Comments on Western Cape Biodiversity Bill

Comments on the Western Cape Biodiversity Bill were made by Mike Austin, Botfriends, on a draft which has been circulated for comment. Rob Fryer of Whale Coast Conservation (WCC) circulated an extensive comment on this bill in July 2018, which is attached below.

Two main points in the Western Cape Biodiversity Bill, draft bill which Botfriends has are:

1  The whole responsibility issue and the inconsistency in the bill for, who is responsible and how that responsibility is delegated for nature reserves owned by municipalities, other private wildlife sanctuaries and game farms and local government green areas or proposed green areas.

2  The bills alignment with NEMBA (National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act) regulations

Botfriends generally agreed with the comments made by Fryer. Botfriends and other group such as the Paddavlei Eco-Group (PEG) have been actively involved in carrying out the broad objectives of protecting the environment in Ward 8 for a number of years. The proper application of the NEMBA regulations in terms of alien invasions, fire regulations and water/wetland management are at the root of most of the environmental problems in Ward 8.

The situation in Ward 8 is that especially in the last decade the biodiversity of the area has been severely compromised, mainly by;

• Alien species spread, where hundreds of indigenous species have been replaced with 4-5 alien species.
• Wetland areas, which generally have great biodiversity, have been severely compromised to the extent that open water bodies have shrunk dramatically or no longer exist.
• The draft local fire regulations are illegal in terms of NEMBA.

To a large extent this has been the result of:

1. neglect – nothing has done to manage these areas environmentally.
2. mismanagement – the use of emergency techniques to reduce fire risk, burying wetlands or other engineering works which ignore normal water flows.
3. non application of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) or compromises of EIA recommendations.
4. extremely limited policing of environmental problems, inaction of publicly reported non- compliance and a general lack of control of contractors hired.
5. relying on outdated data to make recommendations or incorrect techniques.
6. destroying existing areas where time and effort has been spent by the use of incorrect follow-up techniques.
7. timing – where small environmental problems escalate in a few years to much more costly and larger problems.

Greenheart will and is following up on the issues raised above, however, progress is slow and many comments are ignored or buried especially if someone further up the chain has to accept responsibility. An additional post on the national report is also available on this site with comments.

The extensive comments on Western Cape Biodiversity Bill from Rob Fryer written in July 2018, below my be downloaded below