SOUTHERN CAPE NEWS - River systems in the Southern Cape region have become somewhat of a precious resource as, due to agricultural transformation, they remain the last remaining untransformed ecological systems in the region.
The recently launched SCLI Cape Floristic Corridor Revival and Training Programme, implemented by the Southern Cape Landowners Initiative (SCLI) and funded by the Table Mountain Fund (TMF), may be catalytic in enlarging the conservation footprint in the region. The Southern Cape coastal plateau is a productive agricultural hub, and over time almost all land in the Southern Cape has been transformed for the purpose of maximising agricultural output.
Ecological systems
As a result of this river systems in the Southern Cape are now regarded as the last remaining and relatively untransformed ecological systems in the region that can possibly be reserved for the purpose of conservation.
By using the river systems to connect the Outeniqua Mountains unhindered with the Indian Ocean, the option exists to establish conservation corridors, designated to the survival of biodiversity.
The Southern Cape is listed as one of South Africa's strategic water source areas, implying it should pay special attention to the conservation of its rivers and catchments.
It is also known that these mountain catchments and river systems are badly affected by invasive alien plants, contributing to the further degradation of sensitive regional ecosystems and loss of habitat.
Interaction with private landowners along selected river systems, in order to assist them in participating in the establishment of the proposed biodiversity corridor conservation effort, holds the key to success or failure.
Convincing landowners to address the prevalence of invasive alien plants on their land is no easy task.
The control and eradication thereof is expensive, reliant on resources and a long-term commitment to the cause.
SCLI now aims to define the geographic footprint surrounding river systems that can serve as biodiversity corridors, and then to identify and prioritise areas that are affected by invasive alien plants.
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