To become a BWI MEMBER the following criteria apply:

1. Read and be familiar with the biodiversity guidelines in section 2 of the IPW guidelines for farms (see www.ipw.co.za), and implement them, where appropriate, to the best of the company’s ability.
    
2. Identify the location of the natural habitat on the property and supply a copy of an aerial photo map of the property clearly demarcating the location of the area to be conserved.
    
3. Commit to responsibly conserving the demarcated biodiversity area (including appropriate management) and not developing this specific area in the future.
    
4. Obtain an IPW certificate for the farm and cellar for the most recent harvest year by fulfilling all the IPW requirements, and supply the BWI office with a copy of the certificate.
    
5. Supply the BWI office with information that can be used as the property’s “biodiversity story” for marketing purposes. For example, this can include information such as:
    
   • When did you/the company start undertaking conservation actions on the property or start becoming interested in conservation? Who was the personality originally behind this interest?
   • What has been done on the property? i.e. what is the evidence of your conservation commitment?
   • What is unique about your property? (this can include natural diversity, cultural and historical features)
   • Do you have any figures of rands spent on conservation-related management activities, hectares cleared, number of trees planted etc?
   • What are your future plans for the farm and the conservation area?

Click here to download a copy of the MEMBER APPLICATION FORM (Afrikaans application on downloads page).

Return a signed copy of the application along with all the necessary accompanying information to the BWI office, for the application to be processed. A BWI extension officer or BWI-approved consultant must also do a site visit before finalizing membership (or champion) status.