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| Area Conserved: |
| 75 ha |
| Wine District: |
| Stellenbosch |
| Owner / Contact Person: |
| Thom van Merwe (MD) |
| Phone: |
| (021) 858 1292 |
| Website: |
| www.waterkloofwines.co.za |
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Biodiversity highlights: Area conserved – 75ha.
Predominantly Boland Granite Fynbos, an endangered vegetation type, members of the Schapenberg-Sir Lowry’s Pass Conservancy. Excellent example of a new vineyard development where habitat conservation was taken into account from the outset during the farm planning stage. |
Our Philosophy At WATERKLOOF we view our conservation efforts as being an integral part of applying the concept of “sustainable farming”, a concept that lies at the heart of our farming philosophy. The concept of sustainable agriculture grew out of the early organic movement, and it defines an approach that over the long term will enhance environmental quality and the resource base on which agriculture depends. It is said to enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole. In the case of WATERKLOOF, it is certainly true that we feel good about the route we are following and it gives us great enjoyment to view and experience the return of a healthy ecosystem, while managing to balance this approach with the demands of our commercial farming operations. For us, sustainable farming is therefore a combination of activities that can be carried out over a long period of time with minimal impact on the surrounding society and environment. It is a continuous process, and we are learning as we go along. Our general approach is to use non-interventionist practices where practical, but as a minimum standard to practice the concept of “sustainable agriculture” throughout the farming unit. This allows us to use more mainstream methods, but in a holistic context. It defines a way of life and provides the foundation to long term success by both allowing us to produce an intrinsically better product, but also enhancing our quality of life. It is not a perfect system, but we do believe it to be the most viable long term approach. Biodiversity We understand Biodiversity to be the sum of all living things on earth, from genes to entire ecosystems. In order for us to conserve biodiversity, we therefore need to look after all its components. These include functioning natural habitats, the species that occur in these habitats, and the ecological interactions between species and their environments. It has been our approach to consult &,,,,,, work with specialists in all these fields, as we soon realized that we did not have the in-house technical knowledge required. . WATERKLOOF is situated on the Schaapenberg, overlooking False Bay. It is within the Cape Floral Region, one of the world’s foremost biodiversity hotspots because of its exceptional natural diversity on the one hand, and dangerously high levels of habitat destruction on the other. We are committed to the preservation of our unique heritage, having set aside almost 50% of our farm for conservation purposes. As the conservation of this unique natural environment depends entirely on the co-operation between conservation bodies and landowners, we joined the Wine &,,,,,, Biodiversity Initiative at its inception (www.bwi.co.za). At WATERKLOOF we measure the benefits associated with sustainable farming as - “Avoided costs”, such as energy and water savings.
- Strong agricultural outputs also contribute to offset the costs associated with conservation, such as “healthy soils”, good water infiltration, enhanced productivity and a larger degree of self-sustained pest control. It has been our experience that the application of biodynamic farming practices in the vineyards complement our conservation approach outside the vineyards, both leading to a healthier eco system that is starting to approach a healthy balance.
- We believe that we can make intrinsically better wine this way
- The enhancement of the quality of life for all that works on the farm.
Measures we introduced to complement the concept of Sustainable Farming include, - Installing drip irrigation as a more efficient system to conserve water
- Introducing Biological Control of pests as an alternative to chemical spraying
- Introducing a formal Nature Conservation plan
- Clearing approximately 45 ha of our land from alien invader species
- Introducing several preventive erosion control measures
- Re-establishing natural vegetation in previously disturbed areas (next to roads, between vineyards etc.
- Landscaping only with natural vegetation
- Providing migration corridors for species between isolated areas of natural vegetation.
- Introducing biodynamic farming principles for certain selected vineyards
- Mulching of winter cover crops to create a healthy environment for the natural predators of vine pests.
- Installing perches for birds of prey in order to use natural rodent control measures
- Cellar water treatment plant will be a Bioreactor type design that will facilitate the most environment friendly treatment of water. It will be solar &,,,,,, wind powered.
“As a company, we have a genuine love for the special piece of land that we are privileged to own and we will therefore invest enough of our resources in conservation management. The onus is on us, and no-one else, too ensure that our natural resources, including biodiversity, are conserved on our farm. We accept this responsibility”. - Jean du Toit, April 2004 Contact
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