictions in the declaration of the Heritage Area, there are significant environmental restrictions which prevent diamond mining from occurring in the Conservancy, as well as its Buffer Zones, as specified in more detail in Section 3.d (Integrity and Authenticity). 4.b (ii) Environmental Pressures Seasonal drought is an occurrence in the Conservancy and one which is inherently part of the region’s climate which has led to the diversity of plants which one finds in the Conservancy. These seasonal droughts are coped with by local herders by the movement of herds throughout the Conservancy area. The Conservancy also encompasses two rainfall zones, summer and winter, which allows drought-hit areas to recover and remain without livestock for several months off the year. The region despite bouts of dry weather receives fairly reliable rainfall, especially for the desert area. Studies of the impacts of climate change on the Richtersveld flora are being carried out. Particularly, the Aloe dichotoma and Aloe pillansii are considered under threat from global warming. Several areas where A. dichotoma were formerly abundant are now devoid of young plants, leading scientists to believe that the rise in temperature and the resultant effect on changes in rainfall patterns are preventing young plants from surviving. This phenomenon is likely to be happening also to A. pillansii, a significantly rarer aloe of which almost the entire population occurs in the Conservancy. Further study is required on A. pillansii and Pachypodium namaquanum (halfmens), both rare and threatened species.
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the richtersveld cultural and botanical landscape - SAHRA

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