EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Driftsands is situated on the , approximately 25 km east of on the National Route 2, in the Province. The reserve is situated adjacent to the Medical Research Centre in Delft and is bounded by highways and human settlement on all sides. Driftsands is bound in the northwest by the and the National Route 2 and Old Faure road in the south. The northern boundary is bordered by private landowners, while the eastern boundary is formed by Township. The Nature Reserve falls within the Metropolitan Municipality.

The reserve experiences a Mediterranean-type climate with warm dry summers, and cool wet winter seasons. Gale force winds from the south east prevail during the summer months, while during the winter months, north westerly winds bring rain. Driftsands Nature Reserve represents of one of the largest remaining remnants of intact Cape Flats Dune Strandveld which is classified as Endangered, and harbours at least two Endangered Cape Flats endemics, Muraltia mitior and Passerina paludosa. The with associated floodplain wetlands, dune strandveld depressions and seeps are representative of a wetland type that has been subjected to high cumulative loss, and provides regulatory ecosystem services such as flood attenuation, ground water recharge/discharge and water quality improvement. The site provides access for cultural and/or religious practices and provides opportunities for quality curriculum based environmental education. Driftsands Nature Reserve is given the highest priority rating within the Biodiversity Network (BioNet), the fine scale conservation plan for the City of Cape Town.

Driftsands Nature Reserve was established as a Provincial Nature Reserve in terms of Section 6(1) the Nature and Environmental Conservation Ordinance, 1974, (Ordinance 19 of 1974) on 22 July 1983 and proclaimed in the Provincial Gazette of 4276 by Proclamation No. 192. During first 18 years of the site being proclaimed it was remotely managed making the site vulnerable to unplanned uses resulting in degradation of some critical features. Informal settlements developed within the reserve, with Driftsands Township being formally established in 1994. Currently an additional two informal settlements have established on the reserve, namely Los Angeles and Green Park. Since 2001 the site has been actively managed, while in 2005 CapeNature saw the need to investigate the potential of the Nature Reserve and its role in the City in the context of the Gateway Project and increasing pressure for the Nature Reserve to alleviate housing requirements in the area. Subsequently, existing settlements are to be consolidated and informal settlements upgraded. With the de-proclamation of consolidated settlements, the extent of Driftsands Nature Reserve will be reduced from the original 638 ha to 506.86 ha.

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In compliance with the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003), CapeNature is required to develop management plans for each of its Nature Reserves. In developing the management plan for the Driftsands Nature Reserve, CapeNature strives to establish biodiversity conservation as a foundation of a sustainable economy providing ecosystem services, access and opportunities for all.

This management plan is divided into seven sections. The first section provides background information to the compilation of CapeNature protected area management plans and details the structure, approval and revision of these plans.

The second section outlines the Strategic Management Framework of Driftsands Nature Reserve. The vision and purpose was developed to guide reserve management in its daily operations and longer-term planning. The vision for Driftsands is to be a Nature Reserve with ecosystem integrity, which reinforces a resilient landscape in a changing urban environment. The purpose of the reserve is for the preservation of ecosystem services and viability through environmental education and awareness, in a biodiversity network, which influences change through conservation stewards, advocacy and the enforcement of legal mandates, to the benefit of communities and partners.

The objectives for the Driftsands Nature Reserve were developed in line with CapeNature’s strategic goals, objectives and key measurable objectives and were derived from the organisation’s vision and purpose. They represent Key Performance Areas which must be achieved in order to support the management intention. The prioritised objectives for Driftsands Nature Reserve are as follows:

1. To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. 2. To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. 3. To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. 4. To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. 5. To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. 6. To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards.

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The management plan then identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOTs) for Driftsands Nature Reserve. A SWOT analysis involves specifying the objectives and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable or averse to achieving those. Some of the strengths identified include the existence of support structures and programmes, and operational tools and systems that can be adapted to site specific needs. Natural assets exhibited such as wetland ecosystems and Dune Strandveld are intact and display a high level of ecosystem resilience; boundaries are defined and have been surveyed in part, while CapeNature’s Provincial mandate and legal tools facilitate protected area management. Furthermore, the location and proximity of the Nature Reserve to communities complements the ability to influence change. Some of the weaknesses identified are: uncontrolled access and abuse thereof; presence of small farmers and grazing by goats and cattle; frequent fires and arson; the proximity of communities and associated edge effects and a lack of a suitable buffer. Communication internally and with the public can cause challenges due to public expectations and the majority of CapeNature reserves with systems tailor made to suite the rural conservation context. Additional weaknesses include budgetary constraints and a shortage of capacitated staff to deal with regulatory aspects.

The key opportunities identified through SWOT are as follows: strong partnerships with conservation agencies and government departments; access to external project funding through the Expanded Public Works Programme, the Natural Resource Management Branch, Environmental Affairs and Integrated Catchment Management, all of which contribute to ensuring ecosystem resilience; site location provides opportunity to influence behaviour and showcase relevance of the Driftsands Nature Reserve; the Nature reserve itself and challenges that are faced serve as an opportunity to develop case studies and document lessons learnt, which can be applied to other protected areas that experience similar challenges; wetland ecosystems offer ecosystem services in the form of flood attenuation, while environmental offsets offer an opportunity for expansion and formalisation of landscape conservation initiatives (conservation networks). Some of the threats identified were: poverty and the collateral effects thereof; biological invasion, land invasion, dumping and grazing by livestock; climate change and associated extreme weather events; population growth and a changing political environment with differing spheres of government, and communication structures related to Driftsands Nature Reserve purpose which is very site specific as opposed to other CapeNature reserves. Additionally, due to the threats, on site management is a requirement, however, office space is currently rented and thus not secure.

Section three highlights the legal framework under which CapeNature and the Driftsands Nature Reserve operate and details the reserve’s history and legal status,

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ecological context and information, cultural heritage, socio-economic context and infrastructure development programs.

Section four details the planning context for Driftsands Nature Reserve and relates it to regional and provincial planning processes. Driftsands falls within the boundaries of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The Khayelitsha, , and Greater District Spatial Development Plan and Environmental Management Framework is relevant to the Nature Reserve and consulted to guide decision making pertaining to the management of Driftsands Nature Reserve. This includes aspects related to the maintenance and improvement of existing public open space, protection of the Kuils River system, retaining the rural character of the area, promoting the Driftsands Nature Reserve as destination place and promoting City Park’s Khayelitsha Wetlands Park as a linked district park as well as a destination place, to name a few. This section also deals with protected area expansion opportunities. The importance of the Driftsands Nature Reserve is valued on numerous fine scale plans commissioned by the City of Cape Town. With specific reference to the fine scale conservation plan for the region, the BioNet, the Nature Reserve forms a core remnant of Cape Flats Dune Strandveld. Properties with high biodiversity value adjacent to the Nature Reserve are included in the BioNet and this serves as a guide for the nature reserve expansion plan. The future expansion for the Driftsands Nature Reserve will be focussed on consolidating priority areas along the Kuils River Corridor to link to the City of Cape Town’s Macassar Nature Reserve on the Coast. This will greatly facilitate conservation management and preservation of ecosystem functioning and resilience.

Section five sets out the Conservation Development Framework for the Driftsands Nature Reserve. The Conservation Development Framework includes sensitivity analysis, zonation, access and a concept development plan. Areas of low sensitivity are restricted to known transformed sites. Areas classified as ‘high sensitivity’ include substrates that are very loose sandy soils and dune systems, and the vegetation of the reserve. The vegetation is classified as Cape Flats Dune Strandveld, listed as Endangered (Mucina and Rutherford 2006) and is poorly protected. Some five percent is conserved ( National Park, and ), with a conservation target of 24%. Given the status of the vegetation type as well as the importance of Driftsands in contributing to the conservation of the remaining 40% of this vegetation type, it is categorised High Sensitivity. The highest sensitivity has been assigned to the wetland systems of the reserve, which have been classified as dune strandveld floodplain wetlands, dune strandveld isolated depressions and dune strandveld isolated seeps. On Driftsands these systems and their associated ecosystems are critical in an urban landscape, providing refuge for freshwater and terrestrial species and serving an important ecosystem service of flood attenuation in an urban environment where most surfaces

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have been hardened. The primary challenges mapped include the network of informal roads, tracks and paths, frequent fires primarily as a result of human activity and the informal kraals and associated grazing footprint. The sensitivity analysis illustrates that though much of the reserve is categorised as highly sensitive, the biodiversity of this area is being negatively impacted by these activities. The Nature Reserve is zoned according to activities permitted on the reserve and management objectives. Zonation ranges from Development – Low Intensity (assigned to the initiation site) and Management (critical management roads and tracks), to Nature Access (a formalised public trail) to Primitive (the remaining area of the reserve, set with the intent that it should serve to provide an experience of a natural area in an urban landscape). Access is uncontrolled due to the position of settlements on the reserve, but is also advocated for utilisation of the initiation village, other cultural and traditional practices, as well as environmental education and awareness initiatives. The Driftsands Human Settlements Project will formalise these informal settlements, while portions of the Nature Reserve earmarked for development will be de- proclaimed in accordance to legal prescripts.

Section six summarises the reserve’s Strategic Implementation Framework. The Strategic Implementation Framework guides the implementation of the protected area management plan over five years to ensure that it achieves its objectives. The Strategic Implementation Framework translates the information described in sections 3, 4 and 5 into management activities and targets, which will be used to inform annual planning; including the allocation of resources required for implementation. The Strategic Implementation Framework is divided into a number of tables which detail the key deliverables and monitoring and management activities that the responsible CapeNature staff members will be required to pursue within the next five years. These tables cover aspects such as biodiversity and wildlife management, infrastructure management, finance and administration functions and the tourism development framework.

The last section of the protected area management plan lists the references and definitions of terms as used in the document.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTHORISATION ......

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... i

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... vi

LIST OF TABLES ...... vii

LIST OF FIGURES ...... viii

ABBREVIATIONS ...... x

1) INTRODUCTION ...... 11 1.1 Background to CapeNature Protected Area Management Plans ...... 11 1.2 Structure of the management plan ...... 13 1.3 Approval and revision of the management plan ...... 15

2) THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK OF DRIFTSANDS NATURE RESERVE ...... 17 2.1. The vision of Driftsands Nature Reserve ...... 17 2.2 The purpose of Driftsands Nature Reserve ...... 17 2.4 The objectives of Driftsands Nature Reserve ...... 19 2.5 Summary of management issues, challenges, opportunities and threats of Driftsands Nature Reserve ...... 19

3) DESCRIPTION AND CONTEXT OF DRIFTSANDS NATURE RESERVE ...... 21 3.1 Location and extent of Driftsands Nature Reserve ...... 21 3.2 History of Driftsands Nature Reserve ...... 27 3.3 Ecological context of Driftsands Nature Reserve ...... 30 3.3.5.1 Habitat Types ...... 41 3.3.5.1.1 Rare and threatened species ...... 41 3.4 Cultural Heritage context of Driftsands Nature Reserve ...... 61 3.5 Socio-economic context ...... 62 3.6 Operational management within Driftsands Nature Reserve ...... 65

4) THE PLANNING CONTEXT OF DRIFTSANDS NATURE RESERVE ...... 70 4.1 Regional and Provincial Planning of Driftsands Nature Reserve ...... 70

5) CONSERVATION DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK OF DRIFTSANDS NATURE RESERVE ...... 74 5.1 Sensitivity analysis ...... 74

5.2 Driftsands Nature Reserve Sensitivity Analyses ...... 78 5.3 Zonation ...... 79 5.4 Access ...... 91 5.4 Concept Development Plan ...... 93

6) STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK...... 98

7) REFERENCES ...... 122

DEFINITION OF TERMS ...... 126

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 The values of Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 2.2 Management challenges, opportunities and threats of Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 3.1 Distribution of alien vegetation species occurring on Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 3.2 Mammal species expected to occur on the Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 3.3 Bird species expected to occur on the Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 3.4 species that occur on the Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 3.5 Amphibian species of conservation concern that occur on the Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 3.6 Invertebrate species of conservation concern that occur on the Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 3.7 Infrastructure located within the Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 5.1 Guide to CapeNature Zones on the Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 5.2 Formal Public access points to the Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 5.3 Servitudes, management agreement and public rights to the Driftsands Nature Reserve Table 6.1 Legal Status and Reserve Expansion Table 6.2 Regional Integrated Planning and Cooperative Governance Table 6.3 Ecosystem and Biodiversity Management Table 6.4 Wildlife Management Table 6.5 Fire Management Table 6.6 Invasive and Non-invasive Species Management Table 6.7 Cultural and Heritage Resource Management Table 6.8 Law Enforcement and Compliance Table 6.9 Infrastructure Management Table 6.10 Socio-Economic Framework Table 6.11 Management Effectiveness Table 6.12.1 Finance and Administration Management Table 6.12.2 Human Resource Management Table 6.12.3 Occupational Health and Safety Management Table 6.12.4 Risk Management Table 6.13 Visitor Management and Services

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LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Adaptive management cycle (CSIRO 2012) Figure 1.2 Structure of the Management Plan Figure 1.3 Approval and Review of the Management Plan Figure 3.1 View of Table Mountain taken from Driftsands Nature Reserve with the N2 national road in the background Figure 3.2 Location of Driftsands Nature Reserve Figure 3.3 The Proclaimed Extent of Driftsands Nature Reserve Figure 3.4 The Proposed Extent of Driftsands Nature Reserve Figure 3.5 Historical expansion (1904- 2005) of the development footprint in the City (Holmes, Wood & Dorse 2008) Figure 3.6 Historical images from 1938 of the area that will become Driftsands Nature Reserve Figure 3.7 Climate of Driftsands Nature Reserve 1979 – 2012 (ARC) Figure 3.8 Topography of Driftsands Nature Reserve

Figure 3.9 Geomorphology of Driftsands Nature Reserve (Council for Geoscience 2001)

Figure 3.10 The Kuilsriver winding through Drfitsands Nature Reserve (image on left). Dune slack wetlands with standing water on Driftsands Nature Reserve (image on right). Photos: Natalie Hayward

Figure 3.11 Hydrology of Driftsands Nature Reserve (Council of Geoscience 2001) Figure 3.12 Typical Cape Flats Dune Strandveld on Driftsands Nature Reserve Photo: N Hayward Figure 3.13 Muraltia mitior Photo: Jacques van der Merwe Figure 3.14 Vegetation map of Driftsands Nature Reserve (Mucina & Rutherford 2006) Figure 3.15 Veld Age map of Driftsands Nature Reserve Figure 3.16 Stands of Acacia saligna which have invaded parts of Driftsands Nature Reserve Figure 3.17 Woody Alien Invasive Plant species map of Driftsands Nature Reserve Figure 3.18 Typical bird species that are commonly recorded at Driftsands Nature Reserve. From left. Spotted Eagle Owl (Bubo africanus), Black Shouldered Kite (Elanus axillarus) and Red knobbed coot (Fulica cristata) Figure 3.19 Greater flamingo’s Phoenicopterus ruber are rare visitors to Driftsands Nature Reserve Figure 3.20 Cape Cobra (left) and Common Mole (right). Photo: Mkhuseli Boesman and Andrew Turner

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Figure 3.21 Fish caught in the Driftsands dam. Photo: Mkhuseli Boesman Figure 3.22 The EPWP team based at Driftsands Nature Reserve Figure 3.23 Hikers using one of the reserve footpaths Photo: Goolam Tambe Figure 3.24 Infrastructure map of Driftsands Nature Reserve Figure 3.25 Driftsands Nature Reserve Management Office and Environmental Education Center (2001) Figure 3.26 The newly installed palisade fence with a gate Figure 3.27 Hazardous waste material illegally dumped on the nature reserve being removed by reserve staff Figure 4.1 Priority Biodiversity Areas of Driftsands Nature Reserve and surrounds Figure 5.1 CapeNature Method for Sensitivity Scoring and Synthesis (Kirkwood in prep.) Figure 5.2 Driftsands Nature Reserve Sensitivity map Figure 5.3 Map indicating Land use impacting on the sensitivity Driftsands Nature Reserve Figure 5.4 Driftsands Nature Reserve Zonation Map Figure 5.5 Driftsands Nature Reserve Access map Figure 5.6 Option 4(a) adopted by Cabinet Resolution 2005 (Laros et al. 2005) Figure 5.7 Points and Boundary Lines that still need to be surveyed on Driftsands Nature Reserve

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ABBREVIATIONS APO Annual Plan of Operations BMS Biodiversity Monitoring System CBO Community Based Organisations CEO Chief Executive Officer CFR COCT City of Cape Town Municipality DAFF Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries DEA Department of Environmental Affairs DEA&DP Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning DPW Department of Public Works EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EMI Environmental Management Inspector EMP Environmental Management Plans/ Programme EPWP Expanded Public Works Programme Fire Protection Association in terms of the National Veld and Forest FPA Fire Act, 1998 (No. 1 of 1998) GIS Geographical Information System GRAP Generally Recognised Accounting Practices HIRA Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment ICM Integrated Catchment Management IDP Integrated Development Plan IRMP Integrated Reserve Management Plan (IRMP) METT-SA Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool for MOU Memorandum of Understanding MRC Medical Research Council MUCP Management Unit Clearing Plan NEM: PAA National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act NFEPA National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas NGO Non-governmental Organisation NPAES National Protected Area Expansion Strategy OHSA Occupational Health and Safety Act PAAC Protected Area Advisory Committee PAMP Protected Area Management Plan PFMA Public Finance Management Act QEM Quarterly Ecological Meeting RMC Reserve Management Committee SANBI South Africa National Biodiversity Institute SANParks South African National Parks SARCA South African Reptile Conservation Assessment SDF Spatial Development Framework SOB State of Biodiversity SWOT Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis TPC Threshold of Potential Concern U-AMP User Asset Management Plan UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation WCNCB Western Cape Nature Conservation Board

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1) INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to CapeNature Protected Area Management Plans In compliance with the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEM: PAA), 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003), CapeNature is required to develop management plans for each of its protected areas. The object of a management plan is to ensure the protection, conservation and management of the protected area concerned in a manner which is consistent with the objectives of NEM: PAA and for the purpose for which it was declared. The approach to, and format of all CapeNature management plans is directed by the Guidelines for the Development of a Management Plan for a Protected Area in terms of the National Environmental Management: Protected Area Act (Cowan & Mpongoma 2010). All CapeNature management plans must be read in conjunction with CapeNature’s Co-ordinated Policy Framework (CPF) (Cleaver-Christie et al. in prep).

Management plans are strategic documents that provide the framework for the development and operation of protected areas. They inform management at all levels, from the Conservation Manager to support staff within CapeNature. The purpose of the management plan is to:

 Provide the primary strategic tool for management of the protected area informing the need for specific programmes and operational procedures;  Provide for capacity building, future thinking and continuity of management; and  Enable the management of the protected area in such a way that its values and the purpose for which it has been established are protected.

When drafting management plans, CapeNature applies the adaptive management cycle, as shown in Figure 1.1.

Adaptive management enables CapeNature to: i) Learn through experience; ii) Take account of, and respond to, changing factors that affect the protected area; iii) Develop or refine management processes; iv) Adopt best practices and new innovations in biodiversity conservation management; and v) Demonstrate that management is appropriate and effective.

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Figure 1.1: Adaptive management cycle (CSIRO 2012)

The management plan indicates where reserve management intends to focus its efforts in the next five years (2015-2020). The management plan thus provides the medium-term operational framework for the prioritised allocation of resources and capacity in the management, use and development of the reserve.

The management plan focuses on strategic priorities rather than detailing all operational and potential reactive courses of action in the next five years. The timeframe referenced in the Strategic Implementation Framework (SIF) follows financial years (1 April to 31 March), with Year 1 commencing from signing of the management plan by the Provincial Minister: Environmental Affairs and Development Planning. While planning for some emergencies is part of the management plan, it remains possible that unforeseen circumstances could disrupt the prioritisation established in this management plan. These should be addressed in the annual review and update of the management plan. The scope of the management plan for protected areas is constrained by a reserve’s actual or potential performance capability (such as available personnel, funding, and any other external factors) to ensure that the plan is achievable and sustainable.

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1.2 Structure of the management plan

All CapeNature management plans are structured as follows (see Figure 1.2):

Section 1: Outlines the background, structure and authorisation processes of the management plan. Section 2: Outlines the strategic management framework, which sets out the vision, purpose, values and objectives for the protected area and summarises its opportunities, challenges, and threats. Section 3: Provides a description of the protected area and its ecological and operational context. Section 4: Sets out the regional and local planning context of the protected area. Section 5: Outlines the conservation development framework and the concept development plan for the protected area. Section 6: Outlines the strategic implementation framework of the protected area. Section 7: References and Glossary

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Figure 1.2 Structure of the Management Plan

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1.3 Approval and revision of the management plan

The management plan is drafted by the Reserve Management Committee (RMC). The scientific and technical content of the management plan is then internally reviewed according to Waller (2013). The edited management plan then undergoes an independent external review before being recommended for stakeholder participation where comments are considered and the management plan is once again edited where necessary. The management plan is then reviewed by the CapeNature Executive and recommended by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to the Western Cape Nature Conservation Board Conservation Committee. The Board Conservation Committee then recommends the management plan to the Western Cape Nature Conservation Board (WCNCB) for approval after which it is submitted to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) for ministerial approval. The approval process of the protected area management plan is outlined in Figure 1.3.

The protected area management plan is reviewed annually to track progress on the SIF discussed in section 6 and the document will be updated and reviewed every five years.

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Figure 1.3 Approval and Review of the Management Plan

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2) THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK OF DRIFTSANDS NATURE RESERVE The strategic management framework is aimed at providing the basis for the protection, development and operation of the protected area over a five year period. It consists of the vision, purpose, values and objectives of Driftsands Nature Reserve and summarises its opportunities, challenges, and threats.

A planning session, facilitated by the Regional Ecologist and guided by the Conservation Manager, defined the vision and purpose of the protected area. This umbrella statement indicates the management intent of the Driftsands Nature Reserve which in turn defines the management objectives. The management objectives were evaluated using the Procedure for Defining Conservation Management Objectives and Goals (Coombes & Mentis 1992) and categorised into objectives, action plans and tasks. The management objectives were prioritised through a pairwise comparison process and the results were used to populate the SIF (see Section 6). Actions plans were associated with objectives, and tasks (activities) were identified within each action plan.

2.1. The vision of Driftsands Nature Reserve The vision describes the overall long-term goal for the operation, protection and development of Driftsands Nature Reserve, and reads as follows:

A nature reserve with ecosystem integrity, which reinforces a resilient landscape in a changing urban environment.

2.2 The purpose of Driftsands Nature Reserve The purpose is the foundation on which all future actions are based and is in line with the overall management philosophy of the organisation.

According to Section 17 of NEM:PAA, the purposes of declaring an area as a protected area is: a) to protect ecologically viable areas representative of South Africa’s biological diversity and its natural landscapes and seascapes in a system of protected areas; b) to preserve the ecological integrity of those areas; c) to conserve biodiversity in those areas; d) to protect areas representative of all ecosystems, habitats and species naturally occurring in South Africa; e) to protect South Africa’s threatened or rare species; f) to protect an area which is vulnerable or ecologically sensitive; g) to assist in ensuring the sustained supply of environmental goods and services; h) to provide for the sustainable use of natural and biological resources; i) to create or augment destinations for nature-based tourism; j) to manage the interrelationship between natural environmental biodiversity, human settlement and economic development; k) generally, to contribute to human, social, cultural, spiritual and economic development; or l) to rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems and promote the recovery of endangered and vulnerable species.

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The Driftsands Nature Reserve was declared for; (a), (b), (c),(d), (e), (f), (g), (j), (k) and (l). With the exception of nature-based tourism, all guiding principles for the establishment of protected areas are applicable to Driftsands Nature Reserve.

The purpose of the Driftsands Nature Reserve is defined as follows:

The preservation of ecosystem services and viability through environmental education and awareness, in a biodiversity network, which influences change through conservation stewards, advocacy and the enforcement of legal mandates, to the benefit of communities and partners.

2.3 The values of Driftsands Nature Reserve

Values are those characteristics that deem the protected area unique in terms of its ecological, cultural and social aspects. The values of Driftsands Nature Reserve are included in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1: The values of Driftsands Nature Reserve

Natural values  Core conservation area in the Biodiversity Network for the Cape Town municipal area, providing landscape connectivity along the Kuils River corridor  Endangered Cape Flats Dune Strandveld contributes to national conservation targets  Representative of Cape Flats dune Strandveld dune slack and floodplain wetland system which is subjected to high cumulative loss  Wetlands are classified as Critical Biodiversity Area with associated critical biodiversity support areas. - Habitat diversity which includes a wetland ecosystem with high quality dune slack wetland mosaic and a complex series of relatively young, but stabilised dunes  Sandy aquifer and groundwater recharge/discharge  Biological diversity and species of special concern such as Muraltia mitior (Endangered) and Passerina paludosa (Endangered)  A natural biodiverse landscape within an urbanised area Ecosystem service  Regulation: Wetlands provide flood storage during periods of values high river flow and extreme rainfall events, groundwater recharge/discharge, water quality improvement and food chain  Wetland function rely on groundwater in groundwater discharge areas  Refuge area and habitat for a variety of freshwater species (migration, feeding or breeding node)  Refuge area and habitat for a variety of Cape Flats terrestrial endemic species (migration, feeding or breeding node)  Wetlands are utilised for cultural/religious practices such as traditional cleansing ceremonies and harvesting of for traditional medicines

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Social values  Provides employment opportunities to impoverished surrounding communities  Provides curriculum based, quality environmental education and awareness opportunities Cultural and historic  Provides reserve access to surrounding communities for spiritual values and cultural purposes  Encases an important remnant of the historical landscape  Potential for sites of paleontological and archaeological significance

2.4 The objectives of Driftsands Nature Reserve The objectives were derived from the vision and purpose and represent Key Performance Areas in which achievement must be obtained in order to support the management intention. Objectives, which are not measurable or testable, are then prioritised through the development of action plans and translated into strategic outcomes which are set out in the SIF.

The prioritised objectives are: 1. To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. 2. To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. 3. To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. 4. To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. 5. To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. 6. To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards.

2.5 Summary of management issues, challenges, opportunities and threats of Driftsands Nature Reserve A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the relevant strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It involves specifying the objectives and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and averse to achieving that objective. The analysis identifies the Driftsands Nature Reserve’s following strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (Table 2.2).

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Table 2.2 Management challenges, opportunities and threats of Driftsands Nature Reserve

Strengths Obj Obj Obj Obj Obj Obj 1 2 3 4 5 6

There are existing Programmes and support     structures There are operational tools and systems in    place that can be adapted to the site specific needs of the reserve. Intact natural resources such as wetlands.     Defined boundary (ROD).    Location and proximity of reserve to     communities to influence change. System resilience.    Provincial mandate and other legal tools.    Weaknesses Uncontrolled/open access and abuse thereof.    Small farmers on the reserve (grazing goats,     cattle). Leasing of office space.    Frequent fires and arson.    Location and proximity of reserve to    communities it serves. Communication (public expectations and     differing reserves, systems that don’t fit DRFS). No buffer   Procurement/finance system especially    related to project funding. A lack of capacitated trained staff.    Insufficient budget.     Institutional support for the reserve.      Opportunities Strong partnerships.      Access to project funding (EPWP, DEA     funding) (ensures resilience of the system). Location provides opportunity to influence     behaviours and showcase relevance. Ecosystem services and flood attenuation.     Incubator for case studies and learning     opportunities (in dealing with threats) which can be applied to other protected areas.

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Environmental offsets (potential for     expansion and creation of conservation networks). Threats Poverty.     Biological invasions.   Leasing of office space.      Land invasion.    Dumping.      Grazing by livestock.     Communication of reserve purpose (site      specific) versus CapeNature as a whole (one size does not fit all). A changing political environment, differing     spheres of governance. Climate change, extreme weather events.     Population growth.    

3) DESCRIPTION AND CONTEXT OF DRIFTSANDS NATURE RESERVE 3.1 Location and extent of Driftsands Nature Reserve

The Driftsands Nature Reserve is situated on the Cape Flats, approximately 25 km east of Cape Town on the National Route 2, in the Western Cape Province (Figure 3.1). The reserve is situated adjacent to the Medical Research Centre in Delft and is bounded by highways and human settlement on all sides. Driftsands is bound in the northwest by the R300 and the National Route 2 and Old Faure road in the south. The northern boundary is bordered by private landowners, while the eastern boundary is formed by Mfuleni Township. The Nature Reserve falls within the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The proclaimed nature reserve covers an area of approximately 639.79 ha. See Figure 3.2

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Fig 3.1: View of Table Mountain taken from Driftsands Nature Reserve with the N2 national road in the background The original extent of the property Erf 544, Deed of Grant 224 of 1972, was 736.8596 ha (see Figure 3.3). The Department of Roads excised a total of 63.9230 ha for the road reserve along sections of the R300 and N2, Swartklip Interchange and Stop lane. The Sikhumbule (Driftsands) Township was established in 1994 and comprising 19.8824 ha which was de- proclaimed as nature reserve or subdivided from farm 544/1. In 1996 portion 61 of portion 1 of Erf 544 a total of 21.6399 ha was sold to MRC for R1 proclaimed as part of Driftsands Nature Reserve, this boundary amendment was not formally rectified. These amendments left a total of 631.4143 ha. Farm NOU1077, a private property, was given to CapeNature to manage, this added 8.3808 ha to the reserve.

In order to formally develop the Los Angeles and Green Park informal settlements that have over the years encroached on the Driftsands Nature Reserve the City of Cape Town (Directorate: Human Settlements) resurveyed the boundaries to exclude the portions of the nature reserve to be allocated to the Driftsands Potential Study (discussed in detail in Section 5.6) and as per the Record of Decision issued by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning dated 23 November 2011. This will potentially result in the transformation of approximately 25 to 30 ha of nationally significant Cape Flats Dune Strandveld habitat found in the nature reserve. The area of the Driftsands Nature Reserve after de-proclamation will be approximately 506.86 ha, and is shown in Figure 3.4. The decision was taken by CapeNature to develop this protected area management plan using the new boundary for the Driftsands Nature Reserve and therefore the boundary indicated on maps in this document, except Figure 3.3, is not as proclaimed, but as per the new proposed Nature Reserve boundary.

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Driftsands Nature Reserve is the only urban nature reserve managed by CapeNature, in the City of Cape Town and as a result faces unique challenges typical of an urban setting. These challenges include Illegal activities on the reserve from dumping, illegal harvesting/poaching, grazing by livestock, farming, and illegal settlement to general degradation of sensitive wetland habitat on the reserve. Driftsands Nature Reserve is given the highest priority rating within the Biodiversity Network (BioNet), the fine scale conservation plan for the City of Cape Town. The reserve provides landscape connectivity along the Kuils River corridor, and is considered a key anchor site for conservation The Driftsands Nature Reserve management and environmental education centre is rented by the Provincial Department of Public Works and Transport from the Medical Research Council (MRC). This is the offices of the Conservation Services, Community Conservation, Driftsands Nature Reserve and an Environmental Education Centre.

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Figure 3.2 The Location of Driftsands Nature Reserve

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Figure 3.3 The Proclaimed Extent of Driftsands Nature Reserve

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Figure 3.4 The Proposed Extent of Driftsands Nature Reserve

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3.2 History of Driftsands Nature Reserve

To understand the history of Driftsands Nature Reserve one must understand the history and development of the City of Cape Town. The political and environmental discourse which shaped this city had a direct influence on what is known today as Driftsands Nature Reserve. The areas prehistory dates back to the time of Khoi and San who have been documented to have moved through the area. The groups had large herds of domestic livestock as well as wild game, and altered the environment through burning to stimulate grazing for their . The first European explorers and settlers to the Cape arrived in the 1600’s. With settlement of the European explorers, came the further exploitation of natural resources at a much larger scale to service the trade routes around and the growing number of settlers. Natural resources such as wood, game meat and water were in high demand (Anderson & O’Farrell 2012). As a result the landscape of the Cape Flats was drastically changed and tamed to accommodate the growing population. Pressures on natural resources also see introduction of alien trees and plants to the landscape for wood. Australian Acacias were introduced on the Cape Flats to stabilize dunes which have been severely overgrazed and to make colonisation of the sandy flats easier. With the 1900’s came colonisation and expansion of the colony with the footprint stretching well beyond the city centre. See Figure 3.5 (Holmes, Wood & Dorse 2008).

Figure 3.5 Historical expansion (1904-2005) of the development footprint in the City (Holmes, Wood & Dorse 2008)

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Figure 3.6 illustrates what the Driftsands area looked like in the late 1930’s when the area was not as developed. The image depicts large sandy dune fields and extensive tracts of natural veld. tracks and signs of informal agriculture was already evident, which indicates that even during this time the area was utilised. Driftsands Nature Reserve was proclaimed as a Provincial Nature Reserve on 22 July 1983. For the first 18 years of its existence there was no formal management structure for the reserve. In 2000 the newly formed Western Cape Nature Conservation Board (WCNBC) included the Driftsands Nature Reserve as a key nature reserve under their mandate.

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. Figure 3.6 Historical images from 1938 of the area that will become Driftsands Nature Reserve

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3.3 Ecological context of Driftsands Nature Reserve This section reflects the ecological conditions of Driftsands Nature Reserve

3.3.1 Climate and weather Driftsands Nature Reserve experiences a temperate, Mediterranean-type climate, with warm, dry summer and cool, relatively wet winter seasons. The warmest mean monthly temperatures of 28°C are normally recorded from January until March, with the lowest of 10 °C, recorded from June to August (Figure 3.7).

Most of the rain occurs from June until August, normally peaking in July, although there is some inter-annual variation in the time of this peak. The mean annual rainfall for the period 2005 – 2013 at Driftsands Nature Reserve was approximately 538 mm. Northerly and north- westerly winds predominate in winter. In summer southerly and south-easterly winds dominate. The incidence of calms is greatest in the spring and autumn months, from September until November and March until May.

Figure 3.7: Climate of Driftsands Nature Reserve 1979 – 2012 (ARC)

3.3.2 Topography

The topography of the area is typical of the southern Cape Flats, which is formed by a complex series of relatively young, but stabilised dunes (Figure 3.8). The strandveld landscape is comprised of dunes (some of which are transient and move) and dune slack wetlands. In fact historically, seasonal wetlands comprised a considerable portion of the Cape Flats (Laros et al 2007).

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Additionally, the longitudinal dunes traversing the eastern half of the reserve appears to be associated with the wetter soils adjacent to the Kuils River (CapeNature 2012). The dune crests are 6 to 9m above the dune slack, with fairly low/deep basins between the dunes. These basins form part of the wetland mosaic of the area. Calcareous, sandy parabolic and to a lesser extent, barachanoid dune systems are present. As most of the Cape Flats dunes are degraded or modified by urbanisation, the Driftsands Nature Reserve encases an important remnant of the historical landscape (see Figure 3.8).

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Figure 3.8 Topography of Driftsands Nature Reserve

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3.3.3 Geology and Geomorphology

Geology

The Driftsands Nature Reserve is entirely covered by sediments of the Witzand Formation of the Sandveld Group. This Late Quaternary (Holocene) deposit is represented by two different stratotypes (Browning, C. & Roberts, D.L. in press) of which, the False Bay stratotype which is found along the coast at Swartklip (approximately 8 km from Driftsands) has been dated at 1.68 ± 0.10 ka (Roberts et al. 2009). The formation generally consists of unconsolidated, unvegetated to partially vegetated calcareous dune sand and is usually not thicker than ~30 m. Beds are horizontal or cross-bedded and do not show any tectonic structure or deformation, although these features are rarely discernible in the exposures. As the most recent geological deposit, there is no upper contact. The lower contact is unconformable, with the Witzand Formation overlying the cast weathered pedogenic limestone of the upper Langebaan Formation (Browning, C. & Roberts, in press)

Geomorphology

The Witzand Formation represented at Driftsands Nature Reserve developed as a result of the prevailing climate. During the dry Mediterranean summer, the powerful onshore southerly winds, driven by the South Atlantic Anticyclone, have resulted in dune plumes that extend up to 15 km inland along the western South African coast (Tyson 1986 in Browning & Roberts, in press; Roberts et al. 2009). The wind direction (normal to the coastline) caused sand deflation from the beach typically resulting in barchanoid dune forms. These dunes in turn may be transformed into parabolic dunes by a process of blowout as they migrate landward and become partially stabilised by vegetation (Browning & Roberts, in press; Roberts et al. 2009). (Figure 3.9)

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Figure 3.9 Geomorphology of Driftsands Nature Reserve (Council for Geoscience 2001)

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3.3.4 Aquatic systems

Figure 3.10 The Kuilsriver winding through Drfitsands Nature Reserve (image on left). Dune slack wetlands with standing water on Driftsands Nature Reserve (image on right). (Photos: N Hayward)

The Driftsands Nature Reserve is situated in the Eerste catchment with the Kuils River passing through the eastern portion of the reserve which also harbours an extensive network of dune strandveld wetlands (Snaddon et al. 2009) and a permanent artificial waterbody. Nationally and provincially, wetlands are highly threatened systems (Gouws et al. 2012). Wetlands within the City have undergone a prioritisation process in terms of their contribution to the conservation of biodiversity pattern and process (Snaddon & Day 2009). The results of the abovementioned project placed a proportionate number of dune strandveld wetlands in the CBA category based on vegetation type status, contribution to National targets, connectivity and restoration potential. Recommendations are made that these wetlands should be protected and where necessary rehabilitated. Additional management guidelines related to wise use, connectivity, buffers, encroachment (agriculture, road, urban development) and catchment wide conservation initiatives are also given.

Jarman (1986) identified the Kuilsriver inundation area as a conservation priority, much of which was subsequently lost to development during the 1990’s, and during which period the gradual degradation of sites including those afforded with local and /or provincial protection status occurred as a result of remote management and the alteration of ecosystem processes such as hydrology (Holmes et al. 2012). Currently, the Driftsands Nature Reserve and associated landscape conservation initiatives such as the Kuils River Corridor offer a measure of protection and rehabilitation opportunities to these freshwater systems. Hydrology of the Driftsands Nature Reserve, including river conditions and river priority areas are given in (Figure 3.10).

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The Driftsands Nature Reserve is situated in the catchment area of the System, in close proximity to its major tributary, the Kuils River. Some permanent and temporary wetlands and an artificial retention dam are found on the reserve are. The Kuils River is highly polluted and it effectively serves as a drainage conduit for storm water from many developed areas. Increased sewage effluent and storm water volumes, due to seasonal urban runoff, give rise to regular flooding during winter (CapeNature 2005).

Hydrology of the Driftsands Nature Reserve, including river conditions and river priority areas are given in (Figure 3.11).

3.3.4.1 Rivers The Kuils River passes through Driftsands Nature Reserve, flowing along the eastern border of Mfuleni (City of Cape Town 2009). The Kuils River has been modified, urbanised and canalised (Holmes et al. 2012) but is also characterised by dune strandveld floodplain wetlands and extensive parabolic dunes along the western banks on its journey through the Nature Reserve. In the urban context, freshwater systems such as these provide a haven for fauna and flora, while at the same time also providing a network of natural infrastructure for the management, treatment and conveyance of stormwater and treated wastewater effluent (City of Cape Town 2009).

3.3.4.2 Catchment Driftsands is situated within the Eerste catchment which is approximately 66 680 ha in size. The catchment harbours 1183 wetlands scattered over an estimated area of 2383 ha and is characterised by dune strandveld wetlands, granite wetlands, granite renosterveld wetlands, sand fynbos wetlands and shale renosterveld wetlands (Snaddon and Day 2009). Dune strandveld wetlands make up 23.5% of the total area of natural and semi-natural wetlands in the City of Cape Town. Intact remnants of Cape Flats Dune Strandveld and associated wetlands feature prominently within the catchment and are exhibited by the Driftsands Nature Reserve. The Kuils, Bottelary and Eerste Rivers make up this catchment, with the Bottelary River entering the Kuils River in the region of Brantwood in the Kuilsriver suburb. The source of the Kuils River is in the Hills, and joins the Eerste River in the region of Macassar, where it then enters the sea.

3.3.4.3 Wetlands Wetlands of the Driftsands Nature Reserve are classified as dune strandveld isolated seep, dune strandveld isolated depression and dune strandveld floodplain. Wetlands are listed as CBA’s, and are ranked as moderate to very high in terms of functional importance and ecological sensitivity (Snaddon et al. 2009). Dune strandveld floodplain wetlands are associated with the Kuils River, while dune strandveld isolated depression and isolated seeps occur throughout the reserve.

Isolated depressions and dune slack wetlands support a diversity of wetland grasses (such as ), sedges (such as Ficinia spp. Isolepis spp. Cyperus textilus.), rushes (such as Juncus spp.), shrubs (such as Senecio halimifolius and Passerina paludosa) and restios (Elegia spp. Ischyrolepis spp.). Wetlands are classed as being in good condition, protected, or having the potential for restoration. Floodplain wetlands however are subjected to heavy grazing by livestock, compromising biodiversity, condition and function.

The Driftsands wetlands can be deemed as significant as they are representative of a wetland type that has been subject to high cumulative loss and/or transformation due to infilling for

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development, stormwater discharge, alien invasion, and fragmentation through road construction (Snaddon et al. 2009). Within the Nature Reserve, too frequent fire, alien invasive species and livestock grazing also compromise the integrity of this system. Some wetlands have been earmarked as degraded, more specifically the floodplain wetlands, but ultimately, these wetlands and more specifically the terrestrial-wetland mosaic are considered to be features of highest conservation value within the Driftsands Nature Reserve (Helme 2009).

3.3.4.4 Artificial aquatic systems The Driftsands dam, which is a 25 ha permanent water body, is the result of previous mining activities in the area. The detention dam holds water temporarily during flood periods. Almost all low-lying areas (e.g. dune slack areas) on site show localised surface water ponding as a result of rising of the winter water table.

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Figure 3.11 Hydrology of Driftsands Nature Reserve (Council of Geoscience 2001)

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3.3.5 Vegetation

Figure 3.12 Typical Cape Flats Dune Strandveld on Driftsands Nature Reserve (Photo: N Hayward)

The Cape Floristic Kingdom is one of six floral kingdoms in the world. It is internationally renowned for its unique rich flora containing an estimated 9 000 species of vascular plants of which almost 69% are endemic (restricted to the region). This makes it one of the richest regions in the world in terms of botanical diversity.

It is characterized by five endemic families and by the conspicuous presence of, amongst others, species belonging to the families Aizoaceae, Ericaceae, Fabaceae, Iridaceae, Orchidaceae, Proteaceae, Restionaceae, Rutaceae and Scrophulariaceae (Goldblatt & Manning 2000).

Figure 3.13 Muraltia mitior (Photo: J van der Merwe)

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Driftsands Nature Reserve was identified as a Core Flora Conservation Site within the City of Cape Town (Holmes et al. 2011), primarily because it is one of the largest remaining patches of Cape Flats Dune Strandveld, shown in Figure 3.14. Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is one of four critically endangered vegetation types endemic to the City of Cape Town, but also under immense pressure for development due to the lowland occurrence of this vegetation type (Holmes, Wood & Dorse 2008). The landscape that supports this vegetation type is characterised by flat to undulating dune fields, as exhibited by the Driftsands Nature Reserve, historically supporting a variety of seasonal and perennial wetlands interconnected via the groundwater system, now largely modified in terms of seasonality, hydrology and connectivity (City of Cape Town 2009). The reserve has never been known to support any unique floristic elements, nor any significant populations of rare plants (McDowell & Low 1990). Rebelo (1997) lists only one threatened species, Muraltia mitior shown on Figure 3.13 that was validly recorded from this reserve. In 2014, a healthy stand of the endangered Passerina paludosa was discovered in the wetlands of Driftsands (Hayward 2013, CapeNature, pers. comm.). This would indicate that continued monitoring of this site is essential and the overall importance of the site for plant conservation is not as yet fully understood.

The modified dune fields comprise a range of habitats that supports indigenous and conservation worthy vegetation types that contribute to the establishment of localised terrestrial ecosystems (Helme 2006).

Species diversity in the most heavily disturbed areas is generally very low, due to excessively frequent fires and heavy grazing, soil removal and earthmoving. According to Helme (2006) dominant species are weedy or pioneer species, and are mainly bulbs and grasses, such as Haemanthus coccineus (poeierkwas), Trachyandra divaricata (duinkool), Zantedeschia aethiopica (arum lily), and Ehrharta villosa (pypgras). Alien annual grasses are often common, e.g. Avena sp. (oats), Bromus diandrus, Lolium sp. (ryegrass). Resprouting woody shrubs such as laevigata (dune taaibos) and Euclea racemosa (sea guarrie) may still be present in low numbers. It is further stated that species diversity is on average 10 – 15 % of what would be expected in a similar, undisturbed system (Helme 2006).

Areas that can be considered moderately disturbed as a result of too frequent fires and previous dense stands of alien invasive plant species (Acacia cyclops and Acacia saligna), show a similar species composition as listed above, but with the addition of approximately 10-20% cover, and including species such as Searsia laevigata and Euclea racemosa, Tetragonia fruticosa (klimopkinkelbossie), Chrysanthemoides monilifera (bietou), and annuals such as Zalusianskya villosa and Hemimeris sabulosa (leeubekkie).

No rare species were recorded in these areas and none are likely (Helme 2006). Rehabilitation potential is fairly good, provided that anthropogenic disturbances can be limited in the future.

Helme (2006) states that the wetland systems are regarded as the highest conservation priority, as illustrated in (Figure 3.10). Seasonal dune slack (or pocket) wetlands include species such as Senecio halimifolius (tabakbos), Stenotaphrum secundatum (buffalo grass), Imperata cylindrica (silweraargras, sygras; important food plant for some threatened ), Juncus sp., Ficinia nodosa (steekbiesie), Nidorella foetida, Zantedeschia

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aethiopica (arum lily), and Geranium incanum. Numerous frogs are continued to breed in these wetlands, evidence of the quality of the wetlands.

Permanently wet areas are dominated by Phragmites australis (reeds) and Typha capensis (bulrush), with much higher plant diversity in seasonal wetlands and their fringes. The Kuils River banks often also support Cyperus textilis (paper sedge), and Leonotis leonurus (wildedagga).

Well drained areas (dune ridges) support Chrysanthemoides monilifera (bietou), Muraltia satureioides, Euclea racemosa, Searsia laevigata, , Metalasia muricata (blombos), Wachendorfia paniculata, Otholobium bracteolatum (skaapbostee), Roepera fulvum, Jordaaniella dubia (dune vygie), Restio eleocharis (katstertriet), Aspalathus hispida and Muraltia spinosa (tortoiseberry).

3.3.5.1 Habitat Types

The vegetation map of South Africa (Mucina & Rutherford 2006) indicates that the bulk of the Driftsands Nature Reserve (over 90%) was originally covered with Cape Flats Dune Strandveld, with a possible portion of acid sands in the northeast supporting . However, according to Helme (2006), none of the areas surveyed for the Sensitivity analysis study yielded any trace of intact Sand Fynbos, and thus the reserve as it currently stands conserves only Cape Flats Dune Strandveld, and associated wetland systems (Figure 3.14). Therefore, it is these wetlands, and the terrestrial/wetland mosaics that are in fact the most important conservation priorities within the reserve at present.

The National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment (Rouget et al. 2004) has determined that as of 1996 about 60% of the original extent of Cape Flats Strandveld still remained. This figure has declined significantly in the past ten years, and is likely to be closer to 40% now. Some five percent is conserved (Table Mountain National Park, Rondevlei Nature Reserve and Wolfgat Nature Reserve), with a conservation target of 24%, while the vegetation type is regarded as Endangered (Rouget et al. 2004).

3.3.5.1.1 Rare and threatened plant species

Two threatened species have been recorded on site. Muraltia mitior (Polygalaceae), which occurs on the fringes of seasonal occurs in very low numbers in the Driftsands Nature Reserve, and does not appear to constitute a regionally significant population. Further verification is required to determine the extent of the population. This species is listed as Endangered on the South African National Botanical Institute (SANBI) Red list for South African Plants. Four to six small, isolated and severely fragmented subpopulations are threatened by urbanisation, competition from alien invasive plants and overgrazing (Helme & von Staden 2013).

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With the exception of M. mitior, no further rare or threatened species were recorded during the botanical survey conducted by Nick Helme in 2006. During 2014, a survey of the wetlands resulted in the finding of a population of the Endangered Passerina paludosa, which according to Helme et al. (2006) is known from a very limited number of locations. Currently four populations occur on the Cape Flats where this species was once common, having lost over 70 % of its habitat to urbanisation and drainage of wetlands. Threats include invasive alien plant species, grazing and urbanisation. Further possibilities of finding species of special concern on the reserve exists, as mentioned in various reports pertaining to Driftsands Nature Reserve. This is either by historical distribution or inherent endemism associated with Cape Flats Dune Strandveld (CapeNature 2012).

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Figure 3.14 Vegetation Map of Driftsands Nature Reserve

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3.3.6 Fire regime

Cape Flats Dune Strandveld differs from both Fynbos and Renosterveld in that it does not burn as frequently under normal circumstances. The fire cycle is typically 20-100 years (City of Cape Town 2008). Fire is therefore not actively implemented as a management tool. However, due to the proximity of informal settlements, illegal activity in the area and the public roads which surround the nature reserve, fire does play an integral role and has implications for natural resource management in the form of restorative interventions and mitigation measures. Too frequent fire has been identified as a threat to achieving and preserving ecological integrity of the Nature Reserve. Due to an absence of adequate fencing and uncontrolled access, the majority of fire events originate from within the Nature Reserve. This has resulted in a proliferation of graminiod components such as Imperata cylindrica, pasture grasses such as Cynodon dactylon and alien annual grasses at the possible expense of endemic species, especially in low laying areas of the reserve. Restorative interventions in the form of alien invasive vegetation management are compromised as seed banks are stimulated, resulting in a post fire flush of growth. The map below (Figure 3.15) depicts the veld age and ignitions points of all recorded fires within the Driftsands Nature Reserve.

Due to the high risk of frequent illegal fires, a network of firebreaks has been established and is maintained throughout the nature reserve. Firebreaks serve a dual purpose for access points within the reserve, such as foot paths, roads and jeep-tracks.

Fire suppression and control on the reserve is implemented by CapeNature reserve staff in co-operation with City Fire and the Fire Protection Agency (CPFPA). Planning of firebreaks and planning related to fire management is collaboration with the CPFPA, and is ratified in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CapeNature and CPFPA.

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Figure 3.15 Veld Age map of Driftsands Nature Reserve

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3.3.6 Invasive species

3.3.7.1 Invasive Alien Flora

It is recognised that both woody and herbaceous invasive alien plants have a negative impact on Cape Flats Dune Strandveld. Like most low lying areas in the City boundaries, the Driftsands Nature Reserve is subject to invasion by alien plant species, as listed in Table 3.2. Dominant species include Acacia saligna (Port Jackson), Acacia longifolia (longleaf wattle) and Sesbania punicea (Red Sesbania) (Helme 2006). Since the inception of the Working for Water Project on the nature reserve, an area of over 12 341.16 ha (initial and follow-up clearing) has been cleared of invasive plants of varying densities and growth stages. The nature reserve’s Priority Alien Invasive Species distribution is depicted on (Figure 3.17).

Figure 3.16 Stands of Acacia saligna which have invaded parts of Driftsands Nature Reserve

Due to frequent fires and illegal grazing by livestock, maintenance and follow-up treatment of low levels densities of these species remains a challenge. The active control and eradication of alien taxa will continue to be carried out according to the Nature Reserve’s long-term strategic plan. Priority should be given to controlling those species that impact most significantly on the key conservation objectives of Driftsands Nature Reserve.

Table 3.1: Distribution of Alien vegetation species occurring on Driftsands Nature Reserve

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Species Common Name CARA listing NEMBA listing Category 2 - Category 1b Acacia cyclops Rooikrans Declared Invader Category 1 - Category 1b Acacia longifolia Longleaf wattle Declared Weed Port Jackson willow Category 2 - Category 1b Acacia saligna Declared Invader Avena sp. Oats Not listed Not listed Atriplex lindleyi Klappiesbrak Category 3 - Category 1b subsp. inflata Declared Invader Amaranthus Pigweed Not listed Not listed hybridus Bromus diandrus Ripgut grass Not listed Not listed Eucalyptus spp Bluegum Category 2 - Category 1b (subject Declared Invader to conditions) a. Category 1 b within- (i) riparian areas; (i) a Protected Area declared in terms of the Protected Areas Act; or, (i) within a Listed Ecosystem or an ecosystem identified for conservation in terms of a Bioregional Plan or Biodiversity Management Plans published under the Act. b. Not listed within Nama-Karoo, Succulent Karoo and Desert biomes, excluding within any area mentioned in (a) above. c. Category 1 b in Fynbos, Grassland, Savana, Albany Thicket, Forest and Indian Ocean Coastal Belt biomes, but- (i) Category 2 for plantations, woodlots, be-forage areas, wind-rows and the lining of avenues. (i) Not

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Species Common Name CARA listing NEMBA listing listed within cultivated land that is at least 50 metres away from untransformed land, but excluding within any area in (a) above. (i) Not listed within 50 metres of the main house on a farm, but excluding in (a) above. (iv) Not listed in urban areas for trees with a diameter of more than 40 mm at 100 mm height at the time of publishing of this Notice, but excluding in (a) above Melia azedarach Syringa Category 3 - Category 1b (subject Declared Invader to conditions) a. 1 b b. 3 in urban areas Nerium oleander Oleander Category 1 - Category 1b Declared Weed, Pennisetum Kikuyu Category 2 - Category 1b (subject clandestinum Proposed to conditions) Weed/Invader a. 1 b in Protected Areas and wetlands in which it does not already occur. b. Not listed elsewhere Raphanus Wild radish Not listed Not listed raphanistrum Red Sesbania or Category 1 - Category 1b Sesbania punicea Spanish gold Declared Weed

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Figure 3.17 Woody Alien Invasive Plant species map of Driftsands Nature Reserve

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3.3.7.2 Alien Invasive Fauna

There are no records of alien invasive fauna at Driftsands Nature Reserve. The reserve is utilised by small farmers in and around the Nature Reserve for grazing of livestock such as cattle and goats, which graze throughout the Nature Reserve but appear to concentrate on the floodplains of the Kuils River and other wetlands. The livelihood practices around the Nature Reserve include pastoral grazing by subsistence farmers. As the reserve is currently not adequately fenced and access is not regulated, grazing does occur within the boundaries of the reserve. Of particular concern is the browsing nature of goat herds, where stands of indigenous and alien plant communities are decimated, leaving bare areas subject to erosion. This has resulted in a change in vegetation composition directly due to overgrazing but also as a result of frequent fires which are started to stimulate grazing. The problem is further exacerbated with subsequent invasion of alien vegetation. These invasive plant species, especially alien grasses, are spread to sensitive sites through the faeces of roaming livestock. The continued presence of domestic livestock on the reserve requires a collaborative action between reserve management, livestock owners, Department of Agriculture and the City of Cape Town officials. The process to remove these animals from the nature reserve is necessary, but would have to be handled with the outmost sensitivity and within the framework of the law.

3.3.8 Mammalian fauna

Table 3.2 contains 34 listed indigenous terrestrial mammal species that potentially occur on Driftsands Nature Reserve. Five of these species are from specimen records contained in the CapeNature State of Biodiversity Database (CapeNature 2012). These records are for specimens collected within a five kilometre radius of Driftsands Nature Reserve. Additional species are listed from references relating to the distribution of these species, with the assumption that they can potentially occur on Driftsands Nature Reserve. None of the species listed for Driftsands Nature Reserve have been prioritised for conservation action.

Table 3.2 Mammal species expected to occur on Driftsands Nature Reserve

Scientific Name Common name Global Verification for Listing (as per Skinner & IUCN (SoBD = CapeNature State Chimimba, 2005) Category of Biodiversity Database) (IUCN 2012) Bathyergus suillus Cape dune Least Specimen Record SoBD < molerat Concern 5 km radius Cryptomys hottentotus Common molerat Least Specimen Record SoBD < Concern 5 km radius Georychus capensis Cape molerat Least Within natural distribution Concern range

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Scientific Name Common name Global Verification for Listing (as per Skinner & IUCN (SoBD = CapeNature State Chimimba, 2005) Category of Biodiversity Database) (IUCN 2012) Raphicerus campestris Steenbok Least Within natural distribution Concern range Raphicerus melanotis Cape grysbok Least Within natural distribution Concern range Sylvicapra grimmia grimmia Common duiker Least Within natural distribution Concern range Vulpes chama Cape fox Least Specimen Record SoBD < Concern 5 km radius Papio ursinus ursinus Chacma baboon Least Within natural distribution Concern range Chrysochloris asiatica Cape golden mole Least Within natural distribution Concern range Atilax paludinosus Marsh mongoose Least Within natural distribution Concern range Galerella pulverulenta pulverulenta Cape grey Least Within natural distribution mongoose Concern range Herpestes ichneumon Large grey Least Within natural distribution mongoose Concern range Hystrix africaeaustralis Porcupine Least Within natural distribution Concern range Lepus capensis Cape hare Least Within natural distribution Concern range Lepus saxatilis Scrub hare Least Within natural distribution Concern range Dendromus melanotis Grey climbing Least Within natural distribution mouse Concern range Dendromus mesomelas Brants’ climbing Least Within natural distribution mouse Concern range Desmodillus auricularis Short-tailed gerbil Least Within natural distribution Concern range Gerbillurus paeba Hairy-footed Least Within natural distribution gerbil Concern range Mus minutoides Pygmy mouse Least Within natural distribution Concern range Otomys irroratus Vlei rat Least Within natural distribution Concern range Rhabdomys pumilio Striped mouse Least Within natural distribution Concern range Steatomys krebsii Krebs’ fat mouse Least Within natural distribution Concern range Tatera afra Cape gerbil Least Within natural distribution Concern range Aonyx capensis African clawless Least Specimen Record SoBD < otter Concern 5 km radius

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Scientific Name Common name Global Verification for Listing (as per Skinner & IUCN (SoBD = CapeNature State Chimimba, 2005) Category of Biodiversity Database) (IUCN 2012) Ictonyx striatus Striped polecat Least Specimen Record SoBD < Concern 5 km radius Crocidura cyanea Reddish-grey Least Within natural distribution musk shrew Concern range Crocidura flavescens Greater red musk Least Within natural distribution shrew Concern range Myosorex varius Forest shrew Least Within natural distribution Concern range Suncus varilla Lesser dwarf Least Within natural distribution shrew Concern range Genetta genetta felina Small-spotted Least Within natural distribution genet Concern range Genetta tigrina tigrina South African Least Within natural distribution large-spotted Concern range genet CHIROPTERA - BATS Rhinolophus capensis Cape horseshoe Least Within natural distribution bat Concern range Rhinolophus clivosus Geoffroy’s Least Within natural distribution horseshoe bat Concern range

3.3.11 Avifauna

The bird species recorded for Driftsands Nature Reserve are typical of those found in the lowland fynbos areas (Figure 3.18). Wetlands, more specifically the large permanent water body in the reserve, provide habitat and refuge for a variety of waterbirds such as African Purple Swamphen Porphyrio madagascariensis, Red knobbed coot Fulica cristata Yellow- billed duck Anas undulate, Reed cormorant Phalacrocorax coronatus to name a few, which would otherwise be absent from the nature reserve. Ninety-three species of birds have been recorded on and adjacent to the Nature Reserve (Birds in the Reserve Project 2012; Southern African Bird Atlas Project 2 (SABAP2) 2012 and CapeNature State of Biodiversity Database 2012). See Table 3.3.

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Figure 3.18 Typical bird species that are commonly recorded at Driftsands Nature Reserve. From left. Spotted Eagle Owl (Bubo africanus), Black Shouldered Kite (Elanus axillarus) and Red knobbed coot (Fulica cristata)

Few species of special conservation concern have been recorded at the Driftsands Nature Reserve. However, species of special importance that do visit the reserve include the greater flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber (Figure 3.19). The list is incomplete (Hayward 2013, CapeNature, pers. comm.) and active participation in National atlasing projects such as SABAP2 and Coordinated Waterbird Counts by staff and the facilitation of surveys with local bird clubs will improve the bird list substantially and improve the biodiversity inventory. This will assist in signifying the importance of the Nature Reserve as a refuge for birds within an urban landscape.

Figure 3.19 Greater flamingo’s Phoenicopterus ruber are rare visitors to Driftsands Nature Reserve

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Table 3.3: Bird species expected to occur on the Driftsands Nature Reserve

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COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME Acacia Pied Barbet Tricholaema leucomelas Cape Wagtail Motacilla capensis African Black Swift Apus barbatus Cape Weaver Ploceus capensis African Darter Anhinga rufa Cape White-eye Zosterops virens African Fish Eagle Haliaeetus vocifer Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis African Purple Swamp hen Porphyrio madagascariensis Common Fiscal Lanius collaris African Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus baeticatus Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus African Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris Alpine Swift Tachymarptis melba Common Waxbill Estrilda astrild Barn Owl Tyto alba Crowned Lapwing Vanellus coronatus Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus Bar-throated Apalis Apalis thoracica Fiscal Flycatcher Sigelus silens Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis Greater Striped Swallow Hirundo cucullata Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus Grey Heron Ardea cinerea Blacksmith Lapwing Vanellus armatus Grey-backed Cisticola Cisticola subruficapilla Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus Hadeda Ibis Bostrychia hagedash Bokmakierie Telophorus zeylonus Hartlaub's Gull Larus hartlaubii Brimstone Canary Crithagra sulphuratus House Crow Corvus splendens Brown-throated Martin Riparia paludicola House Sparrow Passer domesticus Cape Bulbul Pycnonotus capensis Karoo Prinia Prinia maculosa Cape Bunting Emberiza capensis Karoo Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas coryphoeus Cape Canary Serinus canicollis Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus Cape Crow Corvus capensis Klaas's Cuckoo Chrysococcyx klaas Cape Grassbird Sphenoeacus afer Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis Cape Robin-Chat Cossypha caffra Lesser Swamp-Warbler Acrocephalus gracilirostris Cape Shoveler Anas smithii Levaillant's Cisticola Cisticola tinniens Cape Sparrow Passer melanurus Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus Cape Spurfowl Pternistis capensis Little Egret Egretta garzetta

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Cape Teal Anas capensis Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis Cape Turtle-Dove Streptopelia capicola Little Rush-Warbler Bradypterus baboecala Long-billed Crombec Sylvietta rufescens Southern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris chalybeus Malachite Sunbird Necatarina famosa Southern Masked-Weaver Ploceus velatus Olive Thrush Turdus olivaceus Southern Red Bishop Euplectes orix Pied Crow Corvus albus Speckled Mousebird Colius striatus Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis Speckled Pigeon Columba guinea Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura Spotted Thick-knee Burhinus capensis Purple Heron Ardea purpurea Three-banded Plover Charadrius tricollaris Red-billed Teal Anas erythrorhyncha Water Thick-knee Burhinus vermiculatus Red-eyed Dove Streptopelia semitorquata White-breasted Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Red-faced Mousebird Urocolius indicus White-necked Raven Corvus albicollis Red-knobbed Coot Fulica cristata White-throated Swallow Hirundo albigularis Red-winged Starling Onychognathus morio Yellow Bishop Euplectes capensis Reed Cormorant Phalacrocorax africanus Yellow Canary Crithagra flaviventris Rock Dove Columba livia Yellow-billed Duck Anas undulata Rock Kestrel Falco rupicolus Yellow-billed Egret Egretta intermedia Rock Martin Hirundo fuligula Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius Southern Boubou Laniarius ferrugineus

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3.3.12

Figure 3.20 Cape Cobra (left) and Common Mole Snake (right) (Photos: M. Boesman and A. Turner)

Anecdotal records indicate that a single threatened reptile species occurs in the areas surrounding the Driftsands Nature Reserve, the Cape sand snake (Psammophis leightoni). This species is listed as Vulnerable (Branch & Bates in press). Driftsands Nature Reserve is likely to constitute a significant remnant of habitat for this species in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan municipality.

Least Concern reptiles recorded from the reserve include brown water snake (Lycodonomorphus rufulus), Cape ( capensis), Knox’s sand lizard (Meroles knoxii) and common padloper (Homopus areolatus). Several other species of Least Concern are expected to occur within the reserve but have not yet been recorded.

Additional information on the reptiles of the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) can be obtained from the Southern African Reptile Conservation Assessment (SARCA, Visit www.sarca.adu.org.za). Surveys to complete the reptile species occurrence inventory for this reserve are recommended. A species list with IUCN status is included in Table 3.4.

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Table 3.4 Reptile species that occur on the Driftsands Nature Reserve.

Species Global IUCN Category - Regional IUCN Status Global status (IUCN 2011) Category – (IUCN 2011) Homopus areaolatus Least Concern Least Concern Probable Lycodonmorphus rufulus Least Concern Least Concern Probable Psammophis leightoni Vulnerable Vulnerable Probable Trachylepis capensis Least Concern Least Concern Probable Meroles knoxii Least Concern Least Concern Probable

3.3.13 Amphibians

No threatened amphibians are known to occur in the Driftsands Nature Reserve. However, the Endangered Western Leopard Toad (Amietophrynus pantherinus) may be accommodated by the available habitat in the nature reserve and is a consideration for introduction from the most proximal population, which is Edith Stephens Nature Reserve.

The following Least Concern frogs have been recorded from Driftsands Nature Reserve and its immediate vicinity: sand rain frog (Breviceps rosei), clicking stream frog (Strongylopus grayii), rattling frog (Semnodactylus wealii) (as per South African Museum specimen records collected in 1974) and sand toad (Vandijkophrynus angusticeps). Although not yet recorded from Driftsands Nature Reserve, the Cape sand frog (Tomopterna delalandii) is expected to occur and breed within the nature reserve. The amphibian species are listed in the CapeNature SOB data base. None of these amphibians are listed as threatened species. A species list with IUCN status is included in Table 3.5. There are substantial gaps in the formal data collected for this nature reserve and which will be addressed by future surveys.

Table 3.5 Amphibian species of conservation concern that occur on the Driftsands Nature Reserve.

Species IUCN Category - Global IUCN Category – Regional status (IUCN 2011) status (IUCN 2011) Breviceps rosei Least Concern Least Concern Strongylopus grayii Least Concern Least Concern Semnodactylus wealii Least Concern Least Concern Vandijkophrynus angusticeps Least Concern Least Concern

3.3.14 Fish The Eerste River system is home to three primary freshwater fish species, namely the Berg River redfin (Pseudobarbus burgi) [now extinct in the Eerste system, due to predation by trout

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(De Moor & Bruton 1988), Cape kurper (Sandelia capensis) and Cape Galaxias (Galaxias zebratus). The latter two species are classified as Data Deficient as taxonomic at the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity to determine the number of species and sub-species in each have not been completed. Anadromous species such as longfin eel (Anguilla mossambica) and freshwater mullet (Myxus capensis) were likely occasional visitors to both the Eerste and Kuils Rivers when the rivers were unpolluted, but pollution in both rivers including the Eerste estuary, where another waste water treatment plant is found, is likely to be a major chemical barrier preventing these species migrating from the sea into freshwater reaches of these rivers.

Figure 3.21: Catfish caught in the Driftsand dam (Photo: M Boesman)

The middle and lower reaches of the Kuils River, including where it passes close to the nature reserve, is highly polluted due to continuous release of treated sewerage from an upstream waste water treatment plant (SOR 2005). These reaches of the Kuils River are infested with alien fishes, notably banded tilapia (Tilapia sparrmani), carp (Cyprinus carpio) and sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus). River Health surveys done in 2004 showed that the upper reaches of the Kuils River still contain Cape kurper in low numbers and good numbers of Cape Galaxias in some of its tributaries.

Consequently, Driftsands Nature Reserve is of very low priority for fish conservation and associated fish conservation work. There is as little likelihood of significantly improving the quality of the highly urbanised and polluted Kuils River as there is of eradicating the alien fish in the river. Alien fishes in the river are likely a valuable food resource for communities that live alongside the river.

It is recommended that a once-off fish survey of the dam on the reserve, using fyke and seine nets, should be conducted in summer to determine what fish species are present. It can be

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considered to introduce Cape kurper and Cape Galaxias from the Kuils River into the dam to establish a refuge population, but the dam must be clear of alien fish species.

3.3.15 Invertebrates

The focus on the region’s exceptionally high floristic diversity has somewhat overshadowed its faunal diversity and, in consequence, there is a lack of information on species diversity within the CFR, although their functional significance is appreciated. The consensus view is that diversity is low (Johnson 1992; Giliomee 2003), although several local scale studies of specific host plants and their herbivores suggest that insect richness might be much higher than is generally thought to be the case (e.g. Cicadellidae: Davies 1988a,b; gall-forming : Wright & Samways 1998).

However, few groups have been subject to careful surveys, and most comparisons have been qualitative and based on examinations of studies that differ substantially in their methods. The butterflies of South Africa are currently being assessed according to the latest IUCN criteria (IUCN 2001) as part of the South African Conservation Assessment (SABCA) project, and a preliminary assessment was published in 2009 (Henning et al. 2009).

Eight butterfly species have been characterised as Critically Endangered in the Western Cape Province. One of these, the Barber’s Cape Flats Ranger ( barberae bunta), is currently known to occur only at Strandfontein on the Cape Peninsula and faces extinction if no action is taken soon. The host plant of this butterfly (cottonwool grass, Imperata cylindrica) occurs on the Rondevlei section of the False Bay Nature Reserve (a municipal reserve) and the Driftsands Nature Reserve and investigations are underway to determine the suitability of these sites for the butterfly and to determine whether the species occur there. The Unique Ranger (Kedestes lenis lenis) is classified as Endangered and is likely to occur at Driftsands Nature Reserve. A species list with IUCN status is included in Table 3.6.

Table 3.6 Invertebrate species of conservation concern that occur on the Driftsands Nature Reserve.

Species IUCN Category - Global status IUCN Category – Regional status (IUCN 2011) (IUCN 2011) Kedestes barberae bunta not yet assessed Critical Kedestes lenis lenis not yet assessed Critical

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3.4 Cultural Heritage context of Driftsands Nature Reserve

Palaeontology

The palaeontology of the Witzand Formation and other recent deposits in the False Bay vicinity is of interest, although the presence of any significant fossils at Driftsands Nature Reserve itself has not been investigated.

In the Witzand Formation (Holocene), rhizoliths and insect burrow casts within the semi- consolidated dune sands have been reported together with whole shells and fragments of terrestrial mollusc shells - including Trigonephrus globulus a species characteristic of winter rainfall regions (Browning & Roberts, in press).

Other recent fossil deposits relating to the Late Pleistocene and older include large and diverse vertebrate assemblages which include black rhino body fossils in carnivore lairs. These are highly significant in that the high presence of grazers would suggest dominant grasslands at that time, as opposed to the scrubby fynbos of today (Roberts et al. 2009). It is probable that, due to their age, fossils such as these would only be found at depth at Driftsands by means of excavation.

Archaeology

It is possible that archaeological remains may be present at Driftsands Nature Reserve although no archaeological finds have been reported. As has been found in association with the older strata of the Witzands Formation on the West Coast (Roberts et al. 2009), human fossils, shell middens, artefacts and dietary items may also be present at Driftsands Nature Reserve. These artefacts are generally found within palaeolsols associated with the older strata of the Witzands Formation and since such finds are possible where the formation occurs within 10 km of the coast (Dave Roberts, 31 August 2014.)

3.4.1 Initiation Site

The Ebakhwetheni Initiation Site continues to restore cultural dignity of the surrounding community, as it provides a safe, concealed area in a natural and enabling environment for a traditional education centre. The development of the Initiation village dates back to 2002. The initiation village was finally built in 2012 utilising funds made available by the Western Cape Department of Sports, Arts and Culture. Since its inception the project faced numerous challenges, including cultural and organisational disputes. These disputes resulted in delay in implementation but did afford the time for proper dialogue between stakeholders to ensure effective uptake of this project when it was finally completed.

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3.5 Socio-economic context

The objective of the Community Conservation component in the Region is to provide the community with opportunities to interact and benefit from reserve programmes through the Protected Area Advisory Committee (PAAC), environmental education and awareness, youth development, volunteering and employment opportunities. The core community area for Driftsands Nature Reserve includes the Mfuleni, Driftsands Township, Westbank, Delft and two settlements within the reserve namely Green Park and Los Angeles, and Brentwood Park.

The PAAC serves as a support mechanism for representative cooperation and interaction between communities and reserve management. The Driftsands Nature Reserve has an established PAAC comprised of a range of representative local stakeholders with the primary mandate of advising the reserve management on the strategic direction and community involvement in the reserve.

Work opportunities are created through projects managed by CapeNature. These include alien vegetation removal as well as fire break maintenance projects through the Natural Resource Management branch of the DEA, and the CapeNature ICM project. Although most of these projects only provide temporary work opportunities, they contribute significantly to contractor and skills development. See Figure 3.22.

Figure 3.22 The EPWP team based at Driftsands Nature Reserve

3.5.1 People and Parks

The World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) and the World Parks Congress in 2003 resolved that local people should be at the forefront of biodiversity conservation as they depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. The People and Parks conferences (2004

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and 2006) served to consolidate commitment to these international resolutions and were instrumental in sensitising the stakeholders on the importance of creating an enabling environment for communities to actively participate and be fully involved in all aspects of biodiversity conservation and protected area management (CapeNature 2009). It is outlined below how this translates to Driftsands Nature Reserve in terms of provision of sustainable access, youth development, volunteers and awareness.

3.5.2 Access

The Protected Areas Act (NEM: PAA, Act No. 57 of 2003) advocates access to, and benefits, from protected areas. The Driftsands Nature Reserve provides opportunities for community members to access the reserve for spiritual and cultural purposes.

Ad hoc requests to harvest plant material from several species are considered for authorisation in line with CapeNature’s Policy on the Consumptive Utilization of Biological Resources (CapeNature 2007). Through this process, the nature reserve aims to provide space to traditional practitioners in a sustainable way, for a variety of cultural practices. The Ebakhwetheni Initiation Site continues to restore cultural dignity of the surrounding community, as it provides a safe, concealed area in a natural and enabling environment for a traditional education centre.

3.5.3 Youth Development

The Junior Ranger Programme initiated and implemented by the Community Conservation component is based on a model developed by SANParks. This is a local one-year programme that deals with life skills, volunteer work as well as environmental issues and topics to equip youth with necessary skills to become agents of change within the environmental sector. The first intake for 2012 of approximately 30 children from Green Park informal settlement have recently graduated as Junior Rangers for Driftsands Nature Reserve. Following the success of the first group, Primary is in the process of registering their Grade 6 and 7 learners on the programme.

Local youth formations, especially those in the arts, play an important role during various nature reserve activities, thus being provided with a platform to showcase their talent. The nature reserve also partakes in annual career exhibitions in the City of Cape Town to liaise with youth and provide career guidance.

3.5.4 Volunteers

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The Driftsands Nature Reserve provides opportunities for tertiary students to gain practical experience within the broader environmental sector. Due to the Nature Reserve’s close proximity to tertiary institutions and the range of challenges the reserve faces, it remains an area of choice when it comes to students. The reserve also provides opportunities to the surrounding communities to engage in volunteer activities. These opportunities include activities such as maintenance work, assisting with ecological surveys and community surveys amongst others. International volunteers are referred to Driftsands Nature Reserve by the Claremont Volunteer Centre on an ad hoc basis.

3.5.5 Awareness

Awareness-raising activities takes place at predetermined, such as during fire season in collaboration with Fire and Rescue as well as the City of Cape Town’s reserves. Various ‘hot spot’ communities are identified towards which awareness is targeted. Arbour week is conducted in collaboration with Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) as the official sponsor of trees. In this way, senior community members as well as the broader community and schools in the area are made aware of the importance of trees. Snake awareness, alien invasive plants and biodiversity awareness is conducted through presentations and talks to the local community as well as discussions and interviews on local radio stations. Occasionally, community surveys are conducted within the nature reserve to build awareness amongst the local of the importance of Protected Areas as well as to gain their input with regards to the management of the natural space.

Schools During the period 2010-2013 Community Conservation staff worked with approximately 12 000 learners at approximately 80 schools through school and Nature Reserve visits, visiting them more than once. A MOU was signed in 2013 with the Metro South Education Department to gain access to schools during school time as well as providing assistance regarding the identification of schools where there is a gap in terms of education around environmental issues.

Programmes focus is on the following topics:  Fynbos  Wetlands  Water  Biodiversity  Climate Change  Fire  Sustainable Practices

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 Life Orientation (Financial Skills, Time Management, Self-Development, Career Guidance)

Programmes at Driftsands Nature Reserve are approximately 3-4 hours long and accommodate groups of up to 50 learners at a time. Programmes at schools are conducted in the classroom on a topic agreed to with the educator prior to commencement and takes approximately one hour.

Partners such as the City of Cape Town Water Awareness team or The Giraffe House present programmes on Water and Wildlife awareness respectively while volunteers from the Claremont Volunteer Centre, Church groups from Mitchell’s Plain and Honorary Nature Conservators present fun, life orientation programmes. Materials and resources that are used for educating children include PowerPoint presentations, worksheets, Share-Net resources, medicinal garden and nursery, wetlands in the reserve, educational DVDs, live animals, library, laboratory materials and work charts.

Programmes accommodate Grade R learners from the local communities adjacent to the reserve in the form of talks and activities. Through this learners are educated during the foundation phase activities and materials utilised include colouring pictures, colourful sheets, music and dance, animal sounds, puppets and storytelling.

Capacity building workshops for educators in the Foundation and Intermediate phase are presented to equip them with practical methods of educating their learners in the classroom. Career Guidance with an emphasis on environmental career possibilities is given to high schools adjacent to the Driftsands Nature Reserve. Additionally, the Nature Reserve continues to play a vital role corporately, by providing a suitable meeting facility for CapeNature, local communities and other key stakeholders.

3.6 Operational management within Driftsands Nature Reserve

3.6.1 Infrastructure

3.6.1.1 Roads/Jeep Tracks The site is presently accessed off Hindle Road south of Westbank, which leads to an access control gate into the MRC. This is a proclaimed public road leading to the nature reserve offices situated within the MRC complex.

All other jeeptracks on the nature reserve are on sandy substrata. Jeeptracks are fairly accessible with 4X2 or 4X4 vehicles and exclusively used for management purposes. To date, no maintenance has been done on these roads. The current network of jeeptracks do need to undergo a process to evaluate the linkages and appropriateness of layout and use as some

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jeeptracks are servitude roads. The jeeptrack between Los Angeles and Driftsands Township and the jeep track linking Mfuleni to the Khayelitsha Mew Way interchange are primary access routes utilised frequently by foot pedestrians moving between settlements and townships. These jeeptracks are closed to public vehicular traffic.

Figure 3.23. Hikers using one of the reserve footpaths Photo: G. Tambe

3.6.1.2 Trails A network of informal trails links the various settlements within and around the Nature Reserve. A formal hiking trail of approximately 3km takes walkers from the office through representative intact examples of dune strandveld wetlands and vegetation to the permanent waterbody, affording the walker with good birding opportunities and a nature experience. A formal process to evaluate all trails and footpaths within the Nature Reserve in order to formalise and reroute or redesign the existing trail network according to the sensitivity analysis will be undertaken by the Reserve Management Committee (Figures 3.23 and 3.24).

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Figure 3.24 Infrastructure map of Driftsands Nature Reserve

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3.6.1.3 Buildings

Figure 3.25 Driftsands Nature Reserve Management Office and Environmental Education Center (2001)

Maintenance and repairs of buildings are prioritised and carried out by the Department of Transport and Public Works as per an annual maintenance schedule. Minor maintenance and repairs to buildings are identified and attended to by management. The Driftsands Nature Reserve facilities include a parking space, a basketball court, a nursery tunnel and shade house. The offices, storeroom and public toilets are clustered in and around the same building (see Figure 3.25). With the exception of the parameter fencing, there is no new infrastructure development planned for the Nature Reserve.

3.6.1.4 Fences

The Driftsands Nature Reserve boundary is not fenced. This has resulted in operational and/or ecological problems in the form of dumping, land invasion and livestock grazing. A section of palisade perimeter fence bounds the western border of the Nature Reserve along the R300 highway. The palisade fence effectively ends at the bridge that links Driftsands Nature Reserve and the Mew Way interlink. As a result, the existing Driftsands Township and is not fenced in. An additional 170 metres of palisade fence with a controlled access gate has been erected on a section of the north-western boundary of the reserve. See Figure 3.26. The installation of this fence has positively contributed to the reduction of dumping and other

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illegal actives in this portion of the Nature Reserve. One of the conditions in the ROD for the Human Settlements Project stipulates that a fence must be erected on the perimeter of the Nature Reserve, this is currently being formalised and implemented.

Figure 3.26 The newly installed palisade fence and gate

3.6.1.5 Environmental Management No waste disposal sites are available within the Driftsands Nature Reserve. All waste from the Nature Reserve is removed off the reserve by municipal services. Illegal dumping has been identified a primary threat. Dumping continues unabated, primarily by manufacturing and construction companies from nearby industrial areas and construction sites. The quantity and frequency of dumping is extensive, more specifically along the jeeptrack that links Mfuleni to the Mew Way Interchange, with waste ranging from household waste to building rubble to tyres and windscreens and hazardous waste such as asbestos. See Figure 3.27.

The Conservation Manager of Driftsands Nature Reserve is to forge relations with the City of Cape Town Waste Management Law Enforcement Unit. The partnership should focus on preventing dumping as well as enforcement towards offenders. Taking above mentioned into account, CapeNature will be enforcing the Nature Conservation Ordinance 19 of 1975 to regulate illegal activities such as refuse dumping (see Figure 3.25) on the reserve, while signage is to be obtained from the City of Cape Town. Solid Waste Management signs stating ‘No dumping’ are to be erected at predetermined points, for example at the Mfuleni access points and Faure road access points. Compliance patrols are to be conducted in order to secure the Protected Area from any further dumping. The Community Conservation Managers are to conduct awareness in the community’s surrounding the Protected Area, with the assistance of the Protected Area Advisory Committee members. Community Conservation Managers are to initiate a green team in each area consisting of three members that will be issued with identification cards and basic training in basic law enforcement, in

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order to inform public of what is allowed and what is not, by writing statements and gathering evidence. These members will assist in reporting illegal activities to the Protected Area and also play a role in educating the communities about waste.

Figure 3.27 Hazardous waste material illegally dumped on the nature reserve being removed by reserve staff

3.6.1.6 Signage

Signboards are located at all major vehicle access points to the Driftsands Nature Reserve. This includes the Mfuleni, Mew Way and Brentwood Road entrances. Signage on route to the Nature Reserve is inadequate, while signage related to dumping is inadequate within the reserve and on boundaries. Existing signage will be upgraded while additional signage will be established. Theft of sign boards remains a constant challenge.

Table 3.7 Infrastructure located within the Driftsands Nature Reserve

Reserve Name Feature Location Feature Type Name Driftsands Nature Reserve Dam North-eastern section of 10.15 ha Water body – with the reserve notable ecological attributes Driftsands Nature Reserve Initiation site North-western section 5 m² Wendy house, enclosed by of the reserve off 100m of laterite poles and 4 m Brentwood Rd gate made of reeds. Include total area of footprint. Driftsands Nature Reserve Palisade Along the Brentwood RD 170 m Fence

4) THE PLANNING CONTEXT OF DRIFTSANDS NATURE RESERVE

4.1 Regional and Provincial Planning of Driftsands Nature Reserve

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The Nature Reserve falls within the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. Therefore current and future management objectives of the Nature Reserve will most likely be influenced by relevant strategic documents produced by the City of Cape Town Municipality as a local authority. The local authority sets an overarching developmental agenda for the area and CapeNature as an organ of state is inevitably reliant on the local Integrated Development Plans (IDP) and Spatial Development Frameworks (SDF) taking into consideration the land use and water use planning needs of the Nature Reserve.

In the context of Driftsands Nature Reserve, the Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain and Greater Blue Downs District Spatial Development Plan and Environmental Management Framework is the most relevant and current policy document consulted to guide decision making pertaining to the Nature Reserve.

The main components of the SDF and EMF relevant to Driftsands Nature Reserve are:  to maintain and improve the quality of existing public open space  supporting the development of the urban park within the Nature Reserve  manage urban development by ensuring that it does not have impacts on the conservation area  the protection of the Kuils River system  retaining the rural character of the area  promoting the Driftsands Nature Reserve as destination place  promoting City Park’s Khayelitsha Wetlands Park as a linked district park as well as a destination place

The importance of the Driftsands Nature Reserve is further valued on numerous fine scale plans commissioned by the City of Cape Town. With specific reference to the fine scale conservation plan for the region, the BioNet, the Nature Reserve forms a core remnant of Cape Flats Dune Strandveld, one of six vegetation types endemic to the City of Cape Town (City of Cape Town 2009). Properties with high biodiversity value adjacent to the Nature Reserve are included in the BioNet.

Due to high developmental pressures, the vegetation type is highly threatened and is disappearing at an alarming rate. The fine scale plan is a pivotal document which provides detailed information focused at the preservation of a key subset of Cape Flats Dune Strandveld and the management thereof.

4.2 Expansion of the Driftsands Nature Reserve

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The expansion of protected areas in South Africa is informed by the National Protected Area Expansion Strategy (NPAES) (SANBI & DEAT 2008). This strategy provides a broad national framework for protected area expansion in South Africa by identifying large areas which should be targeted for formal declaration and introduces a suite of mechanisms which could aid in achieving this.

In response to the NPAES which calls on provinces to develop implementation plans in support of the NPAES and in support of provincial conservation efforts and priorities, CapeNature has produced a Protected Area Expansion Strategy and Implementation Plan (Purnell et al. 2010). This CapeNature strategy addresses the formal proclamation of priority natural terrestrial habitats in the Western Cape Province as protected areas to secure biodiversity and ecosystem services for future generations. Although aligned to the concepts and goals of the NPAES, this strategy is informed by immediately available resources and therefore highlights some different spatial priorities.

4.2.1 Stewardship

The priority conservation habitat map (Figure 4.1) shows the Driftsands Nature Reserve in relation to stewardship sites and both aquatic and terrestrial CBAs in the area. Although there are no plans to formally proclaim any of these CBAs for the duration of this plan, reserve staff should support proper conservation practises and management of these CBAs.

CapeNature’s primary tool to expand the terrestrial conservation estate and establish buffer zones around its reserves is by the promotion of stewardship through private landowners. The future expansion for the Driftsands Nature Reserve will be focussed on consolidating priority areas along the Kuils River Corridor to link to the City of Cape Town’s Macassar Nature Reserve on the False Bay Coast. This will greatly facilitate with the management of the nature reserve and preservation of ecosystem functioning.

With specific reference to the fine scale conservation plan for the region, the BioNet, the Nature Reserves forms a core remnant of Cape Dune Strandveld. Properties with high biodiversity value adjacent to the nature reserve have been included in the BioNet and this serves as a guide for the nature reserve expansion plan. A key parcel of land for possible future inclusion abuts the nature reserve to the north, this is Brentwood Park, Erf. CA543-0 (47.51ha).

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Figure 4.1 Priority Biodiversity Areas of Driftsands Nature Reserve and surrounds

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5) CONSERVATION DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK OF DRIFTSANDS NATURE RESERVE

5.1 Sensitivity analysis

Sensitivity mapping of reserve biodiversity, heritage and physical environment is the main informant of spatial planning and decision-making in protected areas. It is intended to:  inform all planned and ad-hoc infrastructure development e.g. location of management and tourism buildings and precincts, roads, trails, firebreaks;  inform whole-reserve planning and formalisation of use and access as a Reserve Zonation Scheme; and  support conservation management decisions and prioritisation.

The sensitivity maps allow for direct comparison of sites both within and between nature reserves to support CapeNature’s planning at local and regional scales. The process highlights:  sites with the highest regional conservation value;  areas where human access or disturbance will have a negative impact on biodiversity or heritage, and specific environmental protection is required;  areas where physical disturbance or infrastructure development will cause higher environmental impacts, and/or higher construction and on-going maintenance costs; and  areas where there is significant environmental risk to infrastructure. The method ensures that the location, nature and required mitigation for access, activities, and infrastructure development within protected areas can be guided by the best possible landscape-level biodiversity informants. The process accommodates both expert-derived information and more objective scientific data and the decisions are defensible and based on a transparent process.

Biodiversity, heritage and physical features are rated on a standard scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents no or minimal sensitivity and 5 indicates maximum sensitivity (See Figure 5.1). Additional features such as visual sensitivity, fire risk and transport costs can also be included. Higher scores represent areas that should be avoided for conventional access and infrastructure, or where specific mitigation would be required in order to address identified environmental sensitivity. A score of 5 typically represents areas where mitigation for conventional access or infrastructure development would be extensive, costly or impractical enough to be avoided at all costs, or features so sensitive that they represent a ‘no go’ area. For biodiversity features highest scores represent high priority sites where conservation management cannot be compromised.

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Sensitivity maps cannot replace all site-scale investigation, but they are ideal for rapidly reviewing known environmental risks, and guiding whole-reserve planning to minimise overall negative environmental impact.

 highest sensitivity/conservation importance  features of global importance  Features highly vulnerable to impacts from nearly any activity. 5  E.g. intact habitat in Critically Endangered ecosystems, or natural wetland systems  Off limits to any negative impact 4  Management must be to the highest standard.  Infrastructure development and maintenance not cost effective  Access or infrastructure development is very strongly discouraged and unacceptable unless all negative impacts can be mitigated 3

2  Not sensitive at all  Not important for biodiversity conservation  E.g. sites with highly degraded or no natural habitat in well-conserved, 1 least threatened ecosystems  More suitable for use, infrastructure development  Habitats likely to be a lower priority for management action.

Figure 5.1 CapeNature Method for Sensitivity Scoring and Synthesis (Kirkwood in prep.)

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Figure 5.2: Drifstands Nature Reserve Sensitivity map

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Figure 5.3 Map indicating Land use impacting on the sensitivity Driftsands Nature Reserve

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5.2 Driftsands Nature Reserve Sensitivity Analyses

5.2.1 Sensitivity

Sensitivity mapping of reserve biodiversity, heritage and physical environment forms is the main informant of spatial planning and decision-making in protected areas. It is intended to:  inform all planned and ad-hoc infrastructure development e.g. location of management and tourism buildings and precincts, roads, trails, firebreaks;  inform whole-reserve planning and formalisation of use and access as a Reserve Zonation Scheme; and  support conservation management decisions and prioritisation.

The sensitivity maps allow for direct comparison of sites both within and between reserves to support CapeNature’s planning at local and regional scales. The process highlights:  sites with the highest regional conservation value;  areas where human access or disturbance will have a negative impact on biodiversity or heritage, and specific environmental protection is required;  areas where physical disturbance or infrastructure development will cause higher environmental impacts, and/or higher construction and on-going maintenance costs; as well as areas where there is significant environmental risk to infrastructure.

The method ensures that the location, nature and required mitigation for access, activities, and infrastructure development within protected areas can be guided by the best possible landscape-level biodiversity informants. The process accommodates both expert-derived information and more objective scientific data and the decisions are defensible and based on a transparent process.

5.2.2 Sensitivity of Driftsands Nature Reserve

Lowest Sensitivity:

Areas of low sensitivity for Driftsands Nature Reserve are restricted to known transformed sites. These are specifically roads, jeeptracks and trail network within the reserve. See Fig 5.2. No other areas of low sensitivity were determined for this reserve.

High Sensitivity:

The second category of sensitivity identified for the reserve is High sensitivity. This classification was given to areas based on two main criteria namely substrate very loose sandy soils and dune systems. The other criteria which informed this category are the vegetation of the reserve. The vegetation is classified as Cape Flats Dune Strandveld which is listed as Endangered (Mucina & Rutherford 2006). The National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment (Rouget et al. 2004) has determined that as of 1996 about 60% of the original extent of Cape

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Flats Strandveld still remained. This figure has declined significantly in the past ten years, and is likely to be closer to 40% now. Some five percent is conserved (Table Mountain National Park, Rondevlei Nature Reserve and Wolfgat Nature Reserve), with a conservation target of 24%. Given the status of the vegetation type as well as the importance of Driftsands in conserving a portion of the remaining 40% of this vegetation type, it is categorised High Sensitivity.

Highest Sensitivity:

The highest sensitivity has been assigned to the wetland systems of the reserve. The wetlands found in this area are Strandveld wetland systems. Nationally and provincially, wetlands are highly threatened systems (Gouws et al. 2012). This is especially true for wetlands on the Cape Flats, as most wetlands here already have been heavily impacted and irreversibly transformed by developments. On Driftsands these systems and the associated ecosystems are critical in an urban landscape and should be conserved at all cost. In addition wetlands serve an important ecosystem service of flood attenuation in an urban landscape where most surfaces have been hardened and water has been channelled to hardened infrastructure like storm water drains.

5.2.2 Impacts on the Sensitivity of Driftsands Nature Reserve

The threats and challenges to Driftsands Nature Reserve in this urban context have been quantified in the SWOT analysis for this reserve. Figure 5.3 attempts to depict these threats and challenges spatially. It also serves to illustrate the impacts that these threats and challenges have and are still having on the sensitivity of the reserve. The main challenges mapped are the network of informal roads, jeeptracks and trails which crisscross the reserve. The frequent fires which have occurred on the reserve are also mapped. The majority of these fires are as a result of human activity and were started intentionally. Finally the informal kraals and associated grazing footprint is mapped. The map illustrates that though much of the reserve is categorised as highly sensitive, the biodiversity of this area is being negatively impacted by these activities. Methods to mitigate and arrest the impacts of these activities are outlined in the Strategic Implementation Framework of this document.

5.3 Zonation Protected area zonation provides a standard framework of formal guidelines for conservation, access and use for particular areas. Zonation goes beyond natural resource protection and must also provide for: 1) appropriate visitor experience; 2) access and access control; 3) environmental education; and 4) commercial activities.

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Ideally, zonation development should be done at the same time as infrastructure development planning. Good planning must aim to reduce cumulative environmental impacts and the long-term operating costs of all activities. Zonation and infrastructure development planning must be guided by:  existing infrastructure and use;  potential future infrastructure and access requirements; and  careful evaluation of overall impact, construction costs and operating costs versus likely benefits; for alternatives for every component. Zonation requires input from all appropriate internal CapeNature stakeholders, and is a key component of the management plan which is to be evaluated during the Public Participation Process.

CapeNature’s zonation categories (See Table 5.1) were developed by an internal workshop process completed in September 2010. Existing protected area zoning schemes worldwide were examined to develop a simple and powerful scheme that provides for the required range of visitor experience, access and conservation management. Particular effort was made to maintain consistency with the best developed South African zonation schemes, in particular those of SANParks and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. CapeNature’s zonation categories have fewer tourism-access categories, but provide more detailed and explicit guidelines with regard to zone objectives and characteristics. Furthermore, CapeNature’s zonation includes new zones specifically required in the context of highly sensitive biodiversity sites and zoning of privately owned Contract Nature Reserves.

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Table 5.1: Guide to CapeNature Zones on the Driftsands Nature Reserve

Facilities / Zone Zone Objective Characteristics Visitor Activities Visitor Access Management Guidelines Infrastructure

Users: To provide an Completely wild and rugged “Leave-no-trace” No infrastructure of any type Unguided visitor access Visitor Management: experience of solitude in landscapes (or being restored activities: if possible. only on foot. Manage to conserve natural and cultural pristine landscapes with to this). Overnight hiking, without No roads or vehicle tracks. Visitors have freedom resources, ecological processes and wilderness minimal evidence of Areas where users have little any sleeping facilities, to use various trails. integrity. human presence or use. No structures except small chance of encountering any formal campsites, or with existing buildings of cultural, Use of donkeys, horses Leave no trace ethic. Conservation: To limit other human presence or only basic, un-serviced historic or aesthetic value. or other animals with visitor numbers and use group. shelters. "Carry in, Carry Restrict numbers of visitors and allow for no-use These can be used as un- an official guide only on to minimise impact. out" principle for all food rest periods if required. Sight or sound of human serviced sleeping shelters for designated historical and waste. Minimal management activities outside zone barely hikers & provided with routes and trails, or Limited management interventions. Management intervention for visitor or discernible and at far Guided or unguided composting toilets. existing roads, and only measures may be carried out in extreme biodiversity distance; Preferably no nature observation. where this will not conditions, but tread lightly principles must apply. Narrow permanent walking management. human impact or cause trampling, trails. Since visitor use cannot be intensively managed, infrastructure inside the zone erosion or any Include sensitive or re-route trails away from any areas with sensitive other than trails. No signage except small, degradation. threatened habitats & No fires local habitats or plant and animal species. unobtrusive markers for species in this low use Natural burning regimes, with Limits on visitor closed routes, or at trail Trail layout, design and construction must reduce zone when contiguous no active fire management numbers and/or junctions. maintenance requirements. sites meet the criteria for and road/firebreak control of routes and wilderness. infrastructure. NB – in the mountainous, access so that zone Conservation Management: slow-growing fynbos of the objectives are met. Areas with minimal Invasive Habitats with minimal management requirements, Western Cape, the traditional Alien Plant infestations, Use of non-motorised typically natural burning zones. wilderness concept of access where IAP control can be canoe or flotation without defined trails is Prevent or restore visible trampling or any other done without vehicle access. device on rivers can be unsafe and rapidly results in impact. acceptable where entry Area must meet the definition undesirable user-created is by foot or by river Rehabilitate non-essential roads to natural and requirements of the trails and erosion. from outside the zone. vegetation. Re-zone essential roads out of National Environmental Wilderness Zoning. Management: Protected Areas Act 57 of 2003. If Consumptive Use: formally declared in terms of No fires Not compatible the act, zone = “Wilderness No vehicle access (declared)”; if not = “Wilderness”. No access without zone

Wilderness / Wilderness (declared) Wilderness Wilderness/ permit

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Facilities / Zone Zone Objective Characteristics Visitor Activities Visitor Access Management Guidelines Infrastructure

Users: To provide an Intrinsically wild appearance Guided or unguided Deviation from natural state Visitor access only by Visitor Management: experience of solitude in & character. nature observation to be minimised. permit. Manage to conserve natural and cultural natural landscapes with Areas where users will seldom Primarily intended for Infrastructure should not be Control of visitor resources, ecological processes and wild little nearby evidence of encounter other human hiking or walking access. visible from Wilderness numbers, frequency appearance & character. human presence. groups or presence. Zones. and group sizes to meet Only allows for 4x4 routes Restrict numbers of visitors and allow for no-use Can provide access to and zone objectives. Any visible human impact or or vehicle access if May provide isolated, small, rest periods if required. buffer Wilderness Zones. infrastructure inside the zone specifically considered unobtrusive accommodation Only users of All facilities will be small, very basic, self-catering Conservation: To limit is unobtrusive. and noted. facilities for up to 16 guests on facilities/activities will and distributed to avoid contact between users. visitor use, numbers and restricted footprints, access to this zone. Human activities outside zone Only allows for non- infrastructure to particularly for overnight There should be limited if any interaction between may be audible or visible in hiking accommodation Defined or non-defined minimise impact in hiking trails. groups. places. node if specifically hiking and day trail sensitive environments. considered and noted. May have defined or routes. Since visitor use usually cannot be intensively Areas remote from To reduce need for beaconed hiking routes, managed, re-route trails away from any areas with management centres, or On foot always. management of users management access roads, sensitive local habitats or plant and animal species. otherwise difficult or and visitor impacts. tracks and firebreaks. Bicycle, 2x4 or 4x4 expensive to access for Trail layout, design and construction must reduce vehicle, or horseback Allows for minimal or management. All roads, tracks or trails to be maintenance requirements. on designated routes more intensive located and constructed to Areas that might not meet the only. Visible & audible human impacts from adjacent biodiversity management reduce maintenance, visibility criteria for Wilderness but can zones should be mitigated. intervention. and erosion. Where un- serve as undeveloped visual surfaced tracks will result in Conservation Management: Include extensive areas of buffers for Wilderness. erosion, use concrete strip or No access without zone sensitive or threatened Habitats with lower or higher management Areas that may have natural interlocking pavers to permit habitats & species in this requirements. May be natural burning zones. burning regimes, with no stabilise. Re-route unstable or low use zone when sites active fire management and erosion-prone road sections if Usually remote areas so roads and trails should be do not meet the criteria road/firebreak infrastructure this will lower long-term planned and constructed assuming infrequent for wilderness. OR areas that require active visual and environmental maintenance. fire management to stay impact. Prevent or restore visible trampling or any other within thresholds of concern. New roads for visitor access visitor impact. only justified if also required Rehabilitate non-useful roads to natural for management access. vegetation. Avoid wide surfaced roads or Consumptive Use: roads and tracks wider than required for a single vehicle. Sustainable use can be appropriate under controlled circumstances subject to a formal assessment and application in accordance with

Primitive CapeNature policies.

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Facilities / Zone Zone Objective Characteristics Visitor Activities Visitor Access Management Guidelines Infrastructure

Users: To provide easy Areas with extensive lower Guided or unguided Some deviation from No special access Visitor Management: access to natural sensitivity habitats: nature observation. natural/pristine state allowed control or permits More frequent monitoring of these areas is landscapes with low particularly on less sensitive required for this zone. Areas able to accommodate Day hiking trails and/or necessary to prevent damage or degradation. expectation of solitude at or already higher numbers of visitors short trails. Will cater for larger all times. disturbed/transformed sites. More frequent footpath maintenance must be regularly, with no identified number of visitors than Bird hides, canoeing, scheduled for busy routes, with particular Can buffer between sensitive or regionally rare No accommodation; but primitive zone. mountain biking & rock- attention paid to use of railings or other access development and biodiversity. ablution facilities may be climbing where Vehicle access on control to prevent damage to sensitive areas. wilderness or Primitive provided. Popular view or access sites. appropriate. Other dedicated routes, with Zones. Unless visitor access can definitely be intensively activities if specifically May have defined or pedestrian access from Extensive areas able to guided and managed, re-route trails away from Conservation: To considered and approved beaconed hiking routes, parking areas or accommodate roads, trails any sensitive local habitats or plant and animal manage and direct visitor as part of specific reserve tourism and management adjacent Development and tracks without high risk of species. use, and plan zoning scheme. access roads, and Zones. erosion and degradation. infrastructure to management tracks and Trail layout, design and construction must be Motorised 2x4 self-drive On water – only non- minimise impact on Areas accessible for regular firebreaks. specified to reduce maintenance requirements access on designated motorised crafts sensitive environments. management of roads and under higher use. routes. Infrastructure should be allowed unless trails. To actively manage users designed to reduce impacts of specifically noted. Visible & audible human impacts to adjacent No accommodation or and visitor impacts. Areas where roads and trail higher visitor numbers. Primitive or Wilderness Zones should be mitigated. camping. infrastructure can be located Allows for minimal or Roads open to the public Conservation Management: with low visibility from the Frequent interaction with more intensive should be accessible by 2x4 surrounding landscape, other users. Habitats with lower or higher management biodiversity management sedan. Full width tarred or particularly from adjacent requirements. May be natural burning zones. intervention. surfaced roads or roads and Primitive or Wilderness Zones. Prevent or restore visible trampling or any other tracks to accommodate two Provide additional Usually areas that require vehicles are appropriate. visitor impact. protection to localised active fire management with sensitive or threatened Un-surfaced roads may be Rehabilitate non-useful roads to natural firebreaks to stay within habitats, species or other surfaced if a road planning vegetation. thresholds of concern, but features by Special exercise has confirmed that may also include natural Consumptive Use: Management Overlays the location is suitable. burning regimes. Sustainable use may be appropriate subject to a formal assessment and application in accordance

Nature Access Nature with CapeNature policies.

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Facilities / Zone Zone Objective Characteristics Visitor Activities Visitor Access Management Guidelines Infrastructure

Users: To provide access Areas with existing degraded Picnicking. Reception offices. Motorised self-drive Visitor Management: to adjacent natural or transformed footprints. 2x4 sedan car access. Walking or bicycle access Self-catering accommodation Use infrastructure solutions such as railings, hard landscapes with no Natural or semi-natural into adjacent areas. and camping for up to 100 Tour bus access. surfacing and boardwalks to manage undesirable expectation of solitude. habitats only where essential guests in total at any time1 visitor impacts. to minimise impacts over Self-catering Parking areas. To provide primarily self- whole reserve. accommodation and Single small lodges for up to Accept negative impacts on natural habitats in this catering accommodation This zone should be camping. 30 guests are permissible if all zone unless these are specifically addressed in a or camping. Areas able to accommodate used to provide parking facilities are contained in a Special Management Overlay. high numbers of visitors Meeting, workshops or and walk-in access for Can provide for compact footprint, this regularly, with no identified mini-conference day visitors to adjacent Frequent footpath and road maintenance must be Environmental Education represents the total sensitive or regionally rare activities for no more Nature Access zone if scheduled for high impact routes. accommodation and accommodation for the zone, biodiversity. than the number of possible. access into surrounding and any restaurant or catering Visible impacts to adjacent Zones should be people that can be landscapes. Areas able to accommodate facilities are for overnight considered and mitigated. accommodated roads, trails and guests only. Conservation: To locate overnight in the zone. Conservation Management: accommodation the zone and If possible roads should be infrastructure without risk of Can provide for Provide access and generate revenue. infrastructure to narrow with separate erosion or degradation. Environmental Education minimise impact on incoming and outgoing Management should aim to mitigate the impacts accommodation and of the high number of visitors. sensitive environments. Areas easily accessible from routes; otherwise double access into surrounding reserve management centre. vehicle width roads are To actively manage users landscapes, but this must Largely transformed habitats with lower strongly advisable for safety and visitor impacts on Areas where risk of fire be carefully planned not management requirements. Usually fire exclusion and usability. adjacent sensitive areas. damage to infrastructure is to conflict with visitor areas. low or can be mitigated use. Roads in this zone should be Provide additional Prevent or rehabilitate visible trampling or any without unacceptable impacts surfaced to reduce protection to sensitive or other visitor impact. on surrounding environment. management cost and threatened habitats, environmental impacts. Plan for a compact overall development footprint,

Low Intensity Low species or other features Areas where new

avoiding dispersed infrastructure that will increase by Special Management infrastructure can be located Development and – fire risk and/or environmental footprint. This is Overlays with low visibility from the infrastructure may take up a most critical in fire-prone environments. surrounding landscape. Areas significant proportion of the not visible from Primitive or zone, but planning should Consumptive Use: Wilderness Zones. ensure that area still provides Sustainable use may be appropriate subject to a relatively natural outdoor Areas with available potable formal assessment and application in accordance experience. water, and not sensitive to with CapeNature policies. disposal of treated

Development Development wastewater via soak away.

1 Although 100 guests seem high this is in line with CapeNature sites that would fall within this zone definition, e.g. configured as 10 x 4-sleeper self-catering units and 15 campsites.

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Facilities / Zone Zone Objective Characteristics Visitor Activities Visitor Access Management Guidelines Infrastructure

Users: To provide access Areas with extensive Restaurants and small High density tourism Tour bus access. Visitor Management: to adjacent natural degraded or transformed shops. development nodes`. Motorised self-drive Management action will focus mostly on landscapes with no footprints. Natural or semi- Picnicking. Modern amenities including sedan car access. maintenance of facilities & providing high quality expectation of solitude. natural habitats only where restaurants & shops. experiences. benefits outweigh impacts. Walking or bicycle access Parking areas. To provide low and/or into adjacent areas. Self-catering accommodation Use infrastructure solutions such as railings, hard higher density Areas able to accommodate Air access only and camping for over 100 surfacing and boardwalks to manage undesirable accommodation. very high numbers of visitors Accommodation in small permitted if considered guests in total at any time. visitor impacts. regularly, with no identified hotels, lodges and higher and approved as part of May provide some sensitive biodiversity. density self-catering Lodges or small hotels. zoning scheme and Accept substantial impact on natural habitats in conveniences such as accommodation and/or there is no possibility of this zone unless these are specifically addressed in restaurants and shops. Areas able to accommodate Roads in this zone must be camping. faunal disturbance. a Special Management Overlay. roads, trails and surfaced to reduce Conservation: To locate accommodation Meetings, workshop or management cost and Frequent landscape, footpath and road the zone and infrastructure without risk. mini-conference environmental impacts. maintenance must be scheduled for high impact infrastructure to activities for no more areas. minimise impact on Areas easily accessible from Development and than the number of sensitive environments. reserve management centre. infrastructure may take up a Visible impacts to adjacent Zones should be people that can be significant proportion of the mitigated. To actively manage users Areas where risk of fire accommodated zone, but planning should and visitor impacts on damage to infrastructure is overnight in the zone. Conservation Management: ensure that area still provides adjacent sensitive areas. low or can be mitigated relatively natural outdoor Provide access and generate maximum revenue. without unacceptable impacts Provide additional experience. on surrounding environment. Management should aim to mitigate the protection to sensitive or biodiversity impacts of the high number of visitors threatened habitats, Areas where new only in sensitive areas (if any) identified by Special species or other features infrastructure can be located Management Overlay. by Special Management with low visibility from the Overlays surrounding landscape. Areas These are highly transformed habitats with lower not visible from Primitive or management requirements. Natural fire exclusion Wilderness Zones. areas.

High Intensity High Prevent or rehabilitate visible trampling or any – Areas with available potable water, and not sensitive to other visitor impact. disposal of larger amounts of Plan for a compact overall development footprint, treated wastewater. avoiding dispersed infrastructure that will increase fire risk and/or environmental footprint. This is most critical in fire-prone environments. Consumptive Use:

Development Development Sustainable use unlikely to be compatible.

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Facilities / Zone Zone Objective Characteristics Visitor Activities Visitor Access Management Guidelines Infrastructure

Location of infrastructure Areas with extensive n/a Any reserve management none Visitor Management: and facilities for Reserve degraded or transformed infrastructure including n/a Administration & footprints. Natural or semi- offices, sheds, garages, stores, especially conservation natural habitats only where etc. Conservation Management: management facilities benefits at reserve scale Roads required to access Frequent footpath and road maintenance must be outweigh local impacts. Not compatible with these should be surfaced to scheduled for high impact routes. tourism and tourism Areas able to accommodate reduce long-term Accept some impact on natural habitats in this access. high disturbance, with no maintenance costs and zone unless these are specifically addressed in a identified sensitive environmental impact. Special Management Overlay. biodiversity.

Visible impacts to adjacent Zones should be Areas providing easy access to NOTE mitigated. reserve and infrastructure. Reserve administrative offices Management should aim to contain all activities Areas very close to zones may also be located within within the smallest possible footprint. requiring highest visitor reception facilities in management intervention, Largely transformed habitats with lower Development - Low/High especially Low/High Intensity management requirements. Usually fire exclusion

Intensity Zones Zones. areas. Areas where risk of fire Prevent or restore trampling or any other damage to infrastructure is management impact. low or can be mitigated Plan for a compact overall development footprint, without unacceptable impacts avoiding dispersed infrastructure that will on surrounding environment. increase fire risk and/or environmental footprint. Areas where new This is most critical in fire-prone environments.

Management infrastructure can be located - Consumptive Use: with low visibility from the surrounding landscape. Areas Sustainable use unlikely to be possible in small not visible from Primitive or zone. Wilderness Zones. Areas with available potable water, and not sensitive to disposal of treated

Development Development wastewater.

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Facilities / Zone Zone Objective Characteristics Visitor Activities Visitor Access Management Guidelines Infrastructure

- Commercial or Areas identified for May allow agri-tourism Any agricultural May allow agri-tourism Agricultural best practise to support surrounding subsistence farming. production farming. infrastructure. natural areas, particularly with regard to river and wetland buffer areas. (only applicable to Areas with extensive privately owned & degraded or transformed

managed Contract footprints. Nature Reserves) Natural or semi-natural habitats only when use of these areas is supported by a bioregional plan and specialist

Development Development Production site assessment.

– Private dwelling and Private homestead. n/a Dwellings and private No access by the public Should have no negative impacts on the surrounds. accommodation areas. without permission surrounding conservation area. Areas with existing degraded from landowner. (only applicable to or transformed footprints. Roads to access these. privately owned & Natural or semi-natural managed Contract habitats only when use of Nature Reserves) these areas is supported by a bioregional plan and specialist

Development Development Private Areas site assessment.

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Protection Zones

Facilities / Zone Zone Objective Characteristics Visitor Activities Visitor Access Management Guidelines Infrastructure

Users: Larger areas where Research. Usually none, but Public / Tourism access Visitor Management: This zone’s primary purpose is uncontrolled public access footpaths and tracks to normally not allowed. Prevent visitor access or restrict numbers Nature observation under conservation and research. is undesirable due to allow management May be permitted under of visitors and allow for no-use rest periods strictly controlled presence of regionally access may be permitted. very tightly controlled if required. Limited tourism use only if conditions only if critically rare and conditions, to be compatible with conservation specifically noted. Where visitor access is Infrastructure layout, design and endangered fauna, flora, determined per site. objective. permitted, strict access construction must be designed and habitat. control infrastructure is maintained to highest environmental Conservation: Protection of Typical example would be required to delimit access standards. species or habitats of special a seabird breeding colony, routes, and if necessary conservation concern. Conservation Management: particularly for threatened screen visitors. I.e. hides, Feature specific – as required. Restrict access to prevent species. boardwalks, screened disturbance and/or damage. routes, and paths with Prevent any negative impacts on identified

railings may be feature/s. appropriate. Consider removal and/or rehabilitation of non-essential infrastructure. Consumptive Use:

Species Species / Protection Habitat / Cultural Not compatible.

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Special Management Overlays

Special management overlays provide an indication of areas requiring special management intervention within the above zones. Overlays would typically only be applied where zoning does allow visitor or management access, but special measures are required, particularly to ensure protection of important and sensitive features or sites. Overlays should include specific indication of permitted activities, access, facilities/infrastructure and management guidelines that differ from the rest of that zone. Overlay requirements can be flexible, adapted to the requirements of the feature/s they protect.

Facilities / Management Overlay Overlay Objective Characteristics Visitor Activities Visitor Access Infrastructure Guidelines

Protection of localised Can overlap any zone. Specific activities Usually none, but specific Specific access dependent on Feature specific – as required. identified important Permanent, temporary or temporal dependent on ability to infrastructure dependent ability to manage access and Cultural Feature. zone to manage important cultural manage activity and on feature in question. feature in question. or heritage features. feature in question.

Cultural

Protection of localised Can overlap any zone. Specific activities Usually none, but specific Specific access dependent on Feature specific – as required. identified important Permanent, temporary or temporal dependent on ability to infrastructure dependent ability to manage access and Biodiversity Feature zone to manage important and manage activity and on feature in question. feature in question. sensitive species and/or habitats. feature in question. Typically only applied where visitor

Species Species / Habitat impacts are expected.

Protection of sensitive view Can overlap any zone. Specific activities No roads, firebreaks or Walking access likely to be Feature specific – as required.

sheds and particularly for Sensitive view sheds and particularly dependent on ability to buildings. appropriate. Wilderness Zone view for areas within Wilderness Zone manage activity and No visible infrastructure. sheds. feature in question. view sheds. Trails may be appropriate.

Visual

Access to identified Can overlap any zone except Harvesting of identified None Specific access dependent on Feature specific – as required. sustainable consumptive Wilderness and Protection zones. resources. feature in question. use resources as per a Areas with identified natural resource management resources formally assessed as not plant. sensitive to harvesting and where an approved sustainable harvesting plan is in place.

Natural Natural Access Resource

Research is usually permissible in all zones, except Species/Habitat protection or Cultural Protection where it may be restricted. Research that requires destructive harvesting or manipulation of more than a few square metres of habitat should not be considered in any of the Protection overlays, except where research outputs are considered essential for management of that ecosystem, research cannot be done at an equivalent site elsewhere, and research results are certain to contribute substantially to management objective.

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Figure 5.4 Driftsands Nature Reserve Zonation Map

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Key Drivers of the Driftsands Nature Reserve’s zonation:

Driftsands Nature Reserve: Development – Low Intensity Zones: This zone has been assigned to the area which has been identified for the initiation site. This is a small informal footprint which should not be increased or formalised by hardening surfaces or permanent structures.

Driftsands Nature Reserve: Development – Management Zones: A process was undertaken to identify the critical management roads on the reserve in the network of informal and formal roads and tracks on the reserve. All management roads needed to perform critical management functions has been mapped and zoned accordingly.

Driftsands Nature Reserve: Nature Access Zones: One trail has been identified on the reserve for the public to use to access the reserve for guided walks.

Driftsands Nature Reserve: Primitive Zones: This zone covers the remainder of the reserve’s zonation. The zonation of primitive was set with the intent that it should serve to provide an experience of a natural area in an urban landscape.

5.4 Access The general public need to be provided with access to all protected areas. Access points must be easily accessible to relevant user groups, but controlled by protected area staff. The Driftsands Nature Reserve is unique in a sense that it does not have a complete perimeter fence, consequently rendering access points ineffective. Both pedestrians and vehicles can easily gain access to the reserve. A review of all access points has been undertaken in response to illegal activities such as dumping. The two well established informal settlements within the reserve, which is Green Park and Los Angeles, makes access control impossible.

The Driftsands Human Settlement Project is envisioned to relieve the situation as the two settlements will be formalized, and provided with basic amenities like housing, sanitation and electricity, amongst others. This section of the nature reserve which is earmarked for development will be de-proclaimed in accordance to legal prescripts. Formal access points are illustrated in Figure 5.5 and listed in Table 5.2.

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Figure 5.5 Driftsands Nature Reserve Access map

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Table 5.2 Formal Public access points to the Driftsands Nature Reserve

No. Locality Name Type of Access Activity 1 Off Brentwood road, Initiation Locked gate for Controlled Access for management activities, on the North-western Site Gate access. Entrance for staff Initiation site. City of Cape Town section of the reserve and visitors uses the entrance to access bulk water facilities. 2 Off Brentwood road, Main gate Manned access gate for Access to the MRC Complex upon on the North-western staff and visitors which the Reserve’s offices are. section of the reserve

Detailed information in relation to servitudes must still be sourced; however, known existing servitude agreements and public rights applicable to the Driftsands Nature Reserve are listed in Table 5.3

Table 5.3 Servitude, management agreements and public rights

Date of Type of Agreement Beneficiary Duration of Area Affected Agreement Agreement (years) 8 June 2012 MOU Memorandum of Initiation Two years Driftsands Nature Reserve Understanding, For village access to the initiation steering site committee Unknown Servitude for Eskom Unknown Driftsands Nature Reserve Powerlines and pylons traversing North western section of the reserve Unknown Servitude to maintain City of Cape Unknown Driftsands Nature Reserve water and sewage pipe Town lines traversing the reserve 4 March 2013 MOU Memorandum of Western Cape Two years Cape Metro South District Understanding, For Education advancement, Department organisation and Metro South coordination of District environmental education programmes in schools in node

5.4 Concept Development Plan Two informal settlements encroached on Portion 1 of Farm 544 during 2004, which compelled the City of Cape Town to initiate a project to upgrade the settlement and formalise them. The Provincial Government of the Western Cape granted Power of Attorney to the City of Cape Town during 2005, to act as agents to undertake various actions to plan and rezone the land in question in order to allow these upgrades.

In 2005 the provincial Department of Local Government and Housing appointed Marlene Laros & Associates – Sustainability Matters, working in association with NM Associates

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Planners & Designers, Indigenous Vegetation Consultancy and GISCOE (Pty) Ltd to undertake the Driftsands Potential Study to investigate and recommend sustainable land uses for the site. The key objective of the Driftsands Potential Study was to develop land use recommendations for the study area, based on the principles of sustainable development and encompassing elements of a Strategic Environmental Analysis.

Marlene Laros & Associates et al. (2005) proposed land use option 4a): Consolidation and upgrading of existing informal settlements (preferred option) which looks to accommodate all existing residents, as well as an additional 1 800 dwelling units, within the limits of the current nature reserve to the north-west of the MRC facility together with the reinforcement of the Hindle Road urban corridor (see Figure 5.6). Dune and wetland areas currently accommodating Los Angeles are rehabilitated and biodiversity off-sets are secured. This option balances relevant government imperatives and is supported by law and policy. Further, this option responds most favourably to the Strategic Assessment Framework principles and criteria.

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Figure 5.6: Option 4(a) adopted by Cabinet Resolution 2005 (Laros et al. 2005)

The Driftsands Potential Study: Final Report (Laros et al. 2005) led to Cabinet Resolution 2005, which stated:  Cabinet takes note and in-principle supports the findings of and steps to be taken on the Driftsands Potential Study: Final Report.  Cabinet supports the proposal that an Environmental Impact Assessment be done in order to complete the statutory requirements for development on the portions of land indicated as suitable, which is option 4(a) in the Driftsands Potential Study (mentioned in 1 above).

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 The Management Plan drafted by CapeNature for the area of Driftsands which is to remain as a Nature Reserve (in accordance with the report mentioned in 1. above) be supported.  Cabinet supports initiatives by the City of Cape Town, with the assistance of the Western Cape Provincial Government to limit the growth in numbers of families resident in the “Los Angeles” informal settlement and other settlements within the borders of the Driftsands Nature Reserve until such time as the development is concluded.  Cabinet supports the de-proclamation (as a Nature Reserve) and disposal of said land for development purposes of the part of Driftsands Nature Reserve which is currently fully developed as Sikhumbule (Driftsands) township, and those parts which are to be utilized for development as indicated in the development proposals once the Environmental Impact Assessment is complete.  Cabinet supports offsetting the loss of area of Nature Reserve (an endangered habitat - Cape Flats Dune Strandveld) resulting from the above de-proclamation through securing, under formal conservation protection and management, an approximately equivalent area of conservation-worthy land within the Driftsands Nature Reserve which is currently undermined by informal urban settlement.  Cabinet agrees in principle, that the envisaged housing (due to the proximity to the reserve) should present an opportunity to develop a sustainable, integrated settlement which is qualitatively different from other existing developments in the area. With the implementation of the project, developers will be specifically requested to find and plan for innovative infrastructural and functional interrelationships with the surrounding Nature Reserve.

Subsequently, extensive studies were undertaken, culminating in an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) submission by the City of Cape Town to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP), upon which a Record of Decision (ROD) dated 23 November 2011 was issued. The ROD gave the City of Cape Town permission to develop the proposed settlements. In response, CapeNature appealed due to certain aspects of the ROD. This was subsequently dismissed by Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Developmental Planning on 22 August 2012, therefore approving initiation of the development. Following a directive from the provincial Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW), CapeNature has since made a de-proclamation submission to the Minister of Environmental Affairs and developmental Planning to make way for development.

The boundaries of Driftsands Nature Reserve (Portion 83 a portion of Portion 1. Drift Sands No. 544) has been resurveyed by Professional Land Surveyor M.E Jakins in January 2014. The Boundaries were resurveyed to exclude the portions of Driftsands affected by the Driftsands Potential Study. Two points and a section of the boundary which was not surveyed by the Land Surveyor, as depicted in Figure 5.7 have been identified and actioned for future

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surveying. The reserve will be proclaimed in future to reflect the new surveyed boundary as per the ROD.

Figure 5.7 Points and boundary lines that still need to be surveyed on Driftsands Nature Reserve

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6) STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK The Strategic Implementation Framework (SIF) guides the implementation of the management plan over five years in order to ensure that it achieves its management objectives. The SIF translates the information described in Sections 3, 4 and 5 above into management activities and targets, which will be used to inform annual plans of operation as well as the resources required to implement them. The management targets will form the basis for monitoring of performance in implementing the plan and are thus measurable.

The SIF is discussed under the following tables. The guiding principles of these sections are discussed in the Co-ordinated Policy Framework.

6.1 Legal status and reserve expansion 6.2 Regional integrated planning and cooperative governance 6.3 Ecosystem and biodiversity management 6.4 Wildlife management 6.5 Fire management 6.6 Invasive and non-invasive species management 6.7 Cultural and heritage resource management 6.8 Law enforcement and compliance 6.9 Infrastructure management 6.10 Socio-economic framework 6.11 Management Effectiveness 6.12.1 Finance and administration management 6.12.2 Human resources management 6.12.3 Occupational health and safety management 6.12.4 Risk management 6.13 Visitor management and services

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Table 6.1 LEGAL STATUS AND RESERVE EXPANSION Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 2 To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. Objective 4 To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. Objective 5 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. Objective 6 To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 1. The Driftsands Nature Proclaim the Driftsands Nature Reserve in terms Protected Areas Manager, The Driftsands Nature Year 1-2 NEM:PAA Reserve has secure of NEM: PAA. Law Admin Manager, Reserve is legally secure. permanent legal List the protected area in the National Register as Conservation Manager, conservation status in required by the Act. Programme Manager: terms of NEM: PAA. Stewardship 2. The Driftsands Nature City of Cape Town to survey Driftsands Nature Protected Areas Manager, Year 1-3 NEM:PAA Reserve boundary is Reserve boundary as per Human Settlements Conservation Manager, known and appropriately Project ROD. Law Admin Manager, demarcated and secure. Erect beacons to clearly demarcate reserve Community Conservation boundaries. Manager. Erect a fence on the boundary of the reserve. Inform all relevant stakeholders of boundary demarcation and associated zonation. Investigate and action any disputes or conflicts regarding servitude rights and usage on the reserve. 3. To consolidate all possible Negotiate stewardship agreements with Conservation Manager, Hectares added to the Year 3-5 BioNet Partnership Alliance land within the Kuils River landowners whose property forms part of the Conservation Services conservation estate. City of Cape Town Corridor, as well as other BioNet. Manager, Metro Southeast Conservation identified conservation- Programme Manager: Implementation Plan worthy areas adjacent to Stewardship CapeNature Protected Area and continuous with the Expansion Strategy and reserve. Implementation Plan 2010- 2015

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 377 784

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Table 6.2 REGIONAL INTEGRATED PLANNING AND COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 2 To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. Objective 3 To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. Objective 4 To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. Objective 5 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. Objective 6 To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 4. The Driftsands Nature Inform and integrate the management Conservation The protected area is integrated into Ongoing SDF and IDP Reserve is integrated into objectives for the Driftsands Nature Reserve Manager, Community land-use planning outside of the NEM:PAA land-use planning outside into the SDF’s and IDP’s of the City of Cape Conservation protected area Regulations of the nature reserve. Town Metropolitan Municipality. Manager; Scientific Metro Southeast Integrate with the relevant SDFs and IDP’s of Services Conservation City of Cape Town Metropolitan. Implementation Plan Provide comments/input into development/Landuse change proposals adjacent to the reserve. 5. Maintain a functioning Formalise the existing PAAC according to the Conservation Advisory committee for Driftsands Ongoing Section 10 and 13; Advisory committee for terms of reference. Manager, Nature Reserve has been Regulations: Proper the Driftsands Nature Clarify roles and responsibilities. Community established, is functioning and Administration of Reserve. Manage and maintain partnerships Conservation effective. Nature Reserve Communicate decisions taken to the PAAC. Manager (2012).

6. Define / update MOUs and Include Servitudes (Eskom and Sewage etc.) Conservation Stakeholders notify management Year 1 agreements for all Engage with stakeholders and ensure Manager, when entering the reserve and externally run activities on stakeholders take due cognisance of Law Admin Manager comply with conditions of written the reserve. expected behaviour when entering the agreements &/MOU’s. Nature Reserve. Develop and maintain partnerships with relevant authorities (City of Cape Town, SPCA). Build partnerships and collaborate with other alien vegetation management implementers to ensure integration.

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 251 856

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Table 6.3 ECOSYSTEM AND BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 3 To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. Objective 4 To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. Objective 5 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape.

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing 7. Compile an Ecological Matrix Develop and implement an approved Protected Areas The Driftsands Nature Reserve will Year 1 - Ongoing ProceduresEcological Matrix, and Ecological Plan of Ecological Matrix for the Driftsands Nature Manager, annually indicate an upward trend in Ecological Plan of Operation for Driftsands Reserve. Conservation METT-SA score. Operations Nature Reserve Compile an Ecological Plan of Operations to Manager, support the Ecological Matrix. Regional Ecologist, 100% of actions identified in the Collate all relevant monitoring and research Ecological Co- integrated auditing system will be protocols and data sheets to inform the ordinator. implemented. Ecological Plan of Operations. 8. A biodiversity resource Prioritisation of species for inclusion on the Conservation Year 1 - Ongoing Ecological Matrix, inventory for the Driftsands Ecological Matrix. Manager, Ecological Plan of Nature Reserve is in place Collect specimens (where relevant) and Regional Ecologist, Operations (SOB). submit to Scientific Services. Ecological Co- Baseline data Analyse data, re-assess and implement ordinator collection and adaptive management strategies. monitoring manual Baseline data collection. (2010)

9. A monitoring programme for Review monitoring protocols. Conservation Year 1 - Ongoing Ecological Matrix, the Driftsands Nature Reserve Identify and prioritise monitoring needs of Manager, Ecological Plan of is being implemented. the reserve in consultation with Scientific Regional Ecologist, Operations Services. Ecological Co- Baseline data Establish indicators for monitoring. ordinator collection and Implement monitoring activities as per the monitoring manual Ecological Matrix. (2010) Review and implement the ecological matrix. Analyse data, re-assess and implement adaptive management strategies. Implement monitoring programme as per the relevant national monitoring projects/programmes. Collation of climatic data for the Driftsands Nature Reserve. 10. A research programme for the Identify research needs for the reserve. Conservation Year 1 - Ongoing Ecological Matrix, Driftsands Nature Reserve is Develop and implement an applied research Manager , Ecological Plan of being implemented. programme for the reserve in consultation Regional Ecologist, Operations. with Scientific Services. Ecological Co- Facilitate ongoing research related to the ordinator, Critically Endangered Barber’s Cape Flats Scientific Services Ranger Kedestes barberae bunta and

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Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Endangered Unique Ranger Kedestes lenis Procedures lenis in order to determine habitat requirements in addition to sword grass. Evaluate hydrology of the wetland system and connectivity between wetlands. Investigate appropriate restoration methods for Dune strandveld ecosystems. Evaluate and comment on research permit applications. Maintain a research register for Driftsands Nature Reserve. Results of research projects are fed back to the management of the reserve. Results are used to adapt management of the nature reserve where relevant. Assist with access and data collection and supervision. 11. The Driftsands Nature Reserve Design and implement appropriate fire Conservation Year 1 - Ongoing Integrated contributes to the management programmes (Refer to Table Manager, Catchment maintenance of ecosystem 6.5). Regional Ecologist, Management services. Design and implement appropriate alien Ecological Co- Protocols invasive management programmes (Refer to ordinator, City of Cape Town Table 6.6). Catchment Manager Metropolitan Conduct a road and trail assessment. Municipality Close and rehabilitate inappropriate roads Biodiversity Strategy within the reserve and re-design road networks where needed. Active restoration of areas degraded through over grazing, too frequent fire, dumping and sand mining. 12. Rehabilitate and conserve Verification of CoCT wetland map and Conservation Year 1 - Ongoing Working for wetlands. baseline data collection of wetland Manager, Wetlands attributes. Regional Ecologist, Programme Develop an inventory for fish, amphibians Ecological Co- and invertebrates ordinator, Identify and prioritise wetlands that require Scientist: Freshwater rehabilitation. Develop and implement rehabilitation plans based on existing norms and standards. Investigate an appropriate monitoring strategy for wetlands and seeps to monitor wetland health and condition.

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Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Investigate the registration of Driftsands Procedures Nature Reserve as site for rehabilitation with the Working for Wetlands Programme.

13. Conservation of threatened Locate, document and monitor populations Conservation Year 1 - Ongoing Ecological Matrix, and endemic flora. of Muraltia metior and Passerina paludosa Manager, Ecological Plan of Manage spread of Phragmites australis and Regional Ecologist, Operations Typha capensis in order to protect Ecological Co- Rocherpan populations of Rare and Endangered species. ordinator, Phragmites Scientist: Botanist management Lessons Learnt 14. Conservation of threatened Develop and implement a monitoring Conservation Annually Ecological Matrix, and endemic fauna programme in collaboration with the Manager, Ecological Plan of Lepidopterist Society of South Africa, the City Regional Ecologist, Operations of Cape Town and Animal Demography Unit. Ecological Co- ordinator

15. Manage consumptive Develop a database indicating all utilised Conservation Year 1-5 Policy on the utilisation of biological species and extent of their use within the Manager, consumptive resources. Driftsands Nature Reserve. Regional Ecologist, utilization of Ecological Co- biological resources ordinator, from Community protected areas and Conservation surrounds in the Manager, Western Cape Scientist: Botanist Province

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 2 518 563

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Table 6.4 WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT Objective 1Objective 2 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 4 To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. Objective 5 To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. Objective 6 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 16. Manage damage Remove illegal dogs, cats or other pets and Conservation Damage causing/nuisance fauna Year 1 - Ongoing Ordinance, causing/nuisance fauna domestic stock found in the reserve. Manager, Register Regulations for the proper Implement control measures where Conservation Services administration of Nature appropriate. Manager Reserves 2012, Respond to requests for assistance regarding Game Translocation and damage causing animals off the reserve Utilisation Policy for the WC complex. Province (2011). CapeNature Wildlife Advisory Committee City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality: Policy for the keeping of animals and poultry in the City of Cape Town

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 125 928

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Table 6.5 FIRE MANAGEMENT Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 2 To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. Objective 5 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. Objective 6 To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

2 Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 17. Reduce / avoid the spread Ensure adequate and effective biomass Conservation Reserve has a minimum pre-fire Years 1- Ongoing Fire Management Policy and of fires across the reserves management as and when necessary. Manager, season audit score of 90% by Year 5. Guidelines borders and minimise Implement fuel reduction around Regional Ecologist, Fire break register accidental/deliberate fires infrastructure to minimise risk. Ecological The distribution and range of veld CPFPA rules and requirements within the reserve. Undertake risk assessments. Coordinator, age is within the limits of acceptable Update and implement Fire Protection and Catchment Manager change (TBD). Reaction Plans according to risk assessments. Apply appropriate risk reduction measures in conjunction with the FPA and COCT Assess appropriateness of current firebreak network and re-align where appropriate. Maintain all firebreaks as per the firebreak register. Negotiate firebreak agreement with neighbours where relevant. Ensure necessary firefighting equipment is available and maintained. 18. Establish and maintain Maintain active membership of CPFPA. Catchment Manager, Active member of CPFPA Years 1-5 Fire Management Policy and partnerships to improve Attend and participate FPA meetings. Conservation Comprehensive Action/Response Guidelines fire management on the Develop a MoU with COCT in terms of fire Manager Plan approved by and incorporating FPA operational rules and Driftsands Nature Reserve. risk management and suppression CPFPA requirements guidelines. which will clarify roles and MoU with CoCT responsibilities

19. Wildfires as a result of Create a fire awareness programme for local Conservation TPC for Driftsands determined and Years 1-5 Fire Management Policy and human negligence are communities. Manager, influencing fire management Guidelines reduced. Identify ‘hot spot’ communities for fire Community activities Fire Awareness program Fire wise Implementation awareness programmes. Conservation implemented “Hot Spots” identified Guidelines Establish fire wise communities immediately Manager and awareness programs directed to neighbouring the reserve. those areas Fire Wise communities established and active

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 251 856

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Table 6.6 INVASIVE AND NON-INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 4 To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. Objective 5 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape.

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures

Invasive Alien Flora 20. Eradicate alien invasive Identify and map all alien and invasive flora Conservation 100% of hectares IAP's cleared Years 1-5 Integrated Catchment species within the within the Driftsands Nature Reserve or Manager, annually versus planned. Management Protocols Driftsands Nature Reserve threatening the reserve. Catchment Manager, Ecological Matrix on an on-going basis. Prioritise clearing in collaboration with Ecological Co- 95 % total area cleared where IAP’s Ecological Plan of Operations Catchment Manager and REST. ordinator, have been controlled to a WfW Operating Procedures. Compile and approve a Management Unit Regional Ecologist, maintenance phase by Year 5. Clearing Plan (MUCP) for the Driftsands Project Manager: Nature Reserve. Alien Vegetation Implement the MUCP in accordance with Management WfW and ICM standards. Programme Manager: Attend Working for Water quarterly AVM meetings, regional ICM Meetings. 21. Monitoring of alien Monitor clearing costs per NBAL. Conservation Years 1-5 Integrated Catchment vegetation on Driftsands Develop and implement record keeping Manager, Management Protocols Nature Reserve to inform procedures to evaluate records and adapt Catchment Manager, Ecological Matrix adaptive management clearing strategies as needed. Project Manager: Ecological Plan of Operations strategies. Monitor effectiveness of clearing operations, AVM, NRM (Working for Water) effectiveness of follow-up, clearing methods Programme Manager: National Norms and Standards implemented, quality control and herbicide AVM application. 22. Prevent the introduction Ensure surrounding landowners are aware of Conservation Years 1-5 Natural Resource of alien and invasive relevant legislation. Manager, Management(Working for species. Prevent dumping. Community Water) Guidelines Prevent grazing of livestock. Conservation Manager Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act Invasive Alien Fauna 23. Control alien and invasive Identify and record alien fauna occurring on Conservation Year 1 - Ongoing CapeNature Policy on species the reserve. Manager, domestic animals on nature Implement the CapeNature Policy regarding Community reserves pets on the reserves. Conservation Visitors are not permitted to bring in any Manager, domestic animals. Regional Ecologist, No domestic livestock will be permitted in the Scientific Services reserve. Engage relevant owners of livestock.

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Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures

Remove all domestic animal structures. No introduction of alien fish species into the Driftsands Dam. Eradication of Alien invasive fish species in the Driftsands Dam. Erect boundary fence between the Driftsands Nature Reserve and communities to mitigate livestock movement into the reserve.

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 4 281 557

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Table 6.7 CULTURAL AND HERITAGE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 2 To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. Objective 3 To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. Objective 5 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. Objective 6 To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverable Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 24. Manage cultural heritage Manage access to Driftsands Ebakhwetheni Conservation Year 1-5 Ref to legislation – arts and resources. Initiation Site as guided by the Management Manager, culture, heritage? Plan. Community Renew the current MOU in June 2014. Conservation Manager METT - SA 25. Ensure the protection and Attend Driftsands Ebakhwetheni Initiation Conservation Year 1-5 preservation of cultural Site Meetings. Manager, heritage resources. Engage and collaborate with external Community partners for expertise and guidance. Conservation Manager

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 251 856

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Table 6.8 LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 2 To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. Objective 4 To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. Objective 5 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. Objective 6 To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 26. Law enforcement Ensure staff has a working knowledge of all Protected Areas Manager, Number of peace officers trained Year 1-5 The Nature and Environment for Driftsands legislation applicable to their function and Conservation Manager, and appointed Ordinance ,19 of 1974 Nature Reserve is mandate. Programme Manager: BCU, Criminal Procedure Act 51 of effective. Ensure reserve staff is adequately Conservation Services Number of EMI’s trained and 1977 capacitated to enforce legislation within the Manager, appointed. Bill of Rights organisation’s mandate effectively. Community Conservation Constitution Ensure adequate law enforcement support Manager Trained community members and Conservation Services from other Reserves / components within duly appointed as HNCO’s Management Plan the Region. Human Resource Policies, Ensure staff is formally designated to Reduction in the number of Procurement Policies; enforce the relevant legislation. environmental crimes on the Nature Biodiversity Crime Unit Appoint appropriate staff as environmental Reserve. Management Plan management inspectors. Ensure the necessary equipment to enable staff to do law enforcement effectively is available. Use the PAAC as a platform to establish a community based law enforcement unit dealing specifically with environmental crimes (illegal dumping, poaching, picking, etc.). Identify relevant training for selected members of the community. Attend local policing forum in priority areas to build partnerships with local law enforcement. 27. Protection systems Implement patrol plan and ensure regular Area Manager, Year 1-5 The Nature and Environment are in place and routine patrols are performed in all Conservation Manager, Ordinance ,19 of 1974 operating identified priority areas at varying times. Community Conservation Criminal Procedure Act 51 of effectively. Set up and implement combined compliance Manager 1977 operations (CapeNature Biodiversity Crime Bill of Rights Unit, Metro Police) as needed. Constitution Control illegal access and use by enforcing Conservation Services regulations, policies and standard operating Management Plan procedures. Human Resource Policies, Procurement Policies;

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Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures Ensure all compliance documentation is Biodiversity Crime Unit properly completed and retained as Means Management Plan of Verification. Driftsands Nature Reserve Ensure relevant cases are reported via BMS Patrol Plan and documents submitted as verification. Engage and collaborate with adjacent communities to promote the reserve, to build relationships and to identify priority areas. Initiate regular meetings with all relevant parties in order to agree on and implement a strategic approach to stop dumping and illegal harvesting. Enlist the support of local CBOs and NGOs where possible and highlighting the issue through press releases as required. Implement awareness raising initiatives with adjacent communities concerning reserve and biodiversity conservation. Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 1 007 425

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Table 6.9 INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 2 To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. Objective 3 To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. Objective 4 To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. Objective 5 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. Objective 6 To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 28. Ensure maintenance of Map all infrastructure and compile the Technical Advisor, Maintenance of infrastructure and Ongoing Infrastructure Register infrastructure and infrastructure register. Protected Areas equipment is adequate. Public Works Schedule equipment. Ensure that infrastructure necessary to Manager, MRC maintenance plan manage the nature reserve effectively is in Conservation Means of verifications: place (U-AMP). Manager, Infrastructure database Assess if facilities are adequate to perform GIS Technician Maintenance schedules critical management activities. Ensure that there is adequate operational equipment as required for operational management purposes. Schedule maintenance of infrastructure in the infrastructure register to ensure upkeep and prevent degradation. Ensure equipment is maintained in good working condition. Liaise with Public Works where required. 29. Align all infrastructure to Assess infrastructure development Conservation Infrastructure located in appropriate Ongoing SDF the sensitivity and appropriateness to the CDF. Manager, zones. Infrastructure registers zonation. Conservation Planner, Regional Ecologist, Ecological Co- coordinator 30. Roads/Jeep Tracks and Evaluate and assess linear infrastructure of Conservation Updated infrastructure register. Ongoing Infrastructure Register Trails are managed to the Driftsands Nature Reserve. Manager, Maintenance of scheduled Public Works Schedule minimise impact on the Compile a roads management plan for use by Regional Ecologist, infrastructure works. environment. staff, contractors and partners (e.g. CCT, Ecological Coordinator Eskom) Compile a roads maintenance plan. Close and rehabilitate inappropriate roads within the reserve and re-design road networks where applicable. Determine the need for rehabilitation intervention such as re-vegetation or other. Monitor site recovery and rehabilitate where necessary.

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Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures Monitor use, impact and cost effectiveness of maintenance. 31. Buildings are effectively Compile and maintain a building register. Area Manager, Building register compiled and Ongoing Infrastructure Register maintained. Provide DPW with works list annually to Conservation maintained. Public Works Schedule reflect maintenance requirements. Manager, Public MRC maintenance plan Ensure that maintenance of new Works infrastructure is appropriately planned (EMP), approved by the QEM and if required the appropriate EIA completed. Ensure energy saving and environmentally sound options are being implemented by DPW (Green Building principals). 32. Maintain fences according Compile a fence management plan. Area Manager, Maintenance of fences according to Ongoing Infrastructure Registers to legislative Inform SANRAL of damage to the Palisade Conservation Manager register. Public Works Schedule requirements. fence along the R300 and N2 roads, for their MRC maintenance plan attention. Investigate funding sources and compile funding proposals to erect a palisade fence along the boundary of the reserve currently unfenced. 33. Environmental Regular maintenance of water works in the Conservation Manager Water works maintained according to Years 1-5 Operational Health and Safety Management: Water Driftsands Centre is scheduled in the building schedule. Act register submitted annually to DPW. National Water Act Schedule regular inspections for the irrigation MRC maintenance plan system and borehole). 34. Signage is appropriate and Conduct a signage audit. Conservation Audit report and signage register. Years 1, 3 and 5 effective to support Compile a signage register with maintenance Manager, management. plan. Community Conservation Manager 35. Environmental Ensure that the storage of herbicide, fuel and Conservation Manager Compliance with legislation. Ongoing Occupational Health and Management: Herbicide gas is in compliance with the Occupational Safety Act 83 of 1995. and Fuel Stores Health and Safety Programme for the Reserve (Occupational Health and Safety Act 83 of 1995).

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 251 856

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Table 6.10 SOCIO-ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 2 To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. Objective 3 To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. Objective 4 To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. Objective 5 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. Objective 6 To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 36. Create access to the Create jobs through implementation of Area Manager, Number of EPWP job opportunities (n). Ongoing Trade World conservation economy projects such as: Conservation Number of EPWP full time equivalents (n). Procurement Procedures through the The NRM (Working for Water) and clearing Manager, Number of people directly benefitting Supply Chain Management implementation and of invasive alien plants. Community from Sustainable Livelihood Programmes Policy management of Establishment and/or maintenance of Conservation (n) WCNCB Outsourcing Policy appropriate initiatives and firebreaks. Manager, Number of person days employment 2004 projects. Cleaning services. Catchment Manager created (n). Garden services.

37. The Driftsands Nature Provide training opportunities for relevant Conservation Ongoing Reserve provides project beneficiaries. Manager, community development Development of Small Medium Macro Community opportunities through Enterprises). Conservation various capacity building Provide training opportunities for Manager interventions, linked to job communities and project beneficiaries, in creation opportunities. partnership with other organisations. 38. Manage consumptive Adhere to the CapeNature Policy on the Community Ongoing Policy on the consumptive utilisation of biological consumptive utilization of biological Conservation utilization of biological resources. resources. Manager, resources from Conservation protected areas and Manager surrounds in the Western Cape Province 39. Access for spiritual or Identify sites that can be utilised for specific Community Number of persons accessing CapeNature Ongoing religious purposes is needs e.g. ritual cleansing ceremonies and Conservation protected areas for cultural, traditional, allowed and controlled. develop a management strategy for use of Manager, spiritual, and sustainable harvesting these sites. Conservation activities (n). Access to the Driftsands Nature Reserve for Manager spiritual, cultural and traditional purposes will be allowed subject to permit conditions, existing MOUs and with prior approval. 40. Representative PAAC meetings. Regional Manager, Biannual general meetings and 4 focus 2 per annum In terms of the proposed cooperation and Community Surveys conducted within the Conservation group meetings regulations for the proper interaction between reserve for awareness. Manager, administration of nature communities and the Community reserves (2009) reserve management. Conservation Manager CapeNature PAAC Terms of Reference (2011)

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Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 41. Environmental education Provide access for Formal and Informal EE Conservation Ongoing People and Parks Action Plan, is provided to promote an programmes as per pre-arranged Manager, Community CapeNature Communications understanding of agreements. Conservation Policy, biodiversity and the use of Assist with formal and Informal EE Manager, The Development of the natural environment programmes conducted in the Driftsands Conservation Services Educational Resources as a vehicle for learning Nature Reserve. Manager. (Corporate Strategic Plan), and development. Assist with the development and Youth Development & implementation of an environmental Environmental Education education plan linked to the objectives of the Programme Strategic Plan. Driftsands Nature Reserve. Facilitate EE through bird clubs, Wetland Walks and Biodiversity Open days 42. Volunteers actively assist Investigate opportunities to engage with Conservation Number of volunteer hours worked (n). Year 1 - Ongoing CapeNature Volunteer Policy in the management of the volunteers in a range of projects. Manager, Community Driftsands Nature Reserve. Conservation Manager, Conservation Services Manager. 43. Promotion of Nature The importance and value of Driftsands Conservation More support from the surrounding Ongoing Reserve as an asset to Nature Reserve should be actively promoted Manager, Community communities in defence of the Nature surrounding communities to key audiences in the immediate vicinity. Conservation Reserve. This includes local Councillors, Sub-councils, Manager, NGO’s and Community Leaders etc.

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 2 014 850

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6.11 MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 2 To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. Objective 3 To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. Objective 4 To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. Objective 5 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. Objective 6 To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Existing Procedures

44. Implement and maintain Conduct annual METT-SA assessments. Technical Advisor: The Driftsands Nature Ongoing Standard Operation the METT-SA Monitor and improve METT-SA Score through Conservation Reserve will annually Procedures. the development of action plans and Management indicate an upward trend in implementation thereof. Conservation Manager, METT-SA score. Report to DEA as per requirement for national Ecological Co-ordinator, evaluation of METT-SA scores. Regional Ecologist, Area Manager. 45. Auditing systems inform Conduct CapeNature integrated auditing Technical Advisor: Ongoing Integrated Audit management. system. Conservation Compile actions lists to address audit issues. Management, Track action list for progress. Scientific Manager: Apply adaptive management strategies. Biodiversity, Conservation Manager, Ecological Co-ordinator, Regional Ecologist, Area Manager. 46. A detailed work plan (APO) Assess and prioritise actions from audit results Conservation Manager, Ongoing APO guideline identifying specific targets into APO. Area Manager, document. for achieving management Compile APO in terms of actions identified in Ecological Co-ordinator objectives is approved by the Management Plan. CapeNature. 47. Progress reports are Compile quarterly BMS progress reports. Conservation Manager Ongoing BMS, EPWP reporting compiled. Progress reports as required for EPWP. system. 48. Implement and review the Assess all PAMP audit results and ensure Technical Advisor: Ongoing PAMP document, Management Plan for the adaptive management strategies are Conservation Standard Operating Driftsands Nature Reserve implemented. Management, Procedures. Bi-annual assessment on progress of PAMP Reserve Management Ongoing actions. Committee Compile annual report on the status of Ongoing implementation of the PAMP and submit to the MEC. Complete review of PAMP. Year 5

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 125 928

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Table 6.12.1 FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION MANAGEMENT Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 49. To ensure financial Participate in an annual internal audit of the Finance and Admin Percentage increase shown on Budgeting process; accountability in terms of nature reserve financial records. Manager, Finance revenue as a result of additional APO. SAP system; the PFMA and the External audit report with findings and Manager, funding sourced. Supply Chain Treasury Regulations. recommendations communicated. Finance and Admin Management Act. Provide relevant financial information to Officer, Annual increase in visitor numbers. Statements of GRAP. reserve management. Conservation An operational budget is allocated to fund Manager the critical management needs of the nature reserve. Manage cash flow Implement Supply Chain Management Policy (?) Provide input to relevant Supply Chain Management reports. Financial management practice enables efficient and effective protected area management. Monthly management reports submitted to reserve management. Acknowledgement of report by Conservation Manager. Variance report signed and returned. Reserve Management provide input to monthly cash flow forecast. Signed and approved budget provided by 1 April. 50. Identify income (?) Identify sources of potential income. Conservation Annually National Treasury opportunities that are Maintain new and existing partnerships with Manager, Regulations with robust to create a diverse external funders / stakeholders. Executive Director: regard to Donations, income base. Business Sponsorships. Development, Office of the CEO 51. Fixed Asset Management Manage the assets of the reserve in Finance and Admin Bi-anually / monthly SOP’s and policies. accordance with the relevant legislation. Manager, Statement of GRAP, Ensure that all reserve assets are bar coded. Finance and Admin UAMP guidelines. Officer,

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Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures Ensure that all reserve assets are verified bi- Conservation annually. Manager Provide input into infrastructure asset management plan annually. Fixed Asset Register is approved by the Conservation Manager. Verification Report is approved by the Conservation Manager. Ensure asset disposal is in line with policies. Ensure the GIAMA requirement is met annually. Ensure trip authorisation procedures are in place. Manage CapeNature and Government Motor Transport assets in accordance with policy. 52. Capacity building among Provide relevant financial and Administrative Conservation Annually SOP’s and policies staff. training to reserve staff. Manager, PFMA Finance and Admin Manager

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 125 928

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Table 6.12.2 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. Objective 3 To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 53. Ensure an adequately Investigate optimum staff structure and Conservation Human resource capacity is On-going Recruitment and Selection Policy; resourced staff responsibilities. Manager, adequate to manage the protected Standard Operating Procedures complement on the Ensure current posts are filled and Area Manager, area effectively subject to funding for Recruitment and Selection reserve. appointment of additional staff (subject to Executive Director: SA Constitution funding). Conservation Labour Relations Act Ensure resourced (tools and skills) staff in Management. Basic Conditions of Employment line with approved budget to manage the Executive Directors: Act Driftsands Nature Reserve effectively Operations and HRM Employment Equity Act (subject to funding). Occupational Health & Safety Act Prioritise all critical posts for filling and Overtime Policy develop a phased implementation plan in Equate System for Job Evaluation line with approved personnel budget. Leave Policy Ensure on-going assessment of workloads (volumetric analysis) through interventions in consultation with the Organisational Development Unit of the Department of the Premier. Ensure employment relationships are in line with employment contract commitments. Implement an Employment Well-being Programme 54. Integrate and align Implement the Performance Management Conservation Performance agreements Annually Performance Management organisational and System. Manager, Area completed and signed for all Handbook, employee performance. Ensure compliance with Code of Conduct. Manager, Executive employees. Annual Plan of Operations Directors: Operations, Rewards Foundation Policy HRM, Performance appraisals completed Disciplinary Code and Procedures Chief Executive Officer for all employees. (Managing poor performance), Code of Conduct

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 125 928

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Table 6.12.3 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT

Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements.

To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 55. To implement policies, Implement Occupational Health and Safety Area Manager. No disabling injuries occur. Year 1-5 OHS Act, Internal Health and procedures and systems to System. Conservation Safety System ensure compliance to the Ensure an adequate number of First Aid Manager. Occupational Health and Officers. OHSA Manager. Safety Act. (OS4909H Act). 56. To inform the workers, Attend Accredited OHS Training: (HIRA) Area Manager, Year 1 on-going OHS Training Needs Analysis contractors, volunteers, Attend Accredited OHS Training to renew Conservation (conducted annually and students and the public of certificates (OHS Reps & First Aid Officers). Manager, aligned with available these dangers, how Attend in-house OHS Training Workshops. OHSA Reps, legislative requirements and exposure could be Provide monthly Toolbox Talks. Operators of available resources) prevented, and how to equipment and work safely. machinery, First Aid Officers; Designated OHSA risk specific appointments, OHSA Officer, OHSA Manager 57. Hazard Identification, Risk Conduct regular HIRA processes to Area Manager, Year 1 on-going HIRA Report Assessment and Risk determine key risks with highest impact Conservation Safe Operating Procedure Management and Risk potential. Manager, Control are implemented. Recommend remedial action plans to OHSA Manager address key risks. Follow-up to ensure effective implementation. 58. Monitor and review to Assist in conducting of internal Audit Process Conservation Year 1 Worksite Audit Report ensure adaptive to determine effectiveness and level of Manager, management strategies compliance of implementation of OHS OHS Officer, are applied to improve Management Control System. OHS Manager health and safety

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 377 784

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Table 6.12.4 RISK MANAGEMENT

Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements.

To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 59. Ensure effective and Conduct on site risk identification and Conservation Risks in the Risk Register mitigated in Year 1-5 PFMA Section 51. integrated risk assessment. Manager, a cost effective manner and to an Risk Management Policy and management within a Conduct on site identification of controls/ Chief Risk Officer acceptable level. Strategy. framework of sound mitigations and the development of corporate governance. treatments for risks with an unacceptable rating. Consolidation of all risk and risk assessment information identified through other management activities. Compilation, maintenance and monitoring of the consolidated risk register.

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 125 928

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Table 6.13 VISITOR MANAGEMENT AND SERVICES Objective 1 To maintain ecosystem services and restore ecosystem integrity in a changing urban landscape, by acknowledging and understanding site specific requirements. Objective 2 To implement and enforce legal mandates through trained capacitated staff and advocacy. Objective 3 To develop innovative and flexible methods that ensures economic viability and contribution to society through the provision of defined benefits. Objective 4 To facilitate connectivity and contribute to landscape conservation initiatives that build system resilience. Objective 5 To identify, build and maintain partnerships that ensures the sustainability of conservation efforts in the urban landscape. Objective 6 To influence change at all levels of society, internally and externally, through environmental education, awareness and the fostering of conservation stewards

Key Deliverables Management/Monitoring Activities Responsibility Indicators Timeframe Reference to Existing Procedures 60. To strive to ensure visitor Appoint and trained volunteers to assist with Conservation Manager Annual increase in visitor numbers. Ongoing Conservation Development safety, especially of security for specific planned events Framework. children and young adults. Establish collaborative relationships with A decrease in crime on the reserve. Strategic Development Plan. policing authorities. Volunteers to protect children against armed criminal activity. Liaise with local authorities and stakeholders on security issues. Monitor and control access points, and control access where required. 61. To promote and manage Set management guidelines for different use Conservation Manager 1-5 Years Conservation Development access to the reserve. zones. Framework. Identify areas requiring special management Strategic Development Plan. strategies and protection from visitor use. Facilitate access for disadvantaged groups on request.

Development Budget Allocation Operation (5 Year Forecast) R 503 713

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DEFINITION OF TERMS

Alien species Species or genotypes, which are not indigenous to Driftsands Nature Reserve and the surrounding area including hybrids and genetically altered organisms. Biodiversity The variability among living organisms from all sources including, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part and also includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems (as per the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 [Act No. 10 of 2004]).

Board The Western Cape Nature Conservation Board as defined by the Western Cape Nature Conservation Management Act, 1997 (Act No.9 of 1997).

Buffer zone An area surrounding a protected area that has restrictions placed on its use or where collaborative projects and programmes are undertaken to afford additional protection to the nature reserve.

Co- The term ‘Co-management’ must be understood within the context of Section 42 of management the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003).

Cultural As defined in Article 1 of the World Heritage Convention (UNESCO) 1972 , ‘cultural heritage heritage’ is considered as “monuments, architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings and combinations of features, which are of (…) value from the point of view of history, art or science, groups of buildings, groups of separate or connected buildings which, because of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the landscape, are of significance from the point of view of history, art or science, sites, works of man or the combined works of nature and man, and areas including archaeological sites which are of (…) value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological point of view.” For the purpose of this IMP, living heritage features such as mountains, pools, rivers, boulders, etc. as well as palaeontological features are included under this definition.

Ecotourism The travel to natural areas to learn about the way of life and cultural history of people, the natural history of the environment, while taking care not to change the environment and contributing to the economic welfare of the local people (adapted from a definition of ecotourism by Hecto Ceballos Lascurain).

Ecological The sum of the biological, physical and chemical components of an ecosystem and its integrity products, functions and attributes (as per the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 [Act No. 57 of 2003]).

Ecosystem A dynamic complex of animal, plant and micro-organism communities and their non- living environment interacting as a functional unit (as per the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 [Act No. 57 of 2003]).

Ecosystem As defined in Section 1 of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas services Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003) as “environmental goods and services” meaning: a. Benefits obtained from ecosystems such as food, fuel and fibre and genetic resources. b. Benefits from the regulation of ecosystem processes such as climate regulation, disease and flood control and detoxification.

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c. Cultural non-material benefits obtained from ecosystems such as benefits of a spiritual, recreational, aesthetic, inspirational, educational, community and symbolic nature;” For the purposes of this IMP, sustainable water production is also specifically included under this definition. Environmental The deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, degradation water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the loss of species or undesirable reduction of species population numbers from a specific area from an environmental health perspective

CapeNature Nature Conservation Service as established in terms of the Western Cape Nature Conservation Management Act No. 9 of 1997. Indigenous In relation to a specific protected area, means a species that occurs, or has historically species occurred, naturally in a free state of nature within that specific protected area, but excludes a species introduced in that protected area as a result of human activity (as per the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 [Act No. 57 of 2003]).

Invasive Means any species whose establishment and spread outside of its natural distribution species range – a. Threaten ecosystems, habitats or other species or have a demonstrable potential to threaten ecosystems, habitats or other species. b. May result in economic and environmental harm or harm to human health. (As per the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 [Act No. 57 of 2003]).

Joint The agreed co-ordination of management and/or management actions by management landowners and/or mandated managers on their individual or combined properties in order to achieve common management objectives. Local Any community of people living or having rights or interests in a distinct geographical community area (as per the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 [Act No. 57 of 2003]). Management In relation to a protected area, includes control, protection, conservation, maintenance and rehabilitation of the protected area with due regard to the use and extraction of biological resources, community-based practices and benefit sharing activities in the area in a manner consistent with the Biodiversity Act (as per the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003). Management In relation to a protected area, means the organ of state or other institution or person authority in which the authority to manage the protected area is vested (as per the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 [Act No. 57 of 2003]). Monitoring The collection and analysis of repeated observations or measurements to evaluate change in status, distribution or integrity in order to track the impacts of directed management implemented to achieve a stated management objective. Nature The conservation of naturally occurring ecological systems, the sustainable utilisation conservation of indigenous plants and animals therein, and the promotion and maintenance of biological diversity (as per the Western Cape Nature Conservation Management Act, 1997 [Act No.9 of 1997]).

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Neighbouring the communities and people permanently living in the local municipal area/s community bordering onto the Nature Reserve. Natural As defined in Article 2 of the World Heritage Convention (UNESCO) 1972 ‘natural heritage heritage’ is as: “natural features consisting of physical and biological formations or groups of such formations, which are of (…) value from the aesthetic or scientific point of view, geological and physiographical formations and precisely delineated areas which constitute the habitat of threatened species of animals and plants of (…) value from the point of view of science or conservation, natural sites or precisely delineated natural areas of (…) value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty.” For the purposes of this IMP, this would include the required ecological integrity of the protected area for the production of ecosystem services. Protected  Means any area declared or proclaimed as such in terms of section 3 or listed in areas the Second Schedule to the Western Cape Nature Conservation Management Act, 1997 (Act No. 9 of 1997); or  Means any of the protected areas referred to in section 9 of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003).

Protected area Is the management body that deals with the day-to-day management of the management protected area and is chaired by the OIC? committee

Stakeholders/ These are interested individuals or groups concerned with or affected by an activity interested and its consequences. These include the authorities, local communities, investors, parties work force, consumers, environmental interest groups and the general public. According to the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004), “stakeholder” means a person, an organ of state or a community contemplated in section 82 (1) (a), or an indigenous community contemplated in section 82(1) (b). Sustainable In relation to the use of a biological resource, means the use of such resource in a way and at a rate that would not lead to its long-term decline; would not disrupt the ecological integrity of the ecosystem in which it occurs; and would ensure its continued use to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations of people (as per National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No. 10 of 2004).

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