Cape Flats Nature

The Cape Flats Nature project began in partnership with the City of Cape Town, the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), the Table Mountain Fund, WWF-South Africa, and the Botanical Society of South Africa.  The International Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund assumed the role of lead contributor by providing 58% of the total funds.

Cape Flats Nature is framed within the context of the City of Cape Town's integrated Metropolitan Environmental Policy, and is a key implementation project of the Biodiversity Strategy.  Through a co-ordinated and integrated approach Cape Flats Nature is contributing to the construction of 4 pilot sites using good practice techniques that influence the way the city engages in biodiversity networking in poor urban areas of Cape Town.  A series of workshops at these sites have provided a positive environment where people are engaged as active learners so that the proper conservation methods are applied in the community.  Another positive aspect of these workshops is that Cape Flats Nature is able to educate the community and facilitate community buy-in with greater ease.

Community involvement in nature conservation is recognised as being vital to the success of the programme.  Creating an awareness and appreciation for nature in impoverished urban areas is a core aim of the project.  Cape Flats Nature found a solution by generating interest through gathering input from community sources about their relationship with nature.  This helped the project deliver a range of services including environmental education and job creation.  Children have also been addressed through the use of activities and games that incorporate conservation methods targeted at generating interest in sustainable living.

The project incorporated a number of community members and organisations in developing a strategy to create awareness about environmental conservation, and clean up the polluted areas. This co-operation has seen the beginning of a number of environmental projects including: the rehabilitation of the Edith Stephens Wetlands, in which a boardwalk and bird-hide have been built, plant monitoring and fire-awareness in the Harmony Flats Nature Reserve, the consolidation of hiking trails and the monitoring and reintroduction of animal and bird species in the Wolfgat Natures Reserve, and an alien-vegetation clearing project in the Macassar Dunes.  
 

Innovation

The project is innovative in that it has made use of a people-centered approach to conservation, especially where people have often been considered a threat to the environment.  Through this participatory process the pilot sites have shown that conservation can be undertaken in a manner that benefits people.  This is of utmost of importance in a low socio-economic urban conservation context where nature conservation may not be a priority.  The combination of "green" and "brown" concerns has enabled community members to better identify with the importance of environmental conservation through their social needs, and create a broader sense of community buy-in.
 

Effectiveness

54 environmental educators were trained in 2003 and 146 in 2004. In addition to that 60 jobs were created in 2002, 30 in 2003, 82 in 2004 and already 80 in 2005. A total of 2253 learners benefited from educational and recreational activities in 2003 with this number rising to 8658 in 2004.  The environmental projects undertaken, and the large degree of community participation, demonstrate that the aims of the project are being achieved.

Poverty Impact

The urban conservation pilot sites are located in areas with a high prevalence of poverty.  The project creates a positive impact on the general well being of the surrounding communities primarily through recreational activities and beautification.  Other contributions include the provision of a healthy ecosystem which in turn assists in moderating floods, temperatures and winds, all of which cause damage these communities can't afford.  The project allows leadership in the community, regarding sustainable development, to flourish in order to direct future undertakings, and abundant education on conservation techniques will have long term benefits.  With the use of a variety of partnerships the project has facilitated the creation of 292 jobs over a period of three and a half years.

Sustainability

Current funding will sustain the project until the middle of 2006.  Seed funding for the next phase has been applied for from the City of Cape Town and the Table Mountain Fund.  An application has been made for a medium size project grant from the World Bank for implementation of the replication and rollout.  Also, a major private sector fundraising campaign has been launched to fund the continuation of the project into the future.

Replication

The approach of this project is being replicated in other major urban centres in the Cape Floristic Region, including the Nelson Mandela Metro.  The project has also been called on to share lessons with other biodiversity programmes in other cities.  
 

 Partnerships

• City of Cape Town
• Table Mountain Fund (WWF South Africa)
• Botanical Society of South Africa
• South African National Biodiversity Institute
• Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
   

Visit www.capeflatsnature.co.za for more information