Land-use and an ecological plan around the Bot Estuary.
A land-use and an ecological plan around the Bot Estuary is necessary as a first step in establishing a sound, [...]
This report was made on the recommendations contained in the national report of 2017 in the link below
Botfriends activity: Biodiversity and Biological invasions in Ward 8, Hermanus
This is a summary of Botfriends activity in the biodiversity and biological invasions field for Ward 8, Hermanus. This is an important, almost overriding, aspect of Botfriends commitment to environmental impacts which affect the Bot River estuary and its environs.
Following the release of the report on ‘The status of biological invasions and their management in South Africa’, Botfriends wrote a comment on this report as it affects the estuary environs of Ward 8, entitled ‘Comment on: The status of biological invasions and their management in South Africa’, which was circulated to members in April 2019.
Appeals were made to local organisations in 2017 by Michael Austin about dealing with invasive species, clearing exotics within suburban areas and priorities for saving the environment of Fisherhaven. Unfortunately, little attention was paid to these at the time and they are attached here for reference, as they are still relevant today. A number of documents on fire hazards, which are compounded by alien species invasions, were also written by Mike and are attached to the post on ‘Fire a natural occurrence in the Bot River Estuary area’ and available for download there.
Botfriends wrote a comprehensive report on ‘The status of biological invasions of the Bot River estuary and immediate environs’, together with maps, as the start of recording the situation as it now prevails in 2018, as called for by the National report. This will require updating when there are significant changes. This includes comments on the geology as this has a significant effect on the scale and level of biological invasions.
A summary of the report on the invasion status of the estuary was written, entitled ‘Alien species proliferation in Ward 8‘, which was circulated to members in May, 2019. The gist of this report is that we have some severely invaded areas and wetlands which have deteriorated in the last decade through bad or no management. These can, however, be recovered relatively cheaply and Botfriends has put forward a funding proposal, the Botfriends Alien Clearing Program (BACP) to expand its small project to cover about 3 000ha. The BACP documentation is covered in a separate category, headed BACP on the blog page of the website.
Also, of relevance to the subject is the excellent summary of the history and research conducted in the fynbos area by van Wilgen et al in 2016. This is a long document and rather heavy reading, but it summarises most of the research very well (Available below)
Short reports on the conservation problems of invasive species and how to clear aliens were circulated to members. Copies can be downloaded below.
An article on ‘Invasive species are not water-wise’ was published in the Village News in 2018. The Stockholm Resilience Centre, arguably the leading environmental centre in the world, wrote a paper on ‘Paris Agreement for nature’ a summary of which is attached. A UN document on ‘Stop biodiversity loss or we could face extinction’ is an excellent read, relevant to the problems in this area.
Botfriends is working on a plan for the whole area which will generate a low fire risk, stable and sustainable environment, which is what most of us came here to live in.
The reports mentioned above can be accessed below should you wish to read further.
Michael Austin for Botfriends January 2020
Download the summary of the report on the invasion status of the estuary.
Download the status of the estuary invasions below.
Download the comment on the national report below.
Download the full report here.
Download the other reports or documents below.
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