On Friday 17th February Guy Preston of Working for Water received the 2005 Audi Terra Nova Award for Environmentally Sustainable Community Upliftment; and I (Nora) received the 2005 Audi Terra Nova Award for Conservation and Preservation of the Environment. This award really belongs to everyone who has put so much work into The Bateleurs - all our pilots, and our Committee.  I share this award with you all, for it is you who have made it possible.  I am extremely proud that we have been honoured in this manner and to have been enabled to share the platform with Guy and with all the previous winners, such as Sue Hart, Sheila Siddle, Credo Mutwa, Ulf Doerner, Paul Dutton, Danie van der Walt and - there are actually too many to name. The Audi Terra Nova Award has grown in stature and if you are interested to know more, please go to their web site www.audi.co.za.   

You will see from this newsletter that for the first time since our inception we have committed ourselves to undertake long-term on-going monitoring missions. We will be flying the Wild Coast for and with the Department of Economic Affairs, Environment & Tourism (DEAET), in the Eastern Cape,  once a month this year, and nine of our pilots who know the area well have volunteered to make up this roster. Similarly, three of our pilots from Gauteng will fly over the granite mining areas near Brits, keeping a photographic record of the exact GPS points each time. The pictures we already have of these mines, sent to us by pilots Abrie Kruger (who flew the area between Brits and Rustenburg) and Thys Basson (who flew the area between Brits and Pretoria), are absolutely shocking!! I urge you to go to our picture gallery to look at the few we have put there. Just look at the destruction and debris in the wake of this granite mining - those beautiful koppies plundered and smashed! How do you excuse the human race for this disgrace? I am told there is only 2% of those natural outcrops left - and now another three new mines starting up ...

Irish philosopher Edmund Burke (living in the 1700's) wrote: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Amongst The Bateleurs we have so many good people doing great flying to help the men and women who work in and protect our environment - and Andrie Loubser who heads the Bankeveld Bewaarings Forum is no less wonderful. He is fighting a valiant battle to ensure that the remaining two percent of those beautiful granite koppies are saved and that the hideous mess left behind by the mines - not all the mines, but certainly most of them - is rehabilitated as best as possible. Bateleur pilot Craig McKenzie flew the 50/50 team to Brits, and David Levy - also a Bateleur microlight pilot - flew with him, in order to meet with Andrie, Abrie and Thys at the Brits airfield where they all peered at maps and strategised around future missions ... Illegal Granite Miners - we'll be watching you!

We are also doing on-going monitoring for the Cape Leopard Trust, with our Leopard Monitoring Group of Bateleur pilots (Giel de Kock, Jock Kannemeyer, and Johan Ferreira).

Read more from Quinton Martins, below. 

Our new 'home' is going to be at the Johannesburg Zoo. Having proper offices has become a priority for our growth and although we have been allocated a patch of earth, we now need to do some serious fund raising so that we can design and build our offices in the very near future. We would be happy for any suggestions in this regard, including maybe contacts for assistance "in kind".

Our final mission for last year, flown on 17th December 2005, was requested by the Brits Bankeveld Conservation Forum and comprised another aerial survey of the now devastated granite koppies in the Brits area.  Following this mission we received a detailed report from Andrie Loubser -:

"Since 2001 The Bateleurs have enabled us (the Brits Bankeveld Conservation Forum) to take aerial photographs of the granite mines which have been extending operations into the area north west of the town of Brits, since 1998.  These aerial surveys have allowed us to monitor the utter devastation of a unique and pristine eco system, which is being destroyed in a deliberate but avoidable manner.

Granite is mined in huge blocks for export to European countries, where the blocks are sawn, hewn and dressed, and used for the cladding of multi-storey buildings.  In the process of mining the stone or rock is pried from or exploded out of the ground, but only 8 to 12% of the granite thus acquired is considered acceptable for export purposes. The remaining rocks are regarded as rubble and discarded.  On the Brits granite koppies these rocks are thrown down the hillsides onto pristine vegetation and abandoned there.

The Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) is the lead agent, responsible by law, for ensuring that optimal mining is taking place.   However, our monitoring and investigation missions indicate that the DME has allowed granite mining in areas where this is simply not viable.  Also, these mining activities have been executed in a haphazard and uneconomical fashion, resulting in vast surface areas of these unique koppies being completely destroyed.

In June 2004, an aerial survey of the proliferating granite mines was conducted and, thanks to The Bateleurs, a television crew from 50/50 accompanied us.  The subsequent programme aired by 50/50 elicited a response from the DME.  Mr Jocinta Rocha, who was then the Acting Deputy Director General, gave a clear public statement that the granite mining fraternity would be brought to heel.

It all sounded very promising.  The DME began to exert (gentle) pressure on the mines to rehabilitate the destruction they had caused, and it contracted the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to develop "Best Practice Guidelines for Mining and Rehabilitation for Granite Mines in Brits Rustenburg Areas of South Africa". 

On 17th December 2005, The Bateleurs again assisted us to do aerial monitoring and to take photographs, focussing on the promised rehabilitation or lack thereof; the new mining operations;  the extension of existing mining operations; and improper vesting of industries on mining areas.  Bateleur pilots Craig McKenzie, Abrie Kruger, David Levy and Thys Basson gave their time and the use of their aircraft to fly us over the devastated areas, and we were again accompanied by a crew from 50/50. 

We could see that efforts had been made by a few of the mines to clean up their act, but some mines had merely coloured the broken rock on the dumps and hillsides. No rubble had been removed from the formerly pristine areas, and none of the old quarries had been backfilled.  We also noted new mines on the scene - previously there was no knowledge of these at all. 

The scenes of devastation were such that David Levy exclaimed:  "It looks just like a gold rush!"  Abrie Kruger in his microlight had trouble keeping his rig on the flight path and taking photos at the same time, and Thys Basson was so alarmed at the archeological devastation that he took a multitude of photographs which clearly depict the environmental degradation. 

We had invited Ms Melissa Fourie, Director of Enforcement within the Department of Environment & Tourism (DEAT) to accompany us on this latest mission, so that she could obtain first-hand knowledge of the destruction, but unfortunately she declined our invitation.

So much had been promised by the DME in the original 50/50 programme, but so little has been done by the authorities to bring the granite mining fraternity to heel.  Our photographs speak for themselves.

50/50 will visit us in the week of 28 February 2006, when final arrangements will be made for its follow-up programme.  We thank The Bateleurs in advance for their assistance with the next of these monitoring missions, to update our data.

It is wonderful when a plan comes together and thank you again to all The Bateleurs supporters who have made these missions possible.

The American Indians have a saying that each one of us has two wolves inside us - a good wolf and an evil wolf.  The wolf that prospers and grows is the one that is fed, and The Bateleurs are feeding the good wolf."

"It suits the Department of Minerals and Energy and the miners to pretend that the granite mines will eventually be rehabilitated, but the picture from the air suggests that it will cost more than whatever taxes and rehabilitation trust funds the mines could generate.  It is obvious that the huge amounts of debris generated by looking for solid granite in the fractured koppies, now being spread over the pristine landscape, will never be returned to cover the diggings.  If the Department disagrees, let it organise a tour of rehabilitated granite mines, if it can find any.  The Department's own geologists will point out that much more, and better quality, solid granite is to be found away from the koppies, although at a slightly higher initial cost.  But this does not appeal to the rapers and the scrapers."

... of utter devastation.

... showing the lack of rehabilitation by the mines. 

Early in January 2006 we received a flight request from Rob Stegmann of the East London Coast Nature Reserves (ELCNR), asking for help with a third aerial survey of illegal developments within the coastal conservation area of the Wild Coast.  This photograph shows the team who conducted the survey:  (from left) Rob Stegmann (ELCNR), Brigette Maingard (photographer), Paul Dutton (Bateleur pilot), and Alexander Mbayo (Assistant to Rob). 

Following this mission, we asked DEAET if they would like The Bateleurs to perform regular monitoring missions over this area in 2006.  Our approach elicited the following response from Div de Villiers of DEAET in the Eastern Cape -:

"Thank-you for the telephone call this morning and the great news that The Bateleurs will assist with a monthly flight along the Wild Coast for the duration of 2006. I received some footage from Paul Dutton following last week's flight and I expect more from Rob Stegmann before the end of the week.

The illegal development that is taking place is frightening and one only appreciates the magnitude thereof when one sees it from the air. It takes our ground staff ages to get to these illegal activities and quite often we only stumble across the illegalities by chance
because the areas along the Wild Coast are so inaccessible.

The flights will also enable us to establish where other environmental crime is occurring. The indigenous forests along the coast are being cleared for roads, crops, muthi and dagga. Poaching is also rife. The flights will help enormously to locate where such activities are occurring. Our ground staff can then take action.

Rob Stegmann has been assigned the task of aerial surveillance and will be the official who will accompany the pilots on most of the flights. If we need assistance with other environmental operations we will motivate them separately.

On behalf of all the Environmental Officers who are working the Wild Coast I would like to extend our gratitude to you and to The Bateleurs for the assistance that you have given us thus far and for the generous offer of assistance with other environmental work that requires aerial surveillance too.

We look forward to more joint operations in 2006."

This photo shows some serious unknown type of development taking place above the Mzamba River within the restricted one kilometre No Development Zone, near the Wild Coast Casino.

This view of the Wild Coast shows an illegal road leading to a collection of illegal cottages.  Follow-up action will be taken by Div De Villiers of DEAET in the Eastern Cape. 

Click here to see the article on this topic written by Tony Carnie in The Mercury.

In January we received a mission request from Didi Skinner of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), specifically its Working for Water initiative.  DWAF needed to assess the extent of the invasion of the alien Pom Pom weed, an unwelcome import from somewhere in South America, apparently.  After the mission Col. Bill de Pinho submitted the following report, together with some very impressive pics -:

"The flight took place from Grand Central with Bateleur Pilot Tony Kent in his C182 (ZS-JBW), Bateleur Director Col. Bill de Pinho, Charl Steenkamp from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) and Danie Krynauw from Tswane College (working on research for DWAF).  Didi Skinner was with us briefly for planning before our flight, but she "chickened out" of the flight itself.

The flight took place on one of the clearest days in Johannesburg that I have seen in ages (even with the low scattered cumulus cloud around).  The mission entailed flying along pre-determined routes, mainly along National or Main roads.  Starting from Grand Central (FAGC) we proceeded to the Krugersdorp Fourway Stop/Robot, having checked out the N14 (R28) first for orientation purposes and ideal height for viewing the dreaded Pom Pom.  First we went along the route to Tarlton, then back to Krugersdorp ridge/nek along the N14/R28 and followed the highway (N1) to the Pienaarsrivier offramp, (past Hammanskraal).   The ATC at Waterkloof was very helpful (as well as the Caravan doing touch and goes) and allowed us to transit at 300 foot AGL.  We then transited to Bronkhorstspruit where we flew along the N4 route westwards to the N1 intersection (Pretoria Botanical Gardens).  We flew over the city of Pretoria seeing familiar sites such as the Union Buildings, Loftus, etc.  Then we continued with the N4 (west of Pretoria City) to Hartebeespoortdam.  Once again we transited to Shoshanguve/Mabopane and proceeded south along the R80 to the Daspoort tunnel area.  We then proceeded to do the Rietvlei Dam Triangle (Northern point being the Dam/Nature Reserve area, SW corner being Kalfontein, and SE corner being Bapsfontein area) before returning to FAGC.

The mission was a success and lots of good footage was taken by Danie. Charl marked all the areas on his map, which will be transposed onto his GIS System.  A few photographs taken by myself are attached to this report.  I have included a few taken at ground level as well.

The flight took three-and-a-half hours and was flown at an average altitude of between 300 and 500 foot AGL.  This is not always possible in the controlled air space that we were operating in, but thanks to Tony, who piloted us safely and professionally throughout, and to the navigational skills contributed by myself, we were spot on for what Didi, Charl and Danie wanted us to achieve.

Here's to the follow-up flight scheduled for the end of March or early April, when the "Team" will once again cover the same area to review the result of DWAF's attempts to combat the Pom Pom infestation."

This is a close-up of the alien Campuloclinium macrocephalum or Pom Pom weed, a member of the daisy family and one of the "beautiful but dangerous" alien invaders threatening South Africa.  It establishes itself, intially, in disturbed sites such as road verges, and then invades grasslands, savanna and wetlands.