INDIGENOUS NURSERY another tool in the climate change toolkit

by Rudolph Röscher, rudolphr@elsenburg.com

TThe Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer, recently opened the Worcester Field Reserve Restoration and Indigenous Tree Nursery at the Worcester Veld Reserve.

Speaking at the opening, Meyer said that climate change is one of his five ministerial priorities and that the nursery was one of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA)'s interventions to lessen the impact of climate change. The nursery will contribute directly to the restoration of ecological infrastructure, which plays a vital role in supporting agriculture.

The primary aim of the nursery, which was established at the end of 2020, was to make indigenous trees available to areas where alien clearing had been carried out.

This initiative is also in support of the

Western Cape climate change response framework, also known as the SmartAgri Plan (greenagri.org.za/smartagri-2/about/), where alien clearing is identified as one of the critical actions to ensure water availability and restore ecological infrastructure. In the plan, priority project number two is “Restored ecological infrastructure for increased landscape productivity, socio-ecological resilience, and soil carbon sequestration”.

The first phase of the nursery establishment entailed creating a space where 16 000 indigenous trees could be grown over a period of 9 to 12 months and made available to farmers in the Berg and Breede catchment areas. The project started when the need was expressed by farmers to replant indigenous trees where large-scale invasive alien clearing projects had been initiated by the WCDoA, along the riverbanks of the Berg and Breede Rivers. The department agreed to support the landowners with the necessary skills and funding through its LandCare subprogramme. The initiative started at a small scale more than 10 years ago in Wolseley. This was done in close cooperation with a local non-profit company, Breedekloof Wine and Tourism. They contribute financially to the establishment and operational cost of the nursery from proceeds earned at the annual indigenous tree nursery day. Funds generated from the sale of the trees are ploughed back into the nursery. However, through effective awareness campaigns over the years, growing interest to support this initiative required the relocation of the nursery to the Worcester Field Reserve, one of the seven research farms of the department. During the last nursery day, more than 120 farmers attended and over 13 000 trees left the nursery. With the support of the Programme Research and Technology Development Services and technical input from the programme Sustainable Resource Management, new infrastructure was created at the Worcester Field Reserve. The goal is to grow a maximum of 20 000 indigenous trees from 11 different species. Space has also been created where an additional 20 000 young seedlings can be grown from seed and cuttings. To ensure genetic integrity, harvesting of seed and cuttings is done from the various river systems.

Breedekloof Wine and Tourism involved young men from the “Change Makers” rehabilitation programme in Worcester to build the nursery from scratch. New skills were transferred to this group of young men, giving them an opportunity to earn an income. Young people employed by the LandCare Restoration and Greening project are trained and employed to harvest the seed and cuttings, grow the trees over time, and actively participate in the restoration work when replanting takes place.

According to the department’s director for sustainable resource use and management, Ashia Petersen, functioning ecosystems provide a wealth of ecological services to farmers, rural communities, and downstream economic centres.

“Water quality and quantity, the regulation of stream flow, and the prevention of soil erosion are some of the major benefits of healthy ecosystems. Moreover, the sequestration of carbon in biomass and soils are enabled and supported to regulation of climate change”, explained Petersen.

The restoration of wetlands and riparian zones not only improves the natural biodiversity in the landscape but also reduces flooding risk to farmers along rivers. Although this type of restoration cannot provide protection against serious droughts or wildfires, the impact is reduced through the natural buffering capacity of functional ecosystems, and the year-to-year variability of landscape productivity is reduced.

The restoration of ecological infrastructure is a cost-effective means of adapting to climate change and also offers substantial employment opportunities.

This project is a sterling example of two departments collaborating to improve service delivery to the agricultural sector.

Xhosa Summary

Umzi wokukhulisa izityalo zeli Lizwe esinye isixhobo kumaqhinga okuqubisana nokutshintsha kwimo yezulu

Ngu Rudolph Röscher

Umphathiswa kweZolimo eNtshona Koloni, uGqr. Dr Ivan Meyer, usandul’ukuvula i “Worcester Field Reserve Restoration and Indigenous Tree Nursery” ekwi “Worcester Veld Reserve”, nje ngaphandle kwase Worcester.

Utshintsho kwimo yezulu yenye kwisihlanu semiba ephezulu kuMphathiswa ze umzi wokukhulisa izityalo ibe lolunye ungenelelo lweSebe leZoilimo eNtshona Koloni (WCDoA) ekuthomalaliseni imiphumela engokutshintsha kwemo yezulu. Lo mzi wokhuliso lwezityalo usekwe ekupheleni komnyaka ka 2020 ngeyona njongo iphakamileyo nekukuba sikwazi ukufumana imithi emvelo yayo ileli lizwe kwiindawo apho kugecwe imithi eyingozi kwimvelo yethu. Eneneni, lo mzi wokhuliso lwezityalo uzakwenza igalelo ekugcinweni kweziseko eziluncedo kwi zinto eziphilileyo neendawo eziphila kuzo, nekusebenza indima ebaluleke kakhulu ekuxhaseni ezolimo yaye se ibonakaliswe nje ngendlela engenazindleko ziphezulu kakhulu kwiimeko zokuqhelana nokutshintsha kwimo yezulu. AP