Monday 7 December 2015

416 | Argo Rust - a great ecologist passes away in Namibia

CONSERVATION & WELFARE


The 19th of March 2016 marked the end of a life dedicated to the conservation of nature as Argo Rust (born 19 September 1939), a Namibian ecologist and farmer, succumbed to a battle with cancer. He was a co-founder of the Namibian Centre for Holistic Resource Management, a holistic approach to manage resources sustainable.



Particularly over the last century the development of arable land for agriculture and unsustainable grazing management replaces grassland into cropping and bush encroachment, impacting biodiversity and the ecosystem services grasslands provide, negatively.
This rapid decline of biodiversity through the loss of grassland ecosystems over the last decades motivated Argo Rust to take immediate action to halt biodiversity loss and improve biodiversity conservation by promoting sustainable livestock grazing and game management practices through the Farm Sonnleiten and later Farm Gauchas project in central and central southern Namibia.


Bird-friendly meat production

BirdsConTour acknowledges the tireless effort and passion with which Mr. Argo Rust (picture) has established  Farm Sonnleiten and Farm Gauchas.
His endeavors aimed to document - through scientific observation - how livestock and game can successfully improve biodiversity and therefore avoiding the extinction of many birds, thus responsibly producing bird-friendly meat.