GREF Annual Garden Route Fire Commemoration Event & Climate Change Indaba, Tuesday 8 June 2021
Theme: Adapt to a sustainable future
Facilitator (Session 1): Ms Pamela Booth, Environmental Manager, Knysna Municipality
08:20 Registration & Coffee/Tea
SESSION 1
| TIME | ITEM | RESPONSIBILITY |
| 08:55 | Introduction by the Programme Director | Mr Cobus Meiring, Chairperson of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) |
| 09:05 | Welcome address, “Towards a climate-ready environment” | Councillor Memory Booysen, Executive Mayor, Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) |
| 09:30 | Keynote address | Ms Makhotso Magdeline Sotyu, Deputy Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) |
| 10:00 | Reflecting on the Knysna wildfires and preparing the region towards a climate-ready environment | Mr Elrick van Aswegen, Executive Mayor of Knysna Municipality |
| Brief mention of biomass projects in the Karatara River and a national study: Developing a Strategic Framework for an Alien and Invasive Biomass Economy in South Africa | Ms Pamela Booth, Environmental Manager, Knysna Municipality/Mr Cobus Meiring, SCLI | |
| Break (10:30 – 10:45) | ||
Facilitator (Session 2): Cobus Meiring, Chairperson of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF)
SESSION 2
| TIME | ITEM | RESPONSIBILITY |
| 10:45 | National Disaster Management | Ms Ané Bruwer, Executive Manager at the National Disaster Management Centre, South Africa |
| 11:05 | The long-term and unanticipated impacts of the 2006 storm event | Dr Jackie Dabrowski, Managing Director: Confluent Environmental; Research Associate: Nelson Mandela University and Extraordinary Lecturer: University of Pretoria |
| 11:20 | Water Resource Management | Dr Fanie Botha, Water Specialist and Consultant, Water Hunters |
| 11:50 | Update on global change research in the Garden Route: connecting the dots using a systems approach | Professor Christo Fabricius, Lead, CARMa-Afrika: Capacity for African Resource Management at Nelson Mandela University (NMU) & Professor Hervé Fritz, Director of the ECO REHABS International Research Lab, CNRS France, and Nelson Mandela University |
| 12:20 | Message from the Principal of the George Campus of Nelson Mandela University (NMU) | Dr Kaluke Mawila, Principal of the George Campus of Nelson Mandela University (NMU) |
| 12:35 | Eco-nomics – is this the way towards a sustainable future? | Professor Eugene Cloete, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, University of Stellenbosch |
| LUNCH (13:05 – 13:40) | ||
Facilitator (Session 3): Mr Japie Buckle, Garden Route Biosphere Reserve (GRBR)
SESSION 3
| TIME | ITEM | RESPONSIBILITY |
| 13:40 | Message of support: Department of Forestry, Fisheries & Environment | Mr Potlako Khati, Coastal Planning and Spatial Information, Department of Environmental Affairs (DFFE), Western Cape |
| 13:50 | Sea-level rise and its impact on coastal infrastructure along Mossel Bay Coastline | Ms Mushfiqah Abrahams, Conservation Officer – Environmental Management, Mossel Bay Municipality |
| 14:00 | Realities of managing national parks in the face of climate change | Dr Stefanie Freitag-Ronaldson, General Manager, Garden Route and Frontier Research Unit, SANParks |
| 14:30 | Climate change and IAS in Africa | Dr Arné Witt, Invasive Alien Plant Specialist and Regional (African, Asia and Caribbean) IAS Coordinator for CABI |
| 15:00 | Green infrastructure for disaster risk reduction: the role of wetlands in the Garden Route | Ms Debbie Fordham, Freshwater Ecologist, SES Environmental Services |
| 15:30 | Environmental sustainability of the healthcare sector: Response from George Hospital | Dr Michael Vonk, Chief Executive Officer, George Hospital |
| 15:40 | Closure and way forward: Relevance of climate change decisions and IDP implementation | Mr Gerhard Otto, Head of Disaster Management, Garden Route District Municipality |
FIELD VISIT: WEDNESDAY 9 JUNE 2021
Hosted by Knysna Municipality and the Garden Route Trail Park
VENUE: Garden Route Trail Park, 09:00 – 16:00
GPS Co-ordinates: S33.55.01 • E22.51.46
Dormehl Farms
6580 Barrington, Western Cape, South Africa
(60 km from George)