Area Conserved: 1135 ha Wine District: Agter-Paarl Owner / Contact Person: Callie Coetzee Phone: (021) 869 8244 Website: www.perdeberg.co.za

The Perdeberg Winery, nestled at the foot of the magnificent Paardeberg mountain in the warm heart of the Boland was established in 1941, and named after the scores of Cape Mountain Zebra that once roamed this beautiful mountainside. The winery has 40 farms covering a total area of 16500 ha of which 3100 ha is planted to vines. The natural veld among the members totals 1135 ha, which is 6.9% of the total surface area belonging to the winery. This means that Perdeberg has 1 ha of conservation land for every 3 ha of vineyard!

Perdeberg Winery, has members whose farms have many remaining areas of valuable natural vegetation. The remnant patches of vegetation on the private farmland around Perdeberg are extremely important because these lowland areas have historically been largely transformed by agricultural activities. Therefore what is left is normally a critically endangered form of lowland vegetation such as renosterveld **or** sand fynbos.

Conservation has long been a priority amongst members of the Perdeberg Winery and conservation awareness continues to increase. Evidence is the establishment of the Jan Briers-Louw Reserve on a Perdeberg Winery member’s farm that was proclaimed the first tortoise reserve in Africa on the farm Eensaamheid in 1972. The area was proclaimed a Provincial Nature Reserve when a population of Geometric tortoises was found after the initial perception that this species was extinct **or** nearly so. The Geometric Tortoise is South Africa’s most threatened tortoises that are endemic to the southwestern part of the Western Cape.

Several farmers have made great efforts to conserve their remaining natural areas and clear alien infestations. Mike Orpen of the farm Blijdschap, for example, has already felled 2300 blue gum trees since the beginning of March 2005. Blijdschap also has a 40 ha site that contains a rich composition of bulbous species associated with the granite rocks at the site. The site was an old orchard that is currently being rehabilitated by Mike who is devoted to conserving his land.

The farm Hoogstede, also part of Perdeberg Winery and situated on the western side of Paarl Mountain, contains 110 ha of unspoilt natural vegetation representing a mixture of Boland Granite Fynbos and Swartland Renosterveld types where numerous Red Data List (RDL) species have been recorded. The owners/trustees of Hoogstede recently committed themselves to never develop the natural area on the property. A worthy commitment indeed! The farm De Kopje includes about 700 ha of Boland Granite Fynbos on the Perdeberg mountain itself, and has been the subject of a detailed botanical survey where a number of RDL species were also identified on this valuable piece of land.
An area that stands out as having exceptionally high conservation value is the farm Vlakfontein. Four distinct sites, with rich species compositions, are located on the farm, totaling about 202 ha of endangered **or** critically endangered vegetation. One of these is a fantastic 115 ha patch of undisturbed Atlantis Sand Fynbos, which is an excellent representation of what the landscape would have been like before being given over to agriculture. This patch was botanically assessed in 1998 and 14 Red Data List species were recorded. The species composition at this site was also reported to be of significant interest. The major part of the site is dominated by the endangered sandveld pincushion, Leucospermum parile. A fairly large population of the RDL species, Serruria incrassata was found at the site.

There is an 18 ha remnant patch of natural vegetation on the border between the farms Papkuilsfontein and Moerasfontein near Malmesbury containing critically endangered Swartland Granite Renosterveld. The site follows a ridge formed by a series of granite rock outcrops. The vegetation contains many interesting succulent species associated with the granite rocks.
With such significant conservation highlights, Perdeberg Winery is setting a great example for co-operative cellars and private farms of what can be done to conserve the rich biodiversity of the Cape Floral Kingdom.