Protecting a poisoned Eden

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GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - As Ruigtevlei resident Dr Andrew Yates sat on his veranda having his morning coffee, he spotted a helicopter spraying some or other chemical on the property adjacent to his. Andrew and his wife Karin, who kept beehives on the property, immediately phoned neighbouring landowner PG Bison to find out what was going on but were told that the people who could answer their questions were unavailable and so they began phoning around the area's farming circles.

This led to the start of many a conflict in the battle against the use of glyphosate in the Garden Route, with several small disputes won and lost by a community trying to save what is left of the indigenous flora.

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PG Bison's involvement
Unfortunately for Andrew and Karin they soon discovered that it was in fact wood-product manufacturing magnate PG Bison who was spraying PG Bison properties with glyphosate, and the couple quickly evacuated all of the bees from their own property, in an attempt to ensure the safety of these little pollinators. Little did they realise how much things were going to change in the months to come.

PG Bison has formed a key part of the Garden Route's economy for many years, as the company has consistently provided income to locals, but unfortunately – like many other companies and individuals – the company was struck with disaster in the 2017 Knysna Fires, losing thousands of hectares of its plantations to the fires. As was the case with the majority of burned areas, fynbos was not the only thing to sprout up after the fires as alien invasive species began to thrive and choke the indigenous plant life.

Problems caused by the fires
This posed a problem for PG Bison, not because they needed indigenous plant life, but rather because they needed to replant a certain number of pine trees before 2021 if they were to yield a positive financial outcome in the years to come. This meant the company had to take drastic measures and begin the use of herbicides to kill off the alien invasive plants.

One of these herbicides was Kilo Max, a product whose primary ingredient is the highly controversial glyphosate, a chemical which has consistently come under fire from organisations and researchers around the world.

The use of the herbicide also came as a shock to another Ruigtevlei resident, John Davison, who found out about the planned spraying via a post on Facebook.

A community fights back
This led Davison to begin the Eden Environmental Protection Forum (EEPF), which quickly gained a large following among the residents in the area, and soon Davison was elected chairman with Yates – whose morning-coffee surprise came shortly after Davison's Facebook find – elected as vice-chairman.

One of the biggest outcries from the community has been that PG Bison failed to notify residents of the planned spraying prior to the commencement of the operation, a requirement if one is to make use of Kilo Max due to the drift caused under certain weather conditions.

Another big issue was that PG Bison made use of helicopters to carry out the spraying, flying 4 to 5m above the target areas when Kilo Max may only be sprayed from a height of 2m above the target areas.

Constructive public meetings
Not long after the EEPF was formed, it began raising these issues and representing the community as well as the environment at large at a series of meetings with PG Bison, Knysna Municipality, SA National Parks, and a few other organisations who have a vested interest in the protection of the Garden Route's indigenous plant life and ecosystems.

Thus far, the meetings have been conducted in a positive manner according to PG Bison spokesperson Pieter Bruwer, a statement which was backed up by Davison, who said PG Bison has been "very cooperative" and open to outside input. PG Bison has also stopped the aerial spraying of Kilo Max for now – while talks are being held, and while studies and investigations are conducted into possible alternatives to glyphosate-based herbicides.

Davison and the EEPF have already and are planning to continue suggesting alternatives to planting alien forest species, such as hemp which has a much shorter turnaround time and also takes up a fraction of the water.

A rough guideline of the areas where PG Bison's helicopter had sprayed, in orange, in and around the Ruigetvlei area. The shaded areas are where it was planned but not executed. Photo courtesy of Google Earth Pro