Rich Johannesburg residents a threat to rare cycads. (14 October, 1998) 

Wealthy Gauteng gardeners are perpetuating the illegal trade in endangered cycads and need to be taught that it is irresponsible and ecologically criminal to buy the plants without a permit, said Mpumalanga’s environmental affairs MEC, Fish Mahlalela recently.

He was speaking at the launch of a community-based nursery project near Komatipoort that is aimed at saving the province’s rare Lebomboensis cycad. "Until something drastic is done to stem the market demand for such plants, the illegal trade in Mpumalanga’s rare cycads will no doubt continue unabated," he warned. The aim of the Mananga Cycad Project, which is a joint venture between the Mpumalanga Parks Board, the Mlambo tribe and Braaks Environmental Products, is for community members to propagate thousands of new cycads in a newly-built nursery and sell them at commercial nurseries throughout the country.

MEC Mahlalela said it was important for the Mlambo tribe to also become the guardians of existing cycads, some of which are hundreds of years old. The community harvests the seeds for new cycads from rapidly disappearing cycad populations along the edges of the Lebombo mountain range in south-east Mpumalanga. Spokesperson for the Mpumalanga Parks Board, Gary Sutter, said that once the seedlings had been planted in tin cans and miniature clay pots produced by a local potter, they were distributed, marketed and sold as a novelty product under the "Spirit of Africa" label.

Jeremy Christensen, managing director of Braaks Environmental Products that is responsible for marketing the product, said the public had responded well to the "baby" cycad concept. He said once the Mananga project was fully established, the propagation of other species of cycad would also be considered for local as well as international marketing. Meanwhile, the Parks Board’s regional nursery manager, Gerhard Strydom said a percentage of the germinated seedlings will be planted in designated sites to serve as cycad orchards for further harvesting.

MEC Mahlalela said the partnership between the public and private sectors, as well as the Mpumalanga Parks Board was encouraging. "Mutually beneficial development projects such as this are important in that they ultimately promote co-operation, a sense of ownership and civic pride within our communities," he said.

Note: This article was originally published on the WildNet Africa website and is reprinted here with permission.

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