Former ranger addresses Marloth on veld management
This past Saturday Mr Ralf Kalwa, an ecologist and former game ranger at the Kruger National Park (KNP), addressed the Marloth community on veld rehabilitation and preservation.
MARLOTHPARK – This past Saturday Mr Ralf Kalwa, an ecologist and former game ranger at the Kruger National Park (KNP), addressed the Marloth community on veld rehabilitation and preservation.
His presentation was excellent, drawing comparisons to the much larger neighbour, the KNP, emphasising on how much more sensitive this closed reserve was to even the smallest changes.
According to him the Ben Orban Report would still form the basis for the management of the micro-ecosystem over the next five to 20 years, which would require an active and adaptive veld-management system.
The Marloth Park Forum, consisting of honorary rangers, Marloth Conservancy and the Marloth Park Property Owners Association, would put together an easy-to-follow plan for all property owners with regard to fixing the veld and its carrying capacity.
“The subsequent reports will guide the forum on how to achieve autonomy, once they have established what type of nature reserve or wildlife estate the majority of the bodies want. How successful this will be, is down to the stakeholders. Does supplementary feeding hold value or not? Do we have multiple water points or just a few main ones? Each of these decisions will have a major bearing on the eventual outcome. Many factors need to be taken into account, not least the fast-growing human footprint,” said Kalwa.
