2008 Annual Report
New Business in Namaqualand Restoring Mined Areas
In a region of South Africa known as much for its daisies as for its diamonds, a small business is an important part of a local conservation group’s big plans to revitalize the environment.
NM Restoration is the brainchild of the Namaqualand Restoration Initiative (NRI), a CEPF- and DeBeers-funded project in the heavily mined Namaqualand region of the Succulent Karoo Hotspot. The business brings together advanced mine restoration techniques—developed during three years of scientifi c research led by NRI—with an NRI plan to replace dwindling local mining jobs with restoration opportunities.
“NM Restoration is a unique initiative that empowers local, previously disadvantaged Namaqualanders to run a business while taking advantage of ecologically based
methodologies that have been shown to effectively restore the plant community to a near-natural state,” NRI Field Ecologist Researcher Raldo Krüger said.
NRI selected three Namaqualanders to lead the company. Qualifi cations, said Krüger, were business skills and a passion for the environment. After choosing the leadership team, NRI invited 47 community members to a fi ve-day restoration training course. NM Restoration then hired 15 of the participants.
The task ahead is staggering. Over the past 100 years, more than 20,000 hectares in Namaqualand, known for its rich array of endemic species and its spring explosion of
colorful wildfl owers, have been stripped for diamonds. Legislation passed in 1992 required mining companies to rehabilitate old mines, but enforcement has been spotty.
However, international pressure on mining companies is changing attitudes toward restoration, making NRI optimistic about the business growth of NM Restoration. Future
plans are to scale up, hire intermediate level management and bring on additional workers.
In addition, NM Restoration is only part of the NRI approach. Project leaders are teaching their methodology to restoration teams across Namaqualand with the aim of developing a restoration and biodiversity-based economy in the region.