Biodiversity Management Charline Mc Kie North
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SPATIAL PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT Department: Environmental Management Branch: Biodiversity Management Charline Mc Kie North Region Email: [email protected] City of Cape Town | TBNR | Quarterly Report |1 APRIL-30 JUNE 2019 Table of Contents Page 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................................................................... 4 Report for 1 April to 30 June 2019 Jurisdiction 2. HIGHLIGHTS & CHALLENGES .............................................................................................................................................. 4 The Expanded Public works programme for TBNR Quemic Ranger programme Livestock at Diep River Illegal dumping at Zoarvlei Illegal access to the seasonal pan, Rietvlei section Fishing Photographs by the TBNR staff 3. CONSERVATION PLANNING ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Proclamation process TBNR Protected Area Advisory Committee (PAAC) 4. FLORA .................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Invasive Flora Management Indigenous Flora Management Photographs by the TBNR staff 5. FAUNA ................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Indigenous Fauna Management iNaturalist Challenge Photographs by the TBNR staff 6. SOIL AND RESTORATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 12 Search and Rescue Planting operations Photographs by the TBNR staff 7. WATER ................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Water Quality Table with Rietvlei section monthly rainfall Table with Milnerton Racecourse Conservation area (MRC) annual rainfall Fixed point photographs of the MRC dam Photographs by MRC Site manager 8. FIRE ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Planned/prescribed burns Wildfires Map by MRC Site manager 9. PEOPLE, TOURISM & EDUCATION ...................................................................................................................................... 16 Special Environmental Day Programme Informal Programmes 2 City of Cape Town | TBNR | Quarterly Report |1 APRIL-30 JUNE 2019 External and Internal meetings Staff, Regional and Branch meetings Photograph by TBNR staff member 10. STAFF MATTERS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Staff Establishment Staff training 11. LAW ENFORCEMENT ........................................................................................................................................................... 17 TBNR section incidents Quemic Ranger programme report Photograph by Reserve Supervisor for Diep River 12. INFRASTRUCTURE & EQUIPMENT ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Repairs and Maintenance Photographs by the TBNR staff Externally Funded Programmes 3 City of Cape Town | TBNR | Quarterly Report |1 APRIL-30 JUNE 2019 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This monthly report covers all the activities for the period from the 1 April to 30 June 2019 within the Table Bay Nature Reserve. Table Bay Nature Reserve (TBNR) comprises the Rietvlei, Zoarvlei, Milnerton Racecourse, and Milnerton Ridge, Coastal and Lagoon sections as well as the Diep River and Parklands Fynbos, Sandown Fynbos Corridor and Sunningdale Ephemeral Pan. 2. HIGHLIGHTS & CHALLENGES Highlights From the 08/03/2019 until the 28/06/2019, eighteen recruited Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers from the local communities assisted with daily general work with focus on Litter clean–ups, general maintenance of infrastructure within Table Bay Nature Reserve boundary including at the Diep River and the Parklands Fynbos Corridors’, the Sandown Fynbos Corridor and Sunningdale Ephemeral Pan. The EPWP workers from Table Bay Nature Reserve with the Reserve Supervisor The visibility of Quemic rangers at the Zoarvlei section led to the decrease of general illegal activities which includes; burning of cables, illegal occupancy, overnight camping, selling of drugs and engagement of indecent acts. There has not been a need for any joint- operations for the removal of illegal structures for this Illegal occupancy in % for past quarter which is a positive sign. The overnight camping spot was cleaned out and the litter was dumped at quarter Killarney Landfill. Jun-19 Apr-19 18% May-19 55% The declining number of illegal occupancy that was 27% recorded by Quemic for this reporting period for Zoarvlei indicates that the patrols by the Quemic Rangers Integrity Apr-19 May-19 Jun-19 team have made a positive impact. Challenges During this reporting period, several illegal grazing of livestock inside the Diep River and adjacent sections have been reported to management. Cows from the neighbouring community have been some of the recurring challenges experienced since 2011. Several meetings with the livestock owners and internal stakeholders including the City of Cape Town’s Law Enforcement have taken place. 4 City of Cape Town | TBNR | Quarterly Report |1 APRIL-30 JUNE 2019 Illegal dumping remains one of the biggest challenges on the Southern Section of the Zoarvlei Wetland which is adjacent to the community of Brooklyn. CCTV camera’s from Paardeneiland City Improvement District (PECID), recorded footage of criminal activity whereby a resident from Brooklyn drove into the nature reserve to dump rubble. The same person was caught again by a member of public. The Site manager followed up by reporting the matter to Maitland Solid Waste Law Enforcement. Solid Waste Law Enforcement visited the alleged and issued him with a Compliance letter. The alleged was asked to remove the rubble that was dumped in the Nature Reserve. The Maitland Solid Waste Law Enforcement included Zoarvlei section in their illegal dumping hot spot project which means they will patrol the area as part of their schedule. Solid Waste Law Enforcement issuing compliance notice The accessing of the Seasonal pan remains a seasonal challenge with regards to members of the public accessing the pan. There has being numerous reports of people with dogs and even a small motorbike driving on the pan. The most common excuse that there is not enough sign boards to advice the members of public that entering the pan is prohibited. We must consider all options to curb this challenge. During this reporting period, however, this challenge has been helped by our annual rainfall as the pan at present is submersed with water. Fishing: The land based fishing resource has unfortunately not improved. Fishermen continue to try to catch fish, without any luck. A fishing survey was completed in April 2019 by Corne Erasmus from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Small mullet, size 20 - 25 mm, was caught in the net during the survey, an average of about 200 mullet were caught, and was released back into the water . CONSERVATION PLANNING The False Bay and Helderberg Nature Reserves have been proclaimed on the 22/03/19. Wolfgat, Zandvlei and Table Bay Nature Reserves’ have been notarized and still remain on the waiting list for gazetting with the MEC. As per the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, Act 57 of 2003, Protected Area Advisory Committees (PAACs) for each of the City of Cape Town’s nature reserves and protected natural areas have been established including for the Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve. 5 City of Cape Town | TBNR | Quarterly Report |1 APRIL-30 JUNE 2019 The sixteenth TBNR PAAC meeting will take place on the 18/07/2019. The Table below indicates all PAAC meetings during this reporting period. No Date 15 02/05/2019 4. FLORA Invasive Flora Management At Milnerton Racecourse conservation area, Kikuyu grass was sprayed with herbicide on the15 and 23 of April with four person days used and sprayed with herbicide on the 13/05 with two person days used. Kikuyu grass and Port Jackson seedlings were manually removed on 3 and 4 June with three person days used. Lagoon section: On the 05/06 invasive vegetation clearing of Ink Berry between the reeds in the lagoon section took place. Zoarvlei: Invasive vegetation follow-up was conducted during this reporting period and the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) team assisted with the hand pulling and manual removal method of seedlings. These included: Port Jackson (Acacia saligna), Manotoka (Myoporum tenuifolium), Lupin (Lupinus pilosus), Lavatera (Malva arborea) and Red Sesbania (Sesbania punicea). EPWP team hand-pulling Lavatera EPWP team clearing Port Jackson seedlings Indigenous Flora Management Diep River and its adjacent sections: The search and rescue of plants including seed collecting operations have taken place on a monthly basis, as the surrounding land is currently in the