Completed Projects

AfriSam Graduates Project

The Afrisam mining company has a Corporate Social Responsibility Division that grants funds to social and environmental projects in the local communities surrounding their mining and business activities.

AfriSam is a part of the communities in which they operate. They believe in understanding the needs of communities in areas where they do business so that they are able to make meaningful contributions to their upliftment. They see this as a chance to improve the quality of life of their employees, their families and the communities around their operations. We focus on areas that can make a difference to all of us. These include education and development, conservation and legacy projects.

Small Grants Fund

The Table Mountain Fund (TMF) in partnership with WWF and the West Coast District Municipality, under the management of the West Coast Biosphere Reserve, undertook a pilot Phase of the micro grants project. Fifteen projects were funded and mentored. The focus of this initiative was to demonstrate success in management of natural resources to enhance local economic and rural development. Results from this pilot demonstrates that improving livelihoods and conserving the environment are not merely compatible goals, but intricately linked.

Membership Strategy

The service providers have completed this membership strategy, and it remains for the Programme Manager to finalize the partners in accreditation before “going live” with the entire exciting process. The implementation of the Trails and Tourism project will be used to harness benefits through our partners into the member beneficiation component of this strategy.

2010 heralded the first corporate member to the CWCBR, namely Tydstroom, and it is hoped that AfriSam will soon follow. The membership strategy played a key role in securing conservation gains from Tydstroom land, already thereby showing results of success for the benefits of such a membership strategy.

CWCBR & Eskom hosted a workshop about Energy Efficiency Solutions for the Cape West Coast hospitality industry

The Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve together with Eskom hosted a half-day workshop on ‘Going Green’.

The aim was to assist hospitality establishments within the Cape West Coast area in attaining a higher standard of eco hospitality and to introduce them to the Eskom rebates system currently on offer.

Research

The University of Stellenbosch is undertaking a study on Indicators for Sustainable Development of Biosphere Reserves, which will be completed during 2010. This relationship has strengthened through this project and further research is currently being identified for future support.

Saldanha Beach Clean Up

Early Saturday morning, 8 June the West Coast was greeted with rainy and windy conditions, but a decision had to be made whether to go ahead with the Beach Clean-up or not. Without much consideration the Saldanha LTA made a unanimous decision to keep the momentum going and the beach clean-up must go ahead. Luckily the weather cleared up nicely by sunrise and although there was a chill in the air, there was no rain.

Alien Clearing for Agriculture

Contracts to the value of R1 200 000.00 were signed with the Department of Agriculture of which R75 000 is allocated for LandCare and the rest is allocated to alien clearing projects in the CWCBR region and community job creation and capacity building. The alien-clearing project is being managed well and payments are processed through the CWCBR.

Over 24 jobs have being created and approximately 60 ha have been cleared since 1 March 2010. This alien clearing is taking place on privately owned land, through which the CWCBR is directly benefiting farmers in the region.

Global Environment Fund Fynbos Rehabilitation Project

This project was funded through the Global Environment Fund and is a partner project with !Khwa ttu to the value of R350 000 and includes the eradication of invasive alien bushes and trees that have overrun this area, and the re-introduction of plant species that grew naturally in the area before the land was utilized for farming purposes.

SANBI Groen Sebenza: Interns fix fences at WWF: Oranjevlei Nature Reserve, Jacobsbaai

On the 14th of May, the CWCBR team visited the WWF: Oranjevlei Nature Reserve situated just outside of Jacobsbaai. The land was recently purchased and declared a reserve by the World-Wide Fund for nature (WWF) and negotiations are in place to have the management of the reserve fall under the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve (CWCBR).

Awareness, Education and Training

In 2010 the CWCBR hosted three student interns; two from France and one from the Cape University of Technology. They fulfilled different roles from working directly with the local municipality to begin a food garden, to compiling a management plan for our partner, the Fossil Park and researching financial beneficiation to the different stakeholders with respect to conservation trade-offs.

Stewardship Industrial Corridor Project

This project was initially funded by the World Bank, which ended as of August 2009. Further funding was sourced to the value of R710 000 from the Table Mountain Fund to secure the position of the Stewardship Officer for a further 3 years to complete this corridor.

BIONET Project

Stretching from Melkbosstrand and the Blaauwberg Conservation Area to the Koeberg Nature Reserve, into Mamre, and Atlantis:

This project, which entails a partnership between the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve, the City of Cape Town and Cape Nature and which is the largest project ever funded by the TMF has successfully achieved securing over 868 ha of key conservation land since inception in early 2010.

DReSS: Darling Recycling Swap over Shop

On the 15 of May the CWCBR visited the Darling Recycling Swop Shop (DReSS), where every Wednesday this great local initiative hosts a day where the young people of Darling between the ages of 4 and 14 help clean up their community and are rewarded for their efforts through a points for trash system.

The Flagship Spatial Development Plan

The Development Plan, aimed at creating and developing growth and development scenarios as well as a conservation plan for the CWCBR for a twenty year window was successfully completed and has been heralded as an example document for use by developers, conservationists and finance institutions. The final phase of incorporating the document into the municipal Integrated Development Plans, to ensure sound sustainability principles as recommended by the Biosphere Reserve to directly influence the direction and decision making of such municipalities, will take place over the remaining two months of the year.

Dune Rehabilitation Project

Funded by the City of Cape Town.

Creating temporary employment and capacity development for over 30

Atlantis community members that were previously unemployed.

Employment Program

The Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve recently embarked on an employment program to benefit the communities within the Biosphere, namely Saldanha, Vredenburg, Langebaan and surrounding areas. Unfortunately these areas suffer from high unemployment rates and debilitating poverty. The CWCBR aims to eradicate these problems with solutions that coincide with the broader goals for the conservation of the Biosphere.

Fynbos Rehabilitation

Funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.This included three sites on renosterveld vegetation, namely the Darling Renosterveld Reserve; the Groenkloof Reserve; and !Khwa ttu

Rea d more: Fynbos Rehabilitation

Trails & Tourism

Funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund and the Development Bank of South Africa this project seeks to develop a network of five trails (3 walking, 1 cycle, 1 canoe) within the borders of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve stretching over 5 municipalities.

These responsible tourism, Green Flag products are an exciting way to grow the local economy by supporting existing and emerging tourism and hospitality services in the region and sustaining the livelihoods of the guides, caterers and drivers.

Delineation of a biodiversity corridor

Delineation of the corridor between the Blaauwberg Conservation Area and the Koeberg Nature Reserve and the potential Southern Core delineation. This project aims to identify key parcels of land that will form a corridor interconnecting already proclaimed nature reserves to ensure that the integrity of the ecosystems and indigenous vegetation are maintained. This involved ground-truthing the area. Contractual agreements with private landowners are entered into to secure conservation worthy land and which further seeks to ensure that at least 3 critically endangered vegetation types are conserved.

Landcare and Youth Educational Project

The Department of Agriculture and the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve have partnered to implement this project, which seeks to meet the needs of the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve Company, whilst simultaneously providing an avenue which will meet the needs of the Junior LandCare programme.

Green Food Gardening Project

The concept of this project is more than just about food gardening. It also includes the cultivation and use of indigenous herbs and perennials. A marketing and distribution strategy shall help the project to sustain itself and create benefits for the whole community to make poor peoples lives better.

YES Programme

Funded by the City of Cape Town the main focus is creating temporary employment and capacity development for over 30 Atlantis community members that were previously unemployed.

The IDZ

The CWCBR therefore aims to establish an industrial biodiversity corridor in the major industrial area of Saldanha. The industrial biodiversity corridor will be secured through a range of different land consolidation strategies where one of these would be the signing of stewardship agreements with CapeNature to ensure the long term protection and conservation of these corridors of vegetation. The CWCBR is undertaking stewardship on behalf of CapeNature within the CWCBR.

Stewardship Site Assessment – Prashanti Farm

The first field trip for the SANBI Groen Sebenza Interns took place on the 10th of May 2013. The interns went to assist the City of Cape Town Conservation Department in conducting a site assessment for Prashanti Hills Farm, a potential candidate for the CapeNature Conservation Stewardship Programme.

Stewardship Project

Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve

It has been estimated that approximately 80% of scarce and threatened natural habitat in South Africa is located on land that is not formally protected. Cape Nature realised that in order to ensure that conservation targets for threatened habitats are met, they cannot only rely on the proclamation of state-owned protected areas and thereby the Conservation Stewardship Programme was initiated.

Spatial Development Plan

Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve

The purpose of this project is to collate many of the missing links that are created by the silo effect of different spheres of government and departments implementing each of their legislative requirements within the boundaries of each municipality.

Completed Projects