Don’t miss this celebration of Robberg Coastal Corridor
IN his definitive book The Diversity of Life, Pulitzer Prize-winner and eminent Harvard University scientist Professor Edward O Wilson identifies certain hot spots on the planet which houses species found nowhere else and which are in the greatest danger of extinction from human activity.
The Cape Floristic Province on the southernmost tip of Africa is such a hot spot and houses one of the world’s most unusual and diverse floras, known colloquially as fynbos. In this minute region some 9,000 plant species have been identified of which 70% exist nowhere else in the world.
However, over one-third of the fynbos has been lost to development, agriculture, and the invasion of alien plant species. What remains is being rapidly fragmented and degraded; already 30 species are known to be extinct, and some 1,700 are threatened (a total exceeding the entire flora of the British Isles).
Within this diminishing floristic province lies the ecologically sensitive and threatened Robberg Coastal Corridor (RCC) – an 18 km stretch of beautiful pristine coastal land that links Robberg Nature Reserve in the east to Garden Route National Park in the west, rich in fynbos of numerous varieties.
By connecting the two adjoining protected areas consolidation of the corridor, once achieved, would extend its length to over 30km from the tip of Robberg Peninsula to Noetzie. This is more than sufficient to sustain a hiking trail along a coastline equally as spectacular as the famous Otter Trail on the Tsitsikamma coast.
This crucial and achievable ecological challenge mobilised a group of concerned proprietors to constitute the Robberg Coastal Corridor Land-owners Association (RCCLA) in October 2010.
To this end the RCCLA – in a ground-breaking initiative and with the support of the Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative, Garden Route Initiative, SAN- Parks, CapeNature, WWF and the two municipalities hosting the extended Corridor – made application to the Western Cape minister of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, to declare its member properties a Protected
Environment in terms of the national Environmental Management Protected Area Act.
The minister, Anton Bredell, signed the declaration in August 2015. And to celebrate progress to date of this pioneering initiative, world-renowned paleoanthropologist Dr Curtis Marean will give a lecture at Cairnbrogie Barn, courtesy of RCCLA chair Andrew Hill, on Saturday evening February 4.
RCCLA founder member Chris von Christier son will introduce Dr Marean, and the legendary Dr Robbie Robinson will open proceedings with an introductory message on the importance of the RCC and establishment of the Erica Coastal Hiking Trail.
Former CEO of SAN Parks and first chairman of the Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative, Dr Robinson spearheaded the’ development of hiking trails in SA, most notably the world-famous Otter Trail. He has been intricately involved in plotting the proposed Erica Trail.
Says organiser Annabelle Conyngham: “We are incredibly fortunate to host a lecture on our doorstep, given by one of the world’s preeminent scientists. Entitled ‘Survivors on the Edge of Land and Sea – Developing the Southern Cape Coast Paleoscope of Early Modern Humans’, the lecture will place specific emphasis on our coastline.”
Tickets at R300pp will include entry in the draw of a bronze conceptual sculpture by Noel Ashton modelled on the Mapungubwe rhino, in response to the brutal killing of Southern African rhinos.
Titled ‘Mapungubwe Revisited’ the sculpture (worth R 15,000, 30cm long x 14cm-high) is sold at high-profile events in partnership with WWF SA to raise funds for the protection of the species. Von Christierson has generously donated edition No 25/100 to further the protection of the RCC and development of the Erica Trail.
Contact Lady Conyngham at aconyngham@tel komsa.net or on 044 533 5178 for tickets, or visit Barnie Barnard at The Market Square info kiosk.
Banking details: FNB Plettenberg Bay (branch code 210514), account no 6265 844 4759, reference: your name/RCC.
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