ZZ2 is managed as a living, open system and aims to create value for all its stakeholders. Nowhere is this more evident than in this farming enterprise’s attitude towards nature management. ZZ2 is currently involved in several nature management programmes, combining both plant and wildlife mangement in areas spanning 20 000 ha.
By engaging the community living in the Mooketsi area and surrounds, ZZ2 is in the process of solving bush densification on some of its land in the Limpopo province. Farming methods employed many years ago resulted in over-grazing of the land, preventing veldt fires occurring and, combined with the withdrawal of large herbivores, this has led to extreme bush densification.
The densification creates several problems: Firstly, the areas that can be inhabited by grazers are reduced because the bush stifles grassland and, secondly, the movement of remaining wildlife and visibility for tourists are reduced to almost zero. Water absorption of the soil is minimised, leading to soil deterioration and erosion.
A lot of research has been done into bush densification, but according to Riaan Drotsky, head of nature mangement at ZZ2, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to this problem.
ZZ2 approached this particular challenge by first conducting a small feasibility study where people from the community were brought in to the nature conservation areas to cut down the bush (consisting mainly of sicklebush, Dichrostachys nutans and certain Combretum and Acacia species). This resulted in increased visibility and wildlife carrying capacity, but the effect did not make alasting difference.
It was then decided to involve the community on a large scale. Members of communities living adjacent to ZZ2’s land are now offered the opportunity to cut wood from designated areas, bar certain protected species and any tree with a circumference larger than that of a 2 litre cold drink bottle. This measurement is used because it makes it easier for the people doing the cutting to visualise the size of the bush that can be cut and to know which trees to leave.
The bush eradication project has offered the community an opportunity to come in and cut down the bush for their own gain - be it to sell the wood or to use it themselves for heating and cooking. Community members use their own equipment and transport and are also responsible to apply for permits from the Limpopo Department of Nature Conservation to transport wood.
The clearing of the bush takes places systematically in blocks and these are completely cleared before new blocks of land are opened up for cutting.
This project has resulted in a win-win situation for all parties involved – benefiting both ZZ2 in its quest to manage bush densification, as well as the community who gain financially from cutting the wood. Riaan says that the project has had an unbelievably positive effect on the densification, as well as on the socio-economic circumstances of the surrounding communities. On any given day there are in excess of 700 people cutting wood in a specific block – an amazing sight to behold. Previously unemployed people now have the opportunity to earn money, while assisting ZZ2 in its quest to rehabilitate nature.
Wood is a scare resource in the community and this project has seen a great entrepreneurial spirit developing amongst community members. In some case an individual will employ up to 30 or 40 people (mostly women) to cut the bush, paying them and then selling the wood. It is also interesting to note that the policing of the sites – checking to see that only permissible species of the right size are cut – has mainly been taken out of the hands of ZZ2, as the community has become totally self-regulating. Community members have appointed their own gate guards to check loads leaving the areas and if people are caught not complying they are barred by the community to enter the site again. The financial attractiveness of the opportunity outweighs the risk for all in cheating.
ZZ2’s nature management teams follow up by treating the stumps to prevent re-growth. The long term aim is to re-establish the original grassland in the areas and to bring the appropriate wildlife back to where they roamed freely many years ago.
How does nature management relate to ZZ2’s core business – that of farming tomatoes, onions, avo’s and more? Riaan says that managing nature effectively impacts on adjoining farmland. For example, well managed natural areas lead to increased birdlife and insect life that benefit adjacent farm land. This is in line with ZZ2’s value system of working with nature, instead of against it and forms part of its Natuurboerdery principles. Riaan adds that if an area is managed ecologically you always have a reference to see what it looked like in its natural state before farming took over. This facilitates nature management in all its facets. Riaan is adamant that every piece of land in South Africa needs to be optimally productive– be it for farming or nature conservation. Letting land deteriorate away from its potential is unsupportable.
By optimally managing all the scarce resources of water, soil and biodiversity, ZZ2 creates a biosphere where natural areas, the community and farming activities are all managed ecologically and in harmony with each other.