African Wildlife and Environment Issue 65

CONSERVATION

Saving our diversity is OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Community driven conservation - a conservancy is a community driven initiative and can be established by anyone, anywhere, where they feel there is something worth protecting and conserving.

Ivan Parkes

The Greater Kyalami Conservancy (GEKCO) is a gem of country living in the city. It is a green lung of large and small agricultural holdings and open space tucked between Johannesburg and Pretoria

we now have 60 conservancies, of which 55 are extremely active. The conservancies represented by the Association are all worthy of special awards, as they are passionate about conserving our precious biodiversity, and without each and every one of them it would not be possible. The GCSA decided to train Conservation Officers, enabling each conservancy to have trained people assisting with various environmental issues: • Removal and recognition of snares;

• Snake Rescue/Relocation; • Help protect the endangered species found in Conservancies; • Re-establishing plants that have been removed by the ‘muthi’ trade; • Working with traditional healers and the Regional Healers Associations to inform them that large scale removal of the ‘muthi’ plants will lead to their extinction; • Liaise with local councils, and schools; • Assist with Environmental Management Plans,

The Gauteng Conservancy Association (GCA) was formed in February 2003 to promote conservation on private land in Gauteng, and to protect Gauteng’s fast-disappearing biodiversity. The association has recently changed its name to the Gauteng Conservancy & Stewardship Association (GCSA) to align with the National Biodiversity Stewardship South Africa programme. Conservancies have been

recognised as the entry level of conservation by the National Biodiversity Stewardship South Africa. We have recently been approached by the Department of Environmental Affairs, to add the conservancies into the National Environmental Management Act, NEMA. The Association has grown in leaps and bounds; in 2003 there were only 12 conservancies in Gauteng,

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