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The leaves and young shoots of the rooibos bush (Aspalathus linearis) have been used by indigenous peoples of the Western Cape since pre-history to produce a health giving beverage known as rooibos tea. It was only in the early 1900s that the species began to be cultivated on a commercial basis. This put wild rooibos populations at risk since it grows (or used to grow) in the areas now ploughed up and cultivated. Mono-crop cultivation has also destroyed the endemic plant communities within which the wild rooibos grows.
South Africa's apartheid policies forced many people off the most productive land and into marginal mountainous areas where wide-spread cultivation was not possible, and were wild populations to the tea species still flourish. Two communities of small-scale rooibos farmers, currently organised as the Heiveld Co-operative and the Wupperthal Tea Association, have been harvesting wild and cultivated rooibos, and have become the de facto guardians of what remains of the wild rooibos genetic stock. The importance of managing and protecting this wild genetic stock cannot be overstated, particularly as climate change may put new pressures on the cultivated variety and threaten the viability of the industry.
Some work has been done by EMG and associates to map and record locations of wild rooibos, and to help farmers gain a better understanding of the ecology of the species. Given that small-scale farmers harvest wild tea for their own use and sell it onto the international market at premium prices, it is imperative that they take the lead in the good and sustainable management of the species, and that conditions exist to provide them with the incentives to do so.
Tea from the The Heiveld and Wupperthal Co-operatives is exported as certified organic and fair trade, and can seel their product at premium proces. However there are no standards for wild harvested tea. Organic certification does not necessarily translate into sustainable arvesting and high prices may in fact act as a n incentive for over-harvesting.
EMG is engaged in a project, supported by the Critical Ecosystems Parthnership Fund and Conservation International which brings together farmers and harvesters from the Heiveld and Wupperthal communities to share experiences and develop strategies for sustainable harvesting and marketing of their wild rooibos. The aim is to develop a common approach to regulation and certification of wild harvest of rooibos that promotes and ensures that this resource is only harvested on a sustainable basis. While rooibos tea has been cultivated for almost a century, very little is known about the ecology of the plant in the wild. Initial research by the harvesters has identified 5 distinct varieties or sub-species (samples have been sent for DNA analysis) all occupying different ecological niches. The plant's adaptation strategies to fire and drough appear evident. The findings are available from EMG in the publication "Die volhoubare oes van rooibos-veldtee", as yet only available in Afrikaans.
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In addition to the two co-operatives, EMG will be partnered by Indigo Development & Change and Flower Valley Conservation Trust. Other stakeholder to be drawn in to the project include the Northern Cape Department of Tourism, Environment and Conservation; Cape Nature; the Botanical Society (BotSoc) Stewardship Programme; the Sustainable Rooibos Initiative (SRI) |
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