NACSSA Aardvark Award Gold 2011

This initiative has an important impact as an incentive to the provincial civil society groups facilitating and leveraging land owner investment into biodiversity conservation.  Each and every province has done outstanding work to promote community conservation in South Africa, leading to more focus on biodiversity.

John Wesson Chairman of NACSSA handed the awards to the winning provinces at the NACSSA AGM held in Magaliesberg November 2011

                           "Together we can make a difference" 

South African National Parks Kudu Awards 2008

The Kudu Awards is an annual event that launched in June 2005, and is one of the highlights of the social calendar in conservation circles.

The Kudu Awards is an initiative that aims to reward stakeholders for their contributions and efforts in making South African National Parks the custodian of choice for protected areas.

A select number of persons and organisations who have made significant contributions to conservation will receive a Kudu Award in the form of a bronze sculpture of a Kudu head. The award is a thing of pride, just as the Kudu itself is often feted for having a proud and majestic bearing.

Gauteng Conservancy Association Receives the Kudu Award in the Category

CONTRIBUTION TO CONSERVATION AWARD – GROUP

The winners of the category of community contribution by a group, has, in the last 5 years provided communities in Gauteng with knowledge and support required to protect and restore their respective environments.

The Gauteng Conservancy Association represents 60 community-driven conservancies of varying sizes. These conservancies encompass rural and urban areas, informal settlements, industrial areas and schools and hospitals too. The GCA provides support in the form of information required for an educated approach to conservation, practical involvement in projects like plant rescue, and interaction with community members from school children to traditional healers and even the South African Police.

Their most notable projects are the Bullfrog Pan Conservancy – their smallest, which is established in an urban area and seeks to conserve the rapidly declining Highveld Bullfrog population, a plant rescue-initiative which sees members remove indigenous plants from areas where they are at risk and replant them in the veld where they will fourish, and they have been speaking with local traditional healers about the danger of over-harvesting muthi plants without replanting and have been encouraging them to start their own muthi gardens.

This kind of initiative on the part of the organisation contributes tremendously to the general awareness and action in conservation of our natural heritage – even in urbanareas.

Gauteng Conservancy Association Receives a Merit award in the Category

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION/CAPACITY BUILDING AWARD - GROUP

In their contribution to the education and capacity building of the conservancies and areas they represent, the Gauteng Conservancy Association conducts programmes and activities with schools and members of communities in informal settlements in Gauteng.

Their approach ranges from practical workshops and activities to compiling posters and booklets focussed on educating people about environmental and conservation issues.

This merit award is presented to the Gauteng Conservancy Association in recognition of their effort and successes.

                                  Photos of the awards evening

Greening the Future Awards 2008

Gauteng Conservancy Association Receives a Merit award in the Category

Environmental best practice in not-for-profit organisations

The Gauteng Conservancy Association received a Merit Award at the M&G dinner on 5-Jun-2008 (World Environment day).  

The GCA entered the Mail & Guardian "Greening the Future" awards, in the category "Environmental best Practice in not-for-profit organisation".  A lot of the material prepared for the Wits University "Yebo Gogga / Yebo Amablomo" show was used, together with some of the GCA booklets, the judges commented favourably about the presentation.

Merit award -- Environmental best practice in not-for-profit organisations: Gauteng Conservancy Association

The Gauteng Conservancy Association's community-based approach has spread into nearly 30 conservancies in the province, including sensitive areas such as wetlands and grasslands, and it has committee members in almost 50 conservation developments.

"Our work is successful because of ordinary people who own land in sensitive areas, protecting their land and protecting their environment," said Bob Dehning.

Members aim to preserve Gauteng's environmental and agricultural resources through a variety of interventions. These range from clearing alien vegetation to controlled burning in grasslands and protecting endangered species.

Other tasks undertaken by the association include battling with municipalities over dumping of toxic waste in landfill sites and getting schools and other community bodies involved in environmental action.

The organisation considers education and awareness in communities integral to the success of its initiatives, said Dehning. "We are providing a service to local communities which often don't have the knowledge to protect the environment."

It relies on locals to take the initiative to protect their own land. "The association simply provides the tools, motivation and education."

One of the problems identified was the rapid disappearance of the endangered Highveld bullfrog. The association conducted a census and moved the frogs to safe breeding grounds to save the species.

Another initiative involved working with the South African Police Service to stop illegal trading in endangered muti plants. "Though poaching will still crop up from time to time, we feel people are aware now that it's being monitored. We've managed to save 500 years' worth of growth by returning confiscated plants to their natural habitat," said Dehning.

Members of the association regularly engage farmers and farm workers, helping them to develop skills for contour ploughing and fencing, flower and snake identification and the use of eco-friendly herbicides and dips for their animals.

Dehning said plans for the future included expanding the establishment of protected areas in Gauteng.

The Greening the Future judges were impressed by the outreach and accessibility of the association and its various projects. "It gets better every year and it operates on a number of different levels," the judges said.

They praised a booklet published by the association called Guidelines for Conservancy Management Planning, saying it was a useful and well thought out tool for the advancement of environmental best practice. Its price made it accessible to all.

                                  Photos of the Awards Evening

back to top of page ...