 |
||
|
26/07/2007 03:39 PM - (SA) Wedderwill now also a conservation 'champion' 27-07-2007
Joining Vergelegen in the list of five champion members of the BWI is Wedderwill wine estate, situated on the southern slopes of the Schapenberg. It received Championship status at an awards evening held in Tulbagh in June. The event was attended by experts in conservation including Botanical Society chairman, Dr Bruce McKenzie, and newly appointed BWI president, Duimpie Bayly. According to the BWI website, the BWI is a partnership between the South African wine industry and the conservation sector to minimise the further loss of threatened natural habitat, and to contribute to sustainable wine production, through the adoption of biodiversity guidelines by the South African wine industry. Wine estates and farms apply to become members of the BWI and are required to satisfy certain conservation-related conditions. To become a BWI Champion, more stringent requirements apply, including that the property must have an ecologically viable portion of natural vegetation still intact, but which is not less than 10% in area of the total farm size; a minimum score of 85% must be obtained on the biodiversity self assessment form, verified by the BWI extension officer/consultant; the farm and cellar must be externally audited by the independent auditors; a Conservation Management Plan must have been developed; and, the champion applicant should have started implementing key scheduled activities from the plan. Champions must be able to show tangible results of their commitment to biodiversity conservation and provide a summary of actions implemented as well as have a minimum two-year track record of good conservation practice. "At Wedderwill Wine Estate we are constantly striving to get the natural habitat back to it's original state. The influence of man in the past has resulted in the wrong vegetation been planted. Trees such as Eucalyptus, Black Wattle,Pine Trees and Rooipikkie are not from the area and use huge water resources. Adhering to the guidelines laid down by the BWI and working together with our neighbouring estates we can also eliminate the use of pesticides as every disease has an natural enemy in the original habitat," says estate general manager Wolfgang von Loeper South Africa is the world's eighth largest producer of wine, contributing 3% of the world's total wine production. About 90% of this production occurs within the Cape Floral Kingdom (CFK), the smallest yet richest plant kingdom on earth. Internationally recognised as a global biodiversity hotspot, the most important areas of the CFK have been listed as South Africa's newest World Heritage Site. As one of the richest yet most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on earth, conservation of the Cape Floral Kingdom is critical. The Biodiversity & Wine Initiative (BWI) presents a great opportunity to both the wine and conservation sectors and was initiated when there was a boom in wine exports during the last decade. This created concern within the conservation sector that some of the region's most threatened natural habitat (renosterveld & lowland fynbos) might be targeted for vineyard expansion. Following an initial study by the Botanical Society of South Africa and Conservation International, the South African wine industry and the conservation sector have embarked on a pioneering initiative to incorporate biodiversity best practices into the SA wine industry. In its conservation efforts, Wedderwill wine estate has re-established wildlife and indigenous botanical rehabilitation in designated areas totalling 237ha - 68% of the total farm. Some 42ha of the farm are under vine production and 11ha for olives. Furthermore, it uses strict cover crop management to achieve permanent cover crop in some cultivars to attain biodiversity and microbiological rehabilitation and activity in the soil; soil moisture measuring and analysing; manufactures its own liquid compost that in future will reduce costs on fungicides and together with humic Acids we will be able to rehabilitate soil structure and microbiology; waste is separated and most of it is disposed of through recyclers. As of this month, the BWI has 87 members, including five champions, collectively conserving 50,638ha. According to the BWI website, this is equivalent to 50% of the vineyard footprint, achieved in three years since the initiative began.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
