Posted on September, 25 1999
The distinctive feature of the Succulent Karoo is the presence of dwarf shrubs with succulent leaves of the some 1,700 succulent species in this biome, 700 are the dwarf form. These include the fascinating stone plants, which are among the tiniest perennials in the world. The Succulent Karoo also hosts some 630 species of geophytes (plants with bulbs or corms) such as lachenalias, moraeas, romuleas and the beautiful amarylids.
Namaqualand itself has some 3,000 plant species, of which approximately half occur naturally nowhere else on earth. This makes it at least four times richer than similar sized winter-rainfall, semi-desert areas elsewhere in the world.
Unfortunately, it is also home to 456 Red Data Book plant species that are threatened with extinction. The region's superb floral heritage has been subject to several centuries of abuse, particularly over-grazing by stock animals, exploitation of diamonds and copper, some clearing for agriculture, and the illegal collection of bulbs and succulents.
The Namaqua National Park had its origins in Flora '88, the second of a series of national exhibitions held to showcase South Africa's unparalleled botanical heritage. At that time, leading businessman Dr Anton Rupert was president of the Southern African Nature Foundation, which later became the South African branch of the international conservation organization WWF. Dr Rupert was impressed by the fantastic displays at Flora '88 and by the warnings of botanists and ecologists about the survival of many of the unique species. He used a family trust to acquire the 930 hectare Skilpad farm in the heart of Namaqualand and transform it into a wildflower reserve.
Skilpad, now part of WWF-SA, quickly became one of the region's most popular tourist destinations, but because of its limited size was less successful in its conservation aims. The dream was of a much bigger protected area containing representative samples of as many as possible of Namaqualand's geographic regions, each host to its unique plant communities.
Eleven years later, with funding from the Succulent Karoo Trust set up by Cape Town financier and philanthropist Leslie Hill, the dream has become a reality. After research initiated mainly by the Institute for Plant Conservation, some 45,698 hectares of land adjoining Skilpad was bought from the De Beers diamond mining conglomerate. With the South African national park authorities acquiring another 2,597 hectares, the first phase of the Namaqua Park was created.
For his remarkable contribution in Namaqualand, Leslie Hill was honoured by WWF as the first individual to be recognized as having made a "Gift to the Earth" under the Living Planet Campaign. Others honoured in this way by WWF have been governments or big corporations.
Some 20,000 hectares of the new National Park will be proclaimed this year, while the remaining 29,000 hectares will be phased in over the next two years. And conservationists and SA National Parks are not leaving it there: they are determined to acquire enough extra land to secure the entire "crest to coast" gradient that is such an important factor affecting plant and animal diversity.
Although the park encompasses virtually the entire catchment area of the Swartlintjies River, it is still missing the two "extremes" of the recommended gradient: the high-lying Kamiesberg mountains in the east, and the coastal strip to the west. It is hoped that these shortcomings will be eliminated in the near future.
In the meantime, the new National Park offers visitors a wonderful opportunity to experience some of this region's unique features and extraordinary biological treasure chest, described by the prominent South African botanist Richard Cowling as "Namaqualand's next sack of uncut diamonds".
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*John Yeld is an Environmental Reporter for the South African newspaper Cape Argus.