The ABI Alien Clearing Project partners – including landowners and alien clearing contractors – celebrated the end of the second year of the project on Wednesday 19 March. Through the project, around 30,000 hectares have been cleared on the Agulhas Plain in year two, and around 250 jobs have been created.
The third year of the project now kicks off on 1 April 2015. It will again see ABI, coordinated by Flower Valley Conservation Trust, working with approximately 100 landowners, through nine land user groups on the Plain. The project was developed, and is being rolled out by the ABI Alien Clearing Implementation Committee, consisting of representatives from the land user groups, Flower Valley Conservation Trust, SANParks, Overstrand Municipality and CapeNature.
While funding for wages of the clearing teams are covered by the Department of Environmental Affairs through their Land User Incentive Scheme, landowners, NGOs and other partners all provide co-funding support to the project.
The ABI Alien Clearing Project is a three-year project. However, it’s hoped that gains made during the project will be capitalised on, by securing further support over the next 20 years.