Nov. 9, 2007—Mining is one of the biggest threats for the long term sustainability of the unique and sensitive Namaqualand ecosystem. Namaqualand falls within the Succulent Karoo, one of only two semi-arid ecosystems to be included in the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots - areas highlighted for conservation action because of the richness of their biodiversity, its uniqueness and the level of threat that it faces.

The Namaqualand Restoration Initiative (NRI) was founded by Dr Peter Carrick (programme director & ecologist), of the Plant Conservation Unit of the University of Cape Town in 2005, with the aim of restoring areas damaged by mining. Previously, ad hoc restoration activities of mined-out areas have been ongoing by different mine operators and farmers across Namaqualand, but a co-ordinated, scientifically-based approach was lacking. The NRI emphasizes engagement with mine operators, capturing the expertise of restoration practitioners and use of scientifically based field experiments to develop novel restoration methods.

"We realized we don’t have to re-invent the wheel, many mine operators and farmers have been doing restoration for some time, and we could learn from them,” says Susan Botha (project liaison & ecologist), one of the NRI team members who interviewed farmers, mine operators, agricultural scientists and restoration business owners throughout the region. The NRI team, and in particular Raldo Krüger (field researcher & ecologist), further undertook several field experiments over the last three years to decipher the ecological requirements for the establishment of a diversity of perennial species on mined areas.

With start-up capital provided by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and De Beers, the NRI has founded a new restoration business, NM Restoration, which is fully owned and run by three Namaqualanders - Neil MacDonald, Corneels Links and Dudley Wessels. The NRI team, recently held an intensive five day restoration training course in Namaqualand, which was attended by 47 candidates selected from 150 applicants. The trainees learned the techniques for successful restoration, including proper handling of topsoil, identification of local plant species to be used in restoration, methods of selecting, harvesting and storing viable seed, as well as methods of planting the seeds so as to achieve the greatest success, which includes protecting them from the wind of Namaqualand, and ameliorating the soil altered by the mining process.

"What inspired me the most was that the trainees were so interested in learning more about the plants and ecology of Namaqualand. Many thanked us for opening a whole new world to them. The high level passion and engagement amongst the trainees made teaching the course a very rewarding experience,” says Kruger.

Forty trainees successfully completed the course, 15 of whom have already been employed by the newly established restoration business operating in its pilot year. More jobs will become available when NM Restoration expands its operations in the near future. “It’s been my dream to empower local people from Namaqualand, by providing opportunities to become owners of fully functional businesses that provide much needed services, and generate their livelihoods from the incredible biodiversity of Namaqualand’s unique ecosystems,” says Carrick.

While the mining industry has provided many jobs for the people of Namaqualand in the past, these operations are slowly grinding to a halt. The joint opportunity to create employment and restore the environment has been seized by the economic and environmental role that NM Restoration will fulfill. It is envisaged that the business will restore more than a 150 hectares annually, replacing mine dumps with the diversity of plants that was there before. “We at the NRI would like to congratulate the new business owners and all of the participants for making this venture a success. Another seed has successfully been sown towards the restoration and economic upliftment of the unique Namaqualand region,” says Carrick.