Media Alert: 2011 CAPE Partners' Conference - Conservation and Agriculture

Cape Action for People and the Environment (CAPE) is a partnership programme uniting government and civil society in a strategy to conserve biodiversity and create biodiversity for the people of the Cape Floristic Region.

CAPE has 23 signatory partners - government departments, municipalities, non-governmental and conservation agencies. All of these organisations and a broader base of stakeholders are united in a common strategy around biodiversity conservation. The programme is coordinated through various governance and co-ordination structures.

The 2011 CAPE Partners' Conference will be held on 23 and 24 June 2011 and focuses on the interface between Biodiversity Conservation and Agriculture. This year, the conference aims to showcase the successful collaborative interventions that have occurred between Biodiversity Conservation and Agriculture during the first phase of the CAPE programme and is jointly hosted by CAPE Partners SANBI, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture and WWF-SA through the GreenChoice Alliance. The conference will be held at the Percheron Hall, Elsenburg Agricultural Training College at Elsenburg just outside of Stellenbosch.

The conference presents an exciting opportunity to discuss some of the emerging trends in conservation and agriculture, and also serves as an important moment for the CAPE Partnership to develop and agree on a strategic response to some of the ongoing challenges.

The programme for the conference is as follows:

Day One:
08:00 - 09:00 Registration
09:00 - 10:30 Session one: Developing a shared vision for production landscapes in the fynbos region
11:00 - 12:30 Session two: The value of natural capital
13:30 - 15:00 Session three: The shift towards more sustainable farming practices
15:30 - 17:00 Session four: Natural solutions - adapting to climate change

Day Two:
09:00 - 10:30 Session five: Diversification of rural livelihoods and land use
11:00 - 12:30 Session six: Partnerships for resource mobilisation
12:30 - 13:30 Session seven: Way forward
13:30 - Lunch and closure

On 23 June, the conference programme will be followed by an evening event at Delvera Farm in Klapmuts starting at 18:30. The programme includes addresses by Minister Gerrit van Rensburg, Western Cape Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development and Minister Anton Bredell, Western Cape Minister for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, respectively.

The evening will include the presentation of the annual Fynbos Conservation Awards, which are aimed at recognising individuals' outstanding contributions and achievements to biodiversity conservation in the Cape Floristic Region and showcasing successful and innovative work.

Note: All media are invited (and strongly encouraged) to attend the conference or any session thereof and/to attend the conference or any session there of and/or the awards ceremony.

Please see the detailed programme.