The establishment of an overarching environmental body by the Garden Route District Municipality and partners, aims to coordinate regional conservation efforts and serve as a catalyst to drive climate adaption practices in the Southern Cape.
The Southern Cape is vulnerable to increased risks associated with threats to the environment, including water security, loss of biodiversity, all resulting in a reduction of economic opportunity and well-being, and putting vulnerable communities under pressure.
Says Cobus Meiring of the GREF Secretariat: “An all-out effort to ensure a climate-ready future, and a mind shift in the way we adapt and manage our environment, is urgent and should dominate the social and political narrative if the region aims to develop sustainably. An environment free of invasive alien plants and cleared waterways and catchments, will take the region a leap forward in risk reduction, and all authorities, landowners and land managers must heed the call.”