Umgavusa Protected Environment
The Heart of Community-Based Conservation
Cherise Acker, the EWT’s Threatened Amphibian Programme
Umgavusa Protected Environment lies in the area surrounding the small town of Gingindlovu. Although small, Gingindlovu has a rich cultural heritage attributed to the Battle of Ndonkakusuka, in which King Cetshwayo won the struggle over his brother Mbulazi for the Zulu throne in 1856. Gingindlovu, meaning “The place of he who swallowed the elephantâ€, was named by King Cetshwayo in honour of his victory. In 1879, King Cetshwayo faced another battle against the British troops. This time, however, King Cetshwayo’s army did not claim victory and was defeated by the British, after which Ginginglovu was placed under colonial rule.
Today, the now peaceful community of Gingindlovu farms extensively in the area where generations of farming families have forged a close-knit community with a passionate appreciation for their community and environment, knowingly safeguarding future generations. One local farmer, Ian Johnson, tracked the EWT’s Cherise Acker-Cooper to a parking lot in Nyoni, where she was working with local teams clearing invasive alien plants. Ian’s curiosity to identify a ‘Mystery Frog’ he had recently photographed in a reedbed on his farm spurred his eager pursuit. From a picture on Ian’s phone, the ‘Mystery Frog’ was confirmed to be the Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog, known to occur exclusively along a narrow band along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline. Ian’s excitement of knowing that his farm was home to this KZN endemic frog led him to report the record to the local Environmental Committee. Subsequently, the chair of this committee, Mr Ashton Musgrave, invited Cherise to present at their November 2019 committee meeting so they could learn not only of Pickersgill’s Reed Frog but the importance of amphibians and their conservation.
It was during this presentation and the resulting acknowledgement of the plight for amphibian conservation in South Africa that four local farmers (Mr Ashton Musgrave, Mr Jonathan Saville, Mr Bret Arde and Mr Jonu Louw) banded together and asked Cherise to visit their farms to determine if the Pickersgill’s Reed Frog was present on their farms. Song meters were rotated among the farms, followed by careful listening to hours of recordings until the Pickersgill’s Reed Frog’s quiet but distinctive call was confirmed by the EWT’s Threatened Amphibian Programme Manager, Dr Jeanne Tarrant.
Confirming their presence was enough for these enthusiastic farmers, who were keen to ‘do the right thing’ and protect them to ensure their continued presence. In this spirit, the farmers keenly agreed to pursue formally declaring the habitat of the Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog as a Protected Environment through the Biodiversity Stewardship Process in 2020. However, the journey of declaration, led by Cherise, was not an easy route. Despite the numerous bends along the way, including COVID-19, the social unrest in July 2021, and the April 2022 floods, KZN MEC formally declared the Umgavusa Protected Environment from the Department of Economic Development Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Honorable Mr Siboniso Armstrong Duma, on 25 May 2023. It is the first protected area we have declared to conserve the Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog and its habitat, but it won’t be the last!
The infectious drive for amphibian conservation by these local frog conservation pioneers has awakened a love for frogs and frogging within the community, who have flocked to the Umgavusa Protected Environment to catch a glimpse of the diminutive Endangered Pickersgill’s Reed Frog.
It is not just frogs that these farmers are enthusiastic about. They work tirelessly to rehabilitate wetlands, clear and maintain watercourses from invasive alien plants, and support student research on the abundant wildlife that inhabits the area. These initiatives are driven by their innate love for their environment, and it is through this that the heart of community-based conservation offers enormous opportunities towards securing the biodiversity and cultural heritage of South Africa for all.
Mr Ashton Musgrave and his son enjoying their piece of the Umgavusa Protected Environment.
Thank you to our partners, Conservation Outcomes and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, and to Rainforest Trust and Synchronicity Earth for supporting the project.
Sungazer Custodians
Bradley Gibbons, African Crane Conservation Programme, bradleyg@ewt.org.za
Sungazer lizards Smaug giganteus are more commonly known as Ouvolk in South Africa’s Free State province, the only place on earth where these Vulnerable charismatic lizards can be found in the wild together with a very small population located in the south of Mpumalanga.
Since 2015, the EWT has awarded Sungazer custodian boards to exactly 30 farmers, five of which were awarded during 2021.
Sungazer custodians are farmers who go the extra mile for Sungazers and assist the EWT to conserve these reptiles on their farms and act as champions for Sungazer conservation in their area. It is never difficult to select a Sungazer custodian, because they show an extra passion for Sungazers on their properties. They ensure that their farms are safe for Sungazers, by conserving the habitat used by Sungazers and minimising disturbance to them. Another example of going the extra mile is to ensure that areas where Sungazers occur are avoided and farmers won’t drive too close to their colonies. It is important to note that Sungazers are found in colonies in natural grasslands which differs from typical lizards found in rocky areas.  The EWT recognises these landowners’ conservation actions through the Sungazer Custodianship Programme.
The custodian agrees to sign a short agreement to cement their commitment to protect the Sungazers for the five-year custodianship period (with the option to renew). Through this they commit to report any useful or relevant information to the EWT, such as new areas where Sungazers are found on the farm (and in some cases to send photos of baby Sungazers) and report potential or current threats to prevent further harm to Sungazers as much as possible in their respective region. We hope that other farmers from the areas will notice the board when they visit a custodian and then follow the example of the custodian. One of the five custodians in 2021 is a couple from Koppies in the Free State, Dawie and Natasha Smalberger, who have not only reported their Sungazer sightings regularly but even put up their own camera trap to keep a watchful eye on the Sungazers on their farm! There is no doubt that they deserve to be awarded a custodian board for this type of involvement, and the EWT appreciates their efforts to conserve Sungazers.
As part of conservation efforts on privately-owned farms, the EWT would like encourage farmers to further protect their farms using another form of a conservation agreement known as the ‘Biodiversity Stewardship’ approach. Not every farm can be declared a nature reserve if a landowner would like these reptiles to be protected. Therefore, conservation on privately-owned land is made possible with the use of this strategy. An example of an agreement like this is a protected environment where livestock farming and even crop farming can operate as it currently is. However, intact vegetation such as grasslands will remain intact from not further extending any cultivated fields. These farmers will in most cases also adhere to a management plan that has been compiled to further improve the habitat on the farm.
LATEST STORIES
A POWERFUL PARTNERSHIP LEADING THE WAY FOR CONSERVATION IN GAUTENG
Emily Taylor, Project Coordinator, EWT’s People in Conservation Programme, emilyt@ewt.org.za
“Stewardship†is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stewardship
What makes nature so enchanting and why it has us all hooked is that there is always more to learn, discover and benefit from it – we can never know enough! The range of benefits that nature provides to us is not a new discovery. A disconnect between people and the natural chains of production has been created through the rapid growth of cities and infrastructure providing electricity and running water, and the instant availability of food and other necessities. Many people are under the illusion that we do not need nature to provide anything for us in urban areas.
The growth and development of our cities, and the impacts they are having on human and environmental health, have collectively revealed the critical services that green spaces and wildlife provide for humans, even in these transformed landscapes. The towns and cities that we construct, and the preparation of land for agricultural purposes, transform natural landscapes. However, cities and agricultural activities also depend on the ecosystem services provided by natural landscapes to function effectively. It is increasingly clear that natural or semi-natural areas in and around urbanised landscapes need to be conserved, just as we need to conserve the vast and more untransformed rural landscapes.
Located in the Grassland Biome, Gauteng is the smallest and most prosperous province in South Africa with the highest population density, socio-economic pressures, and competition for land use. The rapid transformation of the province’s Critically Endangered natural grasslands is jeopardising the ecosystem services that they provide.
Grasslands are not often associated with a wealth of wildlife, but they are indeed second only to Fynbos in species richness and play an essential role in the mitigation of climate change through their capacity for carbon sequestration (carbon capture and the long-term storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide). Therefore, they help reduce the effects of climate change.
The wetlands, drainage features, and the groundwater stores associated with grasslands also provide critical services, including water provision, maintaining water quality, and regulating floods. The conservation of Gauteng’s grasslands and these related services is identified as a high priority in the national and provincial Protected Area Expansion Strategies (NPAES and GPAES).
Unfortunately, the multiple and urgent competing land and resource uses have resulted in limited available options for securing protected area targets. Furthermore, the majority of the land is fragmented into small portions and privately owned. Efforts to conserve threatened grassland areas need to involve private and communal landowners and communities, and the support of provincial conservation officers. In response to this need, the Gauteng Biodiversity Stewardship Programme (GBSP) was established in 2015 as a partnership between an environmental NGO, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD), funded by the WWF Nedbank Green Trust.The success of this conservation Programme can perhaps be measured by what GDARD’s protect partners and project evaluators say. “It is clear in evaluating the Gauteng Biodiversity Stewardship Programme that biodiversity stewardship has been enthusiastically embraced within GDARD,†said a 2019 GSBP assessment. “The levels of support provided by the GDARD Scientific Services and Legal Services and the apparent value that they have seen in the programme are testament to how it has become entrenched within the organisation.â€
External programme evaluation report from Conservation Matters (NGO)
Biodiversity stewardship (BDS) is a landscape approach to conservation that preserves habitats, the wildlife that occupies them, the ecosystem services that they provide, and the livelihoods derived from them by local communities. The approach is truly collaborative. It involves the establishment of positive, proactive partnerships between conservation authorities, municipalities, NGOs, other government entities, and private and communal landowners. These partnerships are forged to support and encourage these landowners as they take on the responsibility of managing and protecting the natural assets that are in their care.] 
The EWT works with partners on several BDS projects around the country, determined to preserve and expand areas of conservation priority. BDS projects are intended to increase connectivity between natural spaces to facilitate increased migration of wildlife, and in turn, genetic diversity within populations, and reduce the burden on overpopulated habitats. The GBSP partnership aimed to build on the EWT’s BDS experience, and that of other partners, to develop the capacity within the GDARD to implement the BDS process in the province in the future and to publish the intent to declare of at least 5,000 hectares of high priority conservation land, as a working case study. On 2 October 2019, after four years of hard work and perseverance, the declaration notices for the Klipkraal Protected Area (KPA), the Devon Protected Environment (DPE), and the Crocodile River Reserve (CRR) were published in the government gazette (no. 302, Notice no. 967 of 2019). This gazette legally declared these sites as protected areas under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 57 of 2003 (NEM: PAA), adding 13,256 hectares to South Africa’s conservation estate. The KPA, situated in the Midvaal Local Municipality, includes 2,656 ha owned by two landowners. Species of conservation concern present on the site include amongst others, Secretarybirds, Caracal, and Khadia beswickii, a plant species classified as vulnerable. The site also features cultural heritage features dating back from the Early to Middle Stone Age, tools from the Late Stone Age, and Late Iron Age ruins. The site offers self-catering accommodation, hiking trails and a wedding venue, and has featured in many outdoor magazines. Please see www.klipskuur.co.za for more information. The Devon Protected Environment (DPE) is situated in the Lesedi Local Municipality and comprises 7,979 ha, owned by seven landowners. This area is ecologically important for its natural grasslands and wetlands and is registered as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area by BirdLife South Africa. More than 17 bird species of conservation concern occur in the broader area, including the Secretarybird, Blue Crane, Greater Flamingo, Black Harrier and Wattled Crane. The declaration of the DPE also affords legal protection to a portion of one of South Africa’s 22 identified Strategic Water Source Areas (SWA), as the DPE is situated near to the Upper Vaal Catchment. The properties within the DPE also contain structures of cultural and heritage value such as gravesites dating back to 1919, and old buildings dating back to the 1930s ]
The Crocodile River Reserve (CRR) contains 2,620 ha of beautiful grassland habitat situated in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, in the buffer zone of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and the Magaliesberg Biosphere Reserve. In addition to providing legal protection to many species of conservation concern, it also preserves threatened ecosystems, vegetation types and the Jukskei, Hennops, and Crocodile rivers. The CRR is also rich in cultural heritage features. These include the stone-walled settlement sites from the Late Iron Age (500–150 years ago) and post-colonial historical sites, including the location in which gold was first discovered in 1853. The CRR conducts regular public information days on topics such as stargazing, geology, and grassland ecology to raise awareness on the conservation value of the area, and local schools are invited to visit the reserve. Don’t worry if you have not visited Gauteng’s conservation ‘islands’ because we can now give you a quick online tour of these beautiful lands. Visit the CRR social media for exciting sightings and information about the wildlife occurring on the border of one of the most urbanised areas in Africa. www.crocodileriverreserve.co.za Not only has the GBSP succeeded in its objectives and expanded Gauteng’s protected area network by over 13,000 hectares, but the Programme has also had further benefits for both landowners and communities, for the government stakeholders involved, and for environmental organisations operating in the landscape. One of the most valuable outcomes of the GBSP has been the increased collaboration between units within the GDARD, particularly between the BDS unit and the Scientific Services officials on the ground. These officials have been essential to the work of the GBSP in the site selection, assessment, and management planning phases. They have, in turn, benefited by increased access to privately owned sites that were previously inaccessible, and therefore excluded, from provincial biodiversity assessments. This access has improved the accuracy of ecological assessments, and in turn conservation planning tools, for the Gauteng Province.
The GDARD Biodiversity Stewardship Unit will continue to build on the tremendous work achieved by the GBSP, supporting the declared sites and engaging landowners of additional priority sites. To maintain the momentum of the GBSP, the GDARD and the EWT are extending our strategic partnership and establishing a Gauteng Biodiversity Stewardship Working Group to continue to support each other, private and communal landowners, and other stakeholders involved in conservation-related activities in Gauteng. It is to this strong partnership and open, consistent, and transparent engagement between the GBSP team and landowners that we attribute the GBSP’s success Trust, collaboration, and consistency are fundamental to the success of biodiversity stewardship. The GBSP team would like to thank the landowners of the KPA, DPE, and CRR for trusting the team and the process. We thank them also, for their unwavering determination to legally protect the unique biodiversity of the province, for future generations to enjoy. These landowners are true ambassadors for biodiversity stewardship, and champions of conservation. To our partners and the greater BDS community of practice, particularly members of the National Biodiversity Stewardship Technical Working Group, we are sincerely grateful for the support, knowledge sharing, and many capacity-building opportunities provided. “We were impressed with the commitment, enthusiasm and professionalism of the staff involved with the process – this is what brought us on board,â€
GBSP Protected Area landowner
The GDARD and the EWT are very grateful to the WWF Nedbank Green Trust for supporting the establishment of the GBSP and catalyse the implementation of biodiversity stewardship in the province, including the facilitating the conservation of irreplaceable natural areas in Gauteng, despite the extreme economic pressures for the rapid development of natural open spaces.
In loving memory of Maurice Leonard and Mercia Komen, two of the first private landowners to trust in the GBSP and champion Biodiversity stewardship in Gauteng. They left a legacy of life that will be preserved into perpetuity. May they rest in peace.
