Know Your Nature | Richtersveld National Park

Ai-Ais Richtersveld National Park

When you walk through this park, you cannot help but feel as if you have arrived on another planet. The Richtersveld is regarded as the only arid biodiversity hotspot on earth. Situated on the border between South Africa and Namibia, the mighty Orange River brings life to what at first appears to be a barren landscape.

🌵 Conserving South Africa’s flora and fauna

The Richtersveld is ONE. BIG. MEGA. ecosystem. Considered one of the most interesting biodiversity hotspots in the world, it’s called the Succulent Karoo Biodiversity Hotspot. This ecosystem holds an astounding 4849 succulent plants, 40% of which are found nowhere else.

To be declared a hotspot, an area must have incredibly high species diversity and a high percentage of endemism (means where a species is native to a single spot - kind of like an ecological island). It is quite a unique distinction, as there are only 25 hotspots in the world. Even more unusual is that the Succulent Karoo is a desert.

⚡️ Uniqueness of Ai-Ais

Some amazing features of Richtersveld Biodiversity:

2,700 species in this area alone & almost 600 exist nowhere else.

The giant Baster Quiver Tree (Aloe pilansii), of which only a few hundred remain on the remote mountaintops in the Richtersveld.

The "Halfmens" (Pachypodium namaquanum) - a bizarre plant which from a distance resembles faraway people, hence the name "Half man".

29 lichen species, which is the most lichen species of any area in the world.

Numerous species of lithops - tiny succulent plants which resemble small stones.

☄️ A Climate Crisis

Understanding the results of this climate crisis often require us to empathise with the wilder ones. Dramatic temperature changes have been observed in the Richtersveld area, with significant increases in average minimum and maximum temperatures of 1.1 °C to 1.2 °C in just 20 years at the Henkries weather station1. It’s difficult to imagine harsher summer temperatures peak records, of which today are approximately 53°C in mid-summer, now imagine that being your environment day in and day out. The 1 degree of change that has already taken place has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of very hot days, especially in summer. Predictions of future climate change include further increases in annual average temperature of between 1.4 °C and 2.4 °C by 20502, which will result in unbearably hot temperatures throughout significant portions of the year. More than a third of the days in the year already have daytime temperatures in excess of 35 °C. Changes in rainfall are less obvious (based on analysis of 58 years of data from Vioolsdrift), although rainfall events appeared to decrease slightly over time. Smaller rain events will evaporate very quickly, meaning the area would become even drier, with less water available for plants and animals. The impact of grazing will also be exacerbated under these conditions.

If the more extreme predicted warming and drying changes do occur, it is expected that the Richtersveld area would be more desert-like with much less of the Succulent Karoo characteristics than are currently present. The impacts of climate change are already being observed in some places. Quiver trees (Aloe dichotoma) are dying out in areas with increased evapotranspiration (i.e. in places where rising temperatures cause increased water to evaporate off of the earth’s surface and from plants). While the West Coast of South Africa in general is expected to become drier, the Orange River could experience increased rainfall in its catchment area, making the river mouth one of few stable West Coast estuaries and an important refuge for estuarine species.

💭 A closing thought

With this Climate Crisis posing an indirect threat, and surrounding diamond mining a direct threat, there is still so much work to be done in protecting South Africa’s iconic landscapes. Illegal mining and traditional mining with research concerns suggesting that there is not enough capital left behind in a recent sale. You can read more about it here

A true desert wonderland, this stark desert landscape hides a number of natural gems: blistering sun, boiling springs, larval rock formations, and scorching sweeps of desert expanse – and nestled among this harsh vista in vivid patches of green and blue, is an abundance of plant life – a full third of all succulent plant species in South Africa.

Here, life seems more vivid, more vibrant because of the very nature of the harsh desert environment within which it thrives.

A big thank you to Drive South Africa, SAN Parks and SA Tourism for making this project a reality.

#PreservationBeforeRestoration