<COMPANY NAME>
Integrated Risk Management System
/ Standard reference Clause: / Quality / Food Safety / OHS / ENV4.4.6
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT FLORA AND FAUNA PROCEDURE / Revision No: / 1
Rev Date: / 19 July 2013
Page: / Page 1 of 16
Approved By: / <Accountable Job Title> / Signature: / Responsibility
1.0br / OBJECTIVE
To ensure that all flora and fauna are managed through best practice by ensuring preservation of indigenous species and removing alien species with the goal to preserve the natural ecosystem thereby reducing the risk of adversely impacting the environment.
2.0 / METHOD
2.1 / PDCA Summary
2.2 / Applicable Standards
The handling of flora and fauna is managed as a minimum through the following applicable standards / legal requirements:
- ISO 14001:2004
- National Environmental Management Act No.107 of 1998 (NEMA)
- SANBI Biodiversity Series 6
- National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA)No. 10 of 2004
2.3 / Definitions
“alien/exotic species” means:
a)a species that is not an indigenous species; or
b)an indigenous spsciestranslocated or intended to be translocated to a placeoutside its naturd distribution range in nature, but not an indigenous speciesthat has extended its natural distribution range by natural means of migrationor dispersal without human intervention
“indigenous biological resourse” means:
(a) whem used in relation to bioprospecting, means any indigenous biological
resource as defined in section 80(2); or
(b) when used in relation to any other matter, means any resource consisting of-
(i) any living or dead animal, plant or other organism of an indigenous
(ii) any derivative of such animal, plant or other organism; or
(iii) any genetic material of such animal, plant or other organism
“indigenous species” means:
a species that occurs, or has historically occurred,“indigenous species” means a species that occurs, or has historically occurred,naturally in a free state in nature within the borders of the Republic, but excludesa species that has been introduced in the Republic as a result of human activity
2.4 / Legal Requirements
South Africa is ranked sixth out of the world's seventeen megadiverse countries with more than 20,000 different plants, or about 10% of all the known species of plants on Earth, making it particularly rich in plant biodiversity.
By means of a suitabily trained team (or subject matter expert), the various indigenous and alien/exotic vegetation may be identifiedas part of the Environmental Risk Assessment process, refer to the Environmental Risk Assessment Procedureand recorded on the Indigenous and Alien Flora Register.
The following are examples of indigenous flora:
Highveld, where the plant cover is dominated by different grasses, low shrubs, and acacia trees, mainly camel-thorn and whitethorn. Vegetation becomes even more sparse towards the northwest due to low rainfall. There are several species of water-storing succulents like aloes and euphorbias in the very hot and dry Namaqualand area. The grass and thorn savannah turns slowly into a bush savannah towards the north-east of the country, with denser growth. There are significant numbers of baobab trees in this area, near the northern end of Kruger National Park
The Fynbos Biome, which makes up the majority of the area and plant life in the Cape floristic region, one of the six floral kingdoms, is located in a small region of the Western Cape and contains more than 9,000 of those species, making it among the richest regions on earth in terms of floral biodiversity. The majority of the plants are evergreen hard-leaf plants with fine, needle-like leaves, such as the sclerophyllous plants. Another uniquely South African plant is the protea genus of flowering plants. There are around 130 different species of protea in South Africa.
The Protea, national flower of South Africa
Fynbos, a floral kingdom unique to South Africa, is found near Cape Town
Only 1% of South Africa is forest, almost exclusively in the humid coastal plain of KwaZulu-Natal, where there are also areas of Southern Africa mangroves in river mouths. There are even smaller reserves of forests that are out of the reach of fire, known as montane forests. The original temperate forest found by the first European settlers was exploited ruthlessly until only small patches remained. Currently, South African hardwood trees like Real Yellowwood(Podocarpuslatifolius), stinkwood(Ocoteabullata), and South African Black Ironwood(Olealaurifolia) are under government protection.
The following are examples of Exotic/Alien Flora:
Imported tree species are predominant, particularly the non-native eucalyptus and pine. South Africa has lost a large area of natural habitat in the last four decades, primarily due to overpopulation, sprawling development patterns and deforestation during the nineteenth century. South Africa is one of the worst affected countries in the world when it comes to invasion by alien species with many (e.g. Black Wattle, Port Jackson, Hakea, Lantana and Jacaranda) posing a significant threat to the native biodiversity and the already scarce water resources.
Refer to appendix 1 at the end of the procedure for additional information / Risk Control/ Subject Matter Expert
Risk Control/Subject Matter expert
Risk Control
2.5 / Flora
Fynbos, forest, Karoo, grassland, and savannah are the five major habitat types in South Africa. The country can also be divided into seven distinct categories of vegetation and related animal life namely; succulent Karoo, thicket, fynbos, forest, Nama Karoo, savanna, and grassland. 10% of the world’s flowering species are found in South Africa
Listed below is some of the infamous plant life found in South Africa:
- Fynbos (composed of Ericas, Proteas and grass-like Restios)
- Namaqualand is famous for its carpet of flowers especially daisies of different colours
- Knysna- Tsitsikamma forest with its tall stinkwoods, black ironwoods and yellowwoods
- Medicinal plants such as the Aloe ferox, a purgative, were discovered to be medicinally useful for the indigenous African people
The following categories of alien species are exempted from the provisions of section 65 of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004):
- Dead specimens of any alien species;
- Alien species that have been legally introduced into the Republic of South Africa prior to the commencement of the Alien and Invasive Species Regulations, 2013 and that are not listed as an invasive species in tens of section 70(1)(a) of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004), including species imported for agricultural purposes;
- Alien species that are also indigenous species and are regulated in terms of the Threatened and Protected Species Regulations, 2007, promulgated under the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004);
- Alien plant species that are also indigenous species;
- Alien species regulated in terms of the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act, 1983 (Act No. 43 of 1983), as weeds and invader plants.
2.6 / Fauna
South Africa is famous for the big five namely; the elephant, lion, rhino, leopard and buffalo. The bushveld serves as the habitat for all South African mammals.
Other animal species which are common to South Africa is;
200 different mammal species (this includes amongst others monkeys, baboons, aardvark, aardwolf etc.)
- Marine mammals and fish (this includes the black and white killer whales, the white shark etc.)
- Crocodiles and other reptiles( such as the puffadder, the green and black mamba and many more)
- 850 or so species of birdlife (which includes cuckoos, kingfishers, ostriches, eagles, vultures etc.)
The Blue Crane is the national bird of South Africa
By removing alien/exotic vegetation, this will naturally encourage the resident species back into their natural environment thereby re-establishing the ecosystem and balance between flora and fauna.
Refer to appendix 1 at the end of the procedure for additional information / Risk Control
2.7 / Training needs Identification
Training needs specific to indigenous and alien flora identification and irradicationare addressed through the Competence, Training and Awareness Procedure / Department Heads
3.0 / PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND REPORTING
- Number & nature of Internal/External Audit Findings
- Elimination and replacement of Alien Vegetation
4.0 SCHEDULE OF RECORDS
Ref# / Title / Input Responsibility / Retention Location / Retention Period / Authority for Disposal / Access Control *Management Review minutes / SHEQ Manager / Shared Drive / 3 years / SHEQ Manager / 5
Indigenous and Alien Flora Register / SHEQ Manager / Shared Drive / 3 years / SHEQ Manager / 5
*1 = site perimeter security; 2 = direct access control (card / finger reader); 3 = locked cabinet; 4 = fire proof safe; 5 = off site backup / archive
5.0 SUMMARY FLOW CHART
Risk Control / Department Head / Responsible PersonAppendix 1:
Information on South Africa’s Indigenous Flora
There are an estimated 22,000 different species of plants in South Africa. This makes up nearly 10% of all the plant species on earth. South Africa is the only country that can claim to have one of the world's six floral kingdoms completely within its borders. This is the Cape floral kingdom and it is marked by the fynbos family. About 8,000 of the species are concentrated in the small region of the Western Cape. It mainly consists of evergreen hard-leaf plants with fine, needle-like leaves.
Only one percent of the South African territory is covered with forests. This area is almost exclusively on the humid coastal plains of the Indian Ocean and on the adjacent cliffs. Grassland covers the largest area of the country. On the highveldthe plant cover is dominated by different grasses, low shrubs and acacia trees. In the dry western part of the country, succulents like aloes and euphorbias can be found. Baobab trees can be found in the northeastern section.
The large areas of semi-desert scrub and grassland in South Africa might suggest a certain poverty of flora. Aside from the fact that a tract of pristine grassland may hold up to 60 species of grasses, nothing could be further from the truth. There are in fact five major habitat types: fynbos, forest, Karoo, grassland and savannah; alternatively, one may divide the country into seven biomes: Nama Karoo, Succulent Karoo, Fynbos, Forest, Thicket, Savanna and Grassland. Or 70 "veld types". There are other ways of classifying the various areas and botanic groups. Whichever is used, some 10% of the world's flowering species are found in South Africa and it is the only country in the world that has within its borders an entire plant kingdom, the Cape Floristic Kingdom - 8 600 species, 68% of them endemic. The Cape Peninsula alone has more species of flora than the whole of Great Britain.
This south-western area of the country is the home of the fynbos, which is composed of ericas (heathers), proteas and the grass-like restios. The proteas are the most spectacular in flower, the family including such species as the king protea (the national flower) and others of broadly similar shape, the pincushion leucospermum types and spiky leucadendrons. The colour range is vast. The ericas, the largest genus of flowering plants in South Africa, are more delicate, repaying close examination of their almost infinite variety of colour and form. One or other of these species will be found in bloom at almost any time of the year.
These share their Cape home with such beauties as the red disa orchid (one of 550 wild orchids in the country) which grows in the mountains, numerous irises, pelargoniums and much more. The pelargoniums in particular have contributed much to gardens all over the world, as have the arum lilies - the classic white species is from this area, the yellow and pink from elsewhere in the country. The world's gardens also have South Africa to thank for the agapanthus, gladiolus, Barberton daisy and Gardenia thunbergia, to name but a few.
The Cape in the spring is a breathtaking sight, but even more astonishing is Namaqualand. Dry, rocky and desert-like for the rest of the year, it yields its floral wealth for a short few weeks in the spring in dazzling sheets of colour. The golden yellow and orange Namaqualand daisies are predominant, but in between them are a wide variety of flowers including the iridescent succulent mesembryanthemums. Colours here are particularly intense, although there is much fascination in less colourful species such as the quiver tree (the San, or Bushmen, used to make quivers from its fibrous stem) and the bizarre-looking tall succulent known as the "halfmens" (half human). And anyone especially interested in the abilities of plants to adapt to harsh circumstances in a myriad different ways (not all are succulents) need not wait for spring to visit the area.
Although South Africa has more than a thousand indigenous trees, large species are relatively scarce in many parts of the country. But they are very much at home in some areas such as the Knysna/Tsitsikamma forest with its tall stinkwoods, black ironwoods and yellowwoods; and the northeastern region in Mpumalanga and Northern Province, home to the ancient cycads and Lowveld species such as the fever tree (so called because of its association with malaria areas). It is also in the north that one finds the famous thick-stemmed baobab, about which legend has it that it was accidentally planted upside down, which accounts for the odd shape of its branches. Then there are the forests of KwaZulu-Natal, which are also where the beautiful shade-loving orange Cliviaminiata, a now much-cultivated member of the amaryllis family, is found.
The Eastern Cape is where another popular orange (and purple) garden flower, now the emblem of the US city of Los Angeles, originates: the Strelitziaregina. In much the same colour range the winters here are marked by the flowering of some of the country's 140 species of aloes. (The Eastern Cape's Greater Addo National Park, which will stretch 200km from the coast to the Karoo, will include samples of six of the seven South African biomes mentioned above, lacking only the Succulent Karoo.)
There is virtually no area of the country without its particular floral treasure or species of other kinds of beauty or interest, such as succulents that look almost exactly like stones (lithops), mangroves, tree ferns, traditional food plants and those that would kill you if you took a bite, and - surely one of the most promising fields of study in South Africa - a very large number of plants of medicinal value. Some of these, such as the Aloe ferox, a purgative, were discovered to be medicinally useful by the early European colonists; many more have long been known and used by the indigenous African people.
Yet for all the more spectacular plants to be found, perhaps the landscape that most eloquently conjures up the spirit of South African flora is the typical savannah with its (often dry) grasses and more-or-less thickly scattered shrubs and thorn trees. Lingering images may vary widely from fynbos field to subtropical forest, but for many South Africans the thorn tree is the nesting place of their hearts
According to computer generated climate modelling produced by the South African National Biodiversity Instituteparts of southern Africa will see an increase in temperature by about one degree Celsius along the coast to more than four degrees Celsius in the already hot hinterland such as the Northern Cape in late spring and summertime by 2050.
Drought, increased intensity and frequency of fire and climbing temperatures are expected to push many of these rare species towards extinction.
Publication of National List of Invasive Species
Published under Government Notice R507 in Government Gazette 36683 dated 19 July 2013. Commencement date: 19 July 2013.