Bio-diversity

T ehlanyane Community Conservation Forum (TCCF) is the organization dealing with community based natural resources management. It is the community representation in the management of T ehlanyane National Park (TNP), in north-eastern Leribe, Lesotho. TCCF was formed after the establishment of TNP, in order to ensure that community views are incorporated in co-management of TNP. The involvement of communities in management of the Park let to setting aside a piece of land inside the Park that is reserved for community development projects including conservation of plant species after realizing the unprecedented loss of indigenous plants in the area of T ehlanyane. The TCCF has established a nursery of medicinal and ornamental plants with the aim of conserving and generating income for members to improve their livelihoods through selling of propagated plants and also through ecotourism due to the tourism opportunity that the area is enjoying due to the Park and the Lodge that is within T ehlanyane area. More interest was on pelargonium sidoides due to its anti-bacterial properties and other medicinal uses. There is ever increasing demand for Pelargonium sidoides (indigenous in Lesotho, and endemic to Lesotho some Provinces of South Africa) both locally and internationally where it is processed. This has led to illegal, indiscriminate and unsustainable harvesting of this species in the wild, far exceeding its regeneration capacity in T ehlanyane and the surrounding area. That is despite its legal protection under Legal Notice of 2004 and Environment Act of 2008. Harvesting of this species so far benefits few individual, sometimes even from outside areas where it naturally grows. After the TNP set aside a land for the community projects about 40m x 70m (2800m2) was set aside for nursery and 5ha for botanical garden establishments with the aim of propagating the pelargonium and other endangered species in the area in order to conserve them by reintroducing them where they are depleted and sell others in order to alleviate poverty and for improvement of the members livelihoods. The project will promote full participation of local communities in management of their resources for equity sharing of benefits and integrated community development strategies. Since they will be involved from the beginning of the project, in conservation, propagation and sale of Pelargonium sidoides, local members of the community will be trained in these three areas to strengthen their capacity; environmental education will be conducted in surrounding communities to protect Pelargonium sidoides; the species will be propagated and planted in designated area in TNP to foster its conservation and proliferation; it will be harvested legally and in a sustainable manner that allows for its regeneration by leaving part of the root for regeneration. It is envisaged that this will change people s attitude towards these resources. The proposed intervention will be an alternative source of the resources, also at affordable prices, to people who harvest them in the wilderness and sell them. Currently the TCCF has a nursery in TNP (2800m2) in which they have planted some medicinal plants seedlings through assistance from Katse Botanical Garden (KBG) but at a very small scale hence the need to increase production scale and the capacity of TCCF members to propagate and manage the nursery and the botanical garden.

Lesotho