2011 WINTER NEWSLETTER  Rob Markhams Letter from the Langkloof. I started extension work with the Eden to Addo Corridor Initiative  in the  Langkloof  in January 2011. The Langkloof is a beautiful narrow, very long kloof or valley wedged between the Tsitsikamma Mountains in the south and the Kouga Mountains in the North with the magnificent Kouga River  running through it.  It is known for its apples. All  organic apples supplied to Woolworths come from the Langkloof. Honeybush tea, cyclopia sessiliflora, is gathered from the mountains. The fynbos is spectacular. Helen Pickering identified Disa spathulata subsp tripartita, Oupa met sy pyp, an endangered species on the 2009 Eden to Addo Great Corridor Hike,  Many of the farmers have beautiful swathes of fynbos on their land.   Eden to Addo’s  grand dream is to link three megareserves. In the Langkloof that means linking the Formosa  Nature Reserve (protecting the Tsitsikamma Mountains) in the south across the valley to the  Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve   in the north..  Before I came , a university Master’s student  had already  determined  the ‘least cost’ method of establishing natural corridors in the valley. The ‘least cost’ method looked at the biodiverse/ecological richness of sites as well as the willingness of landowners, and in theory the corridor is established where the value for these two factors is highest. The Department of  Environment’s National Strategy  is to expand protected areas. Currently 6.5% (7.9 million hectares) of South Africa’s land mass is formely protected. The 20 year target,  in line with the rest of the world, is 12%. To achieve this target an additional 2,2% of the land mass or 2.7 million hectares must be protected in the next 5 years  and a total adition of 8.8% or 10.8 milllion hectares in 20 years.  Conservation authorities are addressing this at the provincial level by means of biodiversity stewardship units so inviting private landowners to become the stewards or custodians of the wildlife heritage on their land. 80% of conservation worthy land is on private land. The work I do consists of sharing biodiversity stewardship and general wildlife extension information with local landowners. Any conservation agreements such as private nature reserve, or protected environment ultimately entered into with the landowner is based on the East Cape Parks Tourism Agency stewardship program. One of the first expressions heard after arriving in the Langkloof was that it was ‘the valley of fire and flood’. Fire, because of the propensity for fynbos to burn with big flames and great heat, and flood because of the Krom and Kouga rivers. Much of the Langkloof so far experienced is wild and beautiful country, with high rocky exposed mountains, some deep wooded valleys, and huge expanses of hills and valleys stretching into the oft-hazy distance with exceptional lighting effects, changing by the minute. I was given an office to work from in Joubertina. A local staff said “I don’t think that Oom should stay in Joubertina, because come each weekend everything closes at 1 pm on Saturday, ‘they’ roll up the tar and all goes quiet until Monday morning, when ‘they’ unroll the tar and open the shops once more.  It would be better for Oom to stay in Kareedouw as that town at least has a pub and a restaurant”. I actually took her advice. When you go to the pub in Kareedouw you are introduced to everyone, and you are then expected to give your reason for being in the town.Lovely stuff indeed, and very warm people, who really  care.  I initially met up with the local agricultural extension officer who in turn approached the two local farmers’ associations to get their assistance. This method has so far proved invaluable, as the chairpersons, from the beginning have both been supporters of the corridor initiative.  I must admit that I have been amazed at the positive response I have received. In the Langkloof so far, we have identified the potential to establish three wildlife corridors. Our initial expectations for this project have been quite conservative, in that what we really want in the early stages of the formation of a potential corridor is a champion or two putting up their hands, creating a series of stepping-stones.. The stepping-stones have the potential to grow into something more substantial over time, as others become interested and feel more comfortable. So far, I have met with approximately  90% of the landowners in the potential corridors, mostly on their properties.. The process is a slow one moving at the speed of the landowner, as it is he or she who  must make all the decisions.  It may be strange to state that the corridors we are trying to point out and establish are already present in the landscape. What we are doing is formalising them and attempting to get them written into title deeds, so that they have some sustainability. It is not just conservation that we engage with.. We  support ‘living landscapes’ within and around the corridors.       The important work the landowners do to ensure food security,  business enterprises, tourism and other interests are an itegral part of the corridor. We try to raise awareness of the area by running a hike and a bike adventure through the area once a year. We have created a “fyngoed” seal for products from the corridors. It is so important to understand that the landowners do not have to commit all of their land to conservation, but only those parts that are covered in fynbos in any event. Ideally the farming section is fenced rather than the entire property. Hopefully with time there will be a basket  of income streams benefiting the landowner as the payment for ecosystem services becomes a reality.  Eden to Addo is establishing a partnership with the Department of Management at Rhodes University to research the “ income basket” concept. My work often consists of making new visits to properties, reading signs on gates, like ‘trespasses will be shot or prosecuted....phone before proceeding!’ These sorts of signs have always been read in a serious vein by me. However, on a couple of occasions when later talking to the landowner, he quipped that the sign was not meant for me, but rather for someone looking for trouble! A little unerving, but ‘OK’ in the end. The work is rewarding and seems to be appreciated by people encountered along the way, which is always a good feeling. When you meet  strangers and they wish you luck because what you are doing is the right thing....it makes one feel good, and certainly has provided me with a huge boost for going forward.