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ERTHO

People. Purpose. Conservation.

Good intentions.
Lasting
conservation.

The right guidance helps good conservation work go further. ERTHO brings practical expertise, clear governance and people together to help your initiative thrive.

Discuss your initiative How we can help

Western Cape roots. A wider perspective.

Mountain slopes and native vegetation in the Western Cape

Stronger foundations. Shared futures.

Conservation works
when people work together.

Working with

  • Conservancies
  • Private collaborative initiatives
  • Conservation NGOs
  • Regulators

01 / Our support

A clearer way forward.

Whether you’re facing a difficult decision, building a new initiative or planning for the long term, we help you understand the situation and take the next step.

01

Practical
consulting

An experienced perspective when the next decision matters.

  • Environmental issues & public participation
  • Technical document & desktop reviews
  • Facilitation & stakeholder dialogue
Explore this support

Get help understanding development proposals and scoping reports, bringing different perspectives into a constructive response, and navigating sensitive conversations. Support can be remote or in person, depending on the task.

Discuss your challenge ↗
02

Governance
best practice

Clear roles, sound decisions and a plan your people can work with.

  • Governance structures & tailored documents
  • Management planning & self-assessment
  • Budgeting & fundraising strategy
Explore this support

Build practical foundations with constitutions, procedures, position statements and templates tailored to your initiative. Connect your budget and funding approach to a realistic management plan, and identify where your organisation needs to develop.

Discuss your organisation ↗
03

Learning &
collaboration

Shared knowledge that builds confidence and brings people together.

  • Workshops & landowner days
  • Practical tools & knowledge sharing
  • Specialist connections & skills transfer
Explore this support

Plan sessions around your needs, from governance and strategy to specialist topics such as erosion control, botany or conservation agriculture. ERTHO helps coordinate topics, facilitators and logistics, drawing on a wider conservation network.

Plan a conversation ↗

Support shaped around your organisation, its stage of development and its resources.

ERTHO does not provide legal or financial advice.

The right level of support

A specific challenge.
Or a longer conversation.

Start with what you need. Together, we can agree on a practical scope and a way of working.

Project consulting

Focused assistance with a decision, document, workshop or environmental challenge.

Ongoing retainer support

Continuity, regular access to Jacques’s expertise and a sounding board as your initiative develops.

Let’s find the right approach

02 / Our work

Putting principles
into practice.

Real situations. Different perspectives.
Constructive ways to move forward.

Presentation on conservancy governance and management at a workshopLearning & collaboration

Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve

Shared knowledge.
Stronger conservancies.

Jacques co-facilitated a conservancy governance and strategy workshop across the GCBR landscape, alongside Apex Conservation Services and GCBR.

Explore the work

ERTHO contributed governance and management guidance. Apex Conservation Services shared expertise in alien invasive plant management, while GCBR addressed participation in urban conservancies.

Attending conservancies and partner organisations received visual governance tools, a conservancy organogram and an interactive readiness self-assessment tool to support the discussion.

A constructive voice.
A collaborative
way forward.

Practical consulting

McGregor Vrolijkheid Conservancy

An objective response
to proposed development.

ERTHO helped the conservancy bring its mandate, technical information and stakeholder views together into a coherent public participation response.

Explore the work

The work combined the conservancy’s adopted constitution, a desktop review of the pre-application draft scoping report, and comments from committee members and other stakeholders.

The submission recognised the prospective developer’s economic needs and private property rights, identified risks for consideration, and invited the developer to join the conservancy.

The approach kept voluntary cooperation at the centre of the conservancy’s response.

03 / Meet Jacques

Research informed.
Grounded in practice.

Jacques Smit

Founder, ERTHO (Pty) Ltd

Based in Robertson, Western Cape.
Working nationally. Open to international knowledge sharing and skills transfer.

Conservation depends on people as much as it depends on the places they care for.

Jacques brings experience across conservation management, eco-tourism, local government pollution control and organic certification auditing. His master’s research into Western Cape conservancies became the foundation for ERTHO’s approach to governance and management.

As a conservancy manager and chairperson of the Western Cape Conservation Stewardship Association, he understands the decisions, relationships and resource pressures that shape conservation work. ERTHO combines that experience with research, practical tools and access to a wider specialist network.

BSc

Conservation Ecology
2009

PGDip

Environmental Management
2021

MPhil

Environmental Management
2025

04 / Useful starting points

Knowledge
worth sharing.

A useful tool can start an important conversation. Explore the free organogram, read ERTHO’s insights, or ask about resources suited to your organisation.

Articles & perspectives · LinkedIn

Ideas for stronger conservancies

Thoughts on participation, management, sustainable funding and working together.

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Tailored to your needs

Tools, templates & guidance

Ask about self-assessment tools, meeting templates, sponsor letters and tailored documents.

05 / Start a conversation

What’s your
next step?

Tell Jacques about your organisation, the challenge you’re facing and what you’d like to achieve. We’ll explore how ERTHO can help.

Discuss your initiative

Email Jacques

ertho.environmental@outlook.com

Call / WhatsApp

+27 72 786 9301
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Robertson · Western Cape · South Africa

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