Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  Training and commitment ensures quality of work in landscape rehabilitation “Since the 2017 Knysna and 2018 Outeniqua fires when well over one hundred thousand hectares were burnt to the ground, landowners in the Southern Cape did a tremendous amount of work to reduce wildfire risks by reducing invasive alien plant biomass on their land, Continue Reading →

  “Well over 10% of the South African landscape is severely affected by either the prevalence of invasive alien plants (IAPs) or encroachment of indigenous species onto grasslands or savanna landscapes and in the face of accelerated climate change, they pose an increasingly threatening prospect in terms of water security, exposure to wildfire disasters and Continue Reading →

  Invasive Alien Plant Control Plan is a critical land management tool for landowners “Given the sad state of many of the watercourses in the Southern Cape, landowners with tributaries clogged by invasive alien plants such as wattles, bugweed and blue gums, can no longer simply ignore the issue,” says Cobus Meiring of the Southern Continue Reading →

“Daar lê baie uitdagings voor in die bestuur van waterbronne. Indringerplantegroei het byvoorbeeld ‘n geweldige invloed op die beskikbaarheid van water in riviere in die Tuinroete en sal in die toekoms beter bestuur moet word,” sê Cobus Meiring van die Suid-Kaap Grondeienaarsinisiatief (SCLI). “Riviere in die Klein-Karoo, soos byvoorbeeld die Nelsrivier wat Calitzdorp en omstreke Continue Reading →

  “The damage done to the South African natural environment and infrastructure (for example, rivers and catchments) by the scourge of black wattles (Acacia mearnsii) is immeasurable. As the country is facing up to the inevitable consequences of climate change, and primarily the very clear and present threat of severe and lasting drought in several Continue Reading →

  Increasing importance of open spaces and greening of Southern Cape urban areas Article by Cobus Meiring  “As summer approaches, the Southern Cape can again brace itself for its fair share of heatwaves along with the rest of South Africa. Globally temperatures are steadily on the increase, and the effect that these increases have on Continue Reading →

  16 July 2021 “Southern Cape marine and terrestrial ecosystems have changed dramatically during the past fifty years due to a myriad of factors, including industrial-scale agricultural activity, exponential population growth and subsequent development, invasive alien plant invasions, changes in rainfall patterns, fire and climate change,” says Cobus Meiring of the Southern Cape Landowners Initiative Continue Reading →