Die Eiland Bot River Estuary

‘Die Eiland’ of the Bot River Estuary: whose responsibility?

‘Die Eiland’ is a small island within the Bot River Estuary, which is flooded at very high water within the estuary. Most of the time it is higher ground which has a few trees growing on it, surrounded by wetland. At very low water, like after a breach of the estuary there is dry land joining ‘Die Eiland’ to the main beach. Hawstons have traditionally camped on ‘Die Eiland’ over the Christmas period. The OSM bylaws allow camping, the parking area on the mainland limits vehicle access onto the wetland. However, in recent years the rocks limiting access were opened and left open or when closed a road has been made to go around the rocks and vehicles continue to drive to the ‘Die Eiland’ and along the beach.

‘Die Eiland’ was full of visitors over the 2020-1 Christmas period. Visitors drove onto the sand and the wetland areas. Ward 8, in 2019/2020, approved limiting visitors to ‘over the Christmas and Easter periods only’. They also approved putting up signs which stopped vehicles entering the area (not yet done). Without the signs, however, law enforcement has great difficulty enforcing the national environmental laws.

Cape Nature also has jurisdiction over this area as part of the Kogelberg Biosphere and as part of the Bot River Estuary RAMSAR site. However, they claim that it is not their responsibility, but the Overstand Municipality’s responsibility since they were the ones who opened up the parking area to the beach and water’s edge.

In terms of the national environmental laws, there should be no vehicle access to the beach area or wetland area. ‘Die Eiland’ is obviously a critical wetland area covered by the water of the estuary when water levels are high. In terms of the Covid 19 regulations, Lockdown Level 3, even people’s access to the shoreline is prohibited. Access to the sand/wetland area and ‘Die Eiland’, is inconsistent with the Covid 19 regulations as applied to the rest of the estuary by the OSM fire department, delegated as the authority to apply regulations in terms of the disaster management procedure.

The OSM has left the opening from the parking area, through the boulders open since last year Christmas (2019). Before that, the OSM did not stop vehicles from causing a new track/road from been made around the large boulders enclosing the parking area. Local government have demonstrated that they are incapable of applying local laws or national laws in terms of ‘Die Eiland’, a natural island within the Bot River Estuary.

It is also questionable whether the local laws allowing access for camping/ tents etc. are actually legal: opening the parking area and allowing vehicles onto sensitive sand dunes and wetland areas is certainly illegal.

The FRA claims the area is outside its jurisdiction as ‘Die Eiland’ is not part of Fisherhaven. The National Department of Public Works owns the land adjacent to the area, which includes the parking area, but not the estuary or ‘Die Eiland’. They issued a tender for alien clearing, and asked the OSM to deal with it (nothing has been done). Cape Nature and the OSM have been totally ineffective over the years in enforcing any laws in this area.

Botfriends accepted the historical right of public people to access ‘Die Eiland’ over Christmas and New Year, but to limit vehicle access and Botfriends, got a commitment from the OSM, Ward 8, for signage to be installed, such that law enforcement could act, however, there has been no progress on this yet from the OSM.

Unfortunately, the people who were part of the Botfriends previous Executive Committee and responsible for the attempted closure of Botfriends in 2018, have now succeeded in shutting down Botfriends in 2020, with accusations of nothing happening about ‘Die Eiland’. This was after they had failed in 2017-2018 to get anything done about ‘Die Eiland’, or, for that matter, much else about environmental protection.

The question that remains, is ‘Which public organisation looks after the environmental interests of the Bot River Estuary’ and holds government: national, regional or local, responsible to their environmental commitments?

Cape Nature (quasi government) through BREF, is clearly responsible for the estuary itself, which includes ‘Die Eiland’, partially flooded at high estuary levels. All they have achieved is to try and change the Kogelberg Biosphere boundary (excluding most of the east edge of the estuary). The OSM is responsible for public land access, which they have assumed, but there has been no real progress for years. Botfriends, a public organisation, achieved progress in the last two years on this issue and many other environmental issues, but, has sadly been effectively closed down by false allegations from its own members, and have cost the environment of the Bot River Estuary and its Environs dearly.

Michael Austin (A friend of the Bot River Estuary) The above was posted on Botfriends Facebook page.

Post script. Access of vehicles traffic to ‘Die Eiland’ was raised by Botfriends at the Ward 8 meeting, again. The minutes record that there was no camping, nothing about continuous vehicle traffic. The issue is now apparently closed. A letter has been sent to various authorities and we await a reply. Michael Austin