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| Testing the impact of a 4-ton game viewer on soil. |
A SOIL scientist has made a call to strictly regulate 4x4 vehicles
in conservation areas, saying these vehicles cause long-term and largely
irreparable damage to ecological systems.
Dr Gerhard Nortjé, a soil scientist, said while 4x4 enthusiasts all
love the outdoors, their drivers often do not realise that their tyre tracks
cause irreparable damage to plant growth. He made this finding as part of
research for a doctoral thesis for the Centre for Wildlife Management at the
University of Pretoria.
Nortjé said strict new laws were needed to regulate 4x4s in
protected areas and to even to classify very sensitive areas, like wetlands, as
“4x4-free”.
“Although people don’t think a 4x4 vehicle has a negative impact on
the environment and especially the soil and plant growth, the risk of
irreparable damage is very real,” he said.
He stressed that any bundu-bashing trip, which were often sold as
an “eco-tourist activity” was not ecologically sustainable and “must not be
allowed in conservation areas”.
A 4x4 enthusiast himself, Nortjé used a Land Rover game viewer
loaded with 10 bags weighing 70 kg each to see the impact the tyres had on the
soil. His findings show even a slow and careful “bundu bash” will accelerate
erosion, damage plants and destroy habitats.
Nortjé did his research in the northern part of the Pafuri area of
the Kruger Game Park and said SANParks must consider a total revision of their
management strategies for game viewing trips in conservation areas.
He said SANParks’ current guidelines already acknowledge the
potential negative impact of 4x4 trips, but underestimate the real impact they
has on soil erosion.
He said one SANPark guideline in particular — for 4x4 vehicles not
to follow in each other’s tracks — is directly against the findings of his
research.
About 90% of the damage ise caused when a vehicle traverses a
section of veld for the first time, hence if drivers follow one track they will
cause a lot less damage than if each were to blaze a new set of tracks, Nortjé
said.
SANPark spokesperson Rey Thakhuli said the organisation will study
the thesis before officially reacting to it.
Nortjé said many game reserves allowed 4x4 vehicles to bundu bash
new tracks over untravelled areas when they follow game.
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| Tyre threads like these on an vintage Bombarier bus spread a vehicles weight over a bigger surface, causing less damage. |
Andre Karrim, an off-road driver trainer and driver assessor based
in Durban, said that ultimately there has to be a balance on land conservation
and the income derived from driving these sensitive areas.
“This is where 4x4 driver training (tyre pressure knowledge) is
vital. But ultimately, it is the attitude of the drivers that plays the biggest
role. A blanket ban is not the answer. The National Offroad Workgroup (NOW) had
been tasked with finding the best solution.”
Karrim also believes that 4x4 enthusiasts should limit themselves
to existing tracks and not blaze new ones.
Greg van der Reis, chairperson of the 4x4 Adventure Club, said
members of the club know it takes up to 40 years for a track to become overgrown
once a 4x4 vehicle has driven over it. “Our guides stick to the tracks,” Van der
Reis. “We are quite strict about it and don’t tolerate hooligans.”
