Course:CONS200/2025WT2/Conservation Challenges and Opportunities in the Western Cape, South Africa

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Western Cape, South Africa

Introduction

Western Cape is a province in South Africa on the southern coast of the country. It contains the countries governing capital, Cape Town, and has an estimated 7 million inhabitants as of 2020[1]. The province is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the West side and the Southern Indian Ocean off its Southern coastline. Western Cape is also very topographically diverse boasting a set of parallel mountain ranges as well as a prominent inland escarpment[2]. Due to the presence of the diverse topography and proximity to the ocean, the province experiences a wide range of microclimates[3] enabling the region to be a hotspot for biodiversity[4]. Despite the regions extensive biodiversity, the field of conservation in the province is not considered a high priority and potential impacts of biodiversity loss are not widely recognized[4]. Climate change also poses a significant threat to the area through shrinkage in biome distribution, vegetation loss, and species extinction[4]. With many conflicting interest groups, Western Cape faces many serious challenges when it comes to the field of conservation that must be combatted to preserve the regions biodiversity and industry.

Biodiversity Hotspots

Western Cape is home to the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) which is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world[5]. This biodiversity generates a huge amount of revenue for the province through both tourism and natural resources like plant and marine harvests, totaling to over 10% of the regional Gross Geographic Product[5]. The region's plants specifically are incredibly biodiverse boasting over 8700 species, with 68% of them being endemic[5]. This includes the fynbos biome: an incredibly diverse, fire-prone shrubland[5]. Other notable 'hotspots' are the African Penguin colonies that reside on the western shore of the province[6] and the kelp forests occurring over 1,000km of Southern Africa's coastline[7]. In addition to the economic value that biodiversity provides, there is a significant existence value[5] along with cultural importance to local Indigenous nations[8]. Considering all these factors, Western Cape's biodiversity is one of its best assets and is critical to consider for its conservation.

African Penguin Colonies

African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus) at Boulders Beach, Cape Town, SA

The African Penguin, Spheniscus demersus, is native to the Southern part of Africa and have prevalent colonies throughout Western Cape,[6] the most prevalent being the Robben Island, Stony Point, and Boulders Beach colonies located near Cape Town[9]. Having such a narrow range, the species is highly susceptible to population decline and risks extinction. As of 2020, the global population has declined 65% since 1989, which meets the threshold for an endangered species[10]. Factors that have contributed to their decline are cited as habitat alteration, egg exploitation, oil spills, predation by invasive species, entanglement in fishing gear, and loss of their food source due to overfishing[6]. While all of these factors play a role in the species decline, the main problem is the lack of small fish, known as forage fish, that are crucial in the diets of African Penguins due to depletion by overfishing[11]. Since African penguins inhabit only small regions of the globe, they have become a key attraction for visitors to Western Cape and play a key role in the tourism revenue of the area[9]. With Boulders Beach generating $2 million U.S. dollars in the year 2010 alone, much of this revenue has been invested in the conservation of the species as well as tourism based infrastructure[9]. Ecotourism proves to be a potential solution for conservation of the species along with bringing revenue, and attention to the biodiversity of Western Cape.

Kelp Forests

Gully Shark (Triakis megalopterus) in The Great African Kelp Forest

The Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME), located off the western coast of Western Cape, houses abundant kelp forests that are known for their incredible underwater biodiversity[7]. The cool and nutrient rich waters along with the protection from the kelp create a perfect habitat for invertebrates, fish, and marine mammals[7]. This is driven by the Benguela current along with wind driven coastal upwelling that is expected to get more intense due to climate change allowing for expansion in the range of the kelp forests[12]. This region is home specifically to The Great African Sea Forest which is the only bamboo kelp (Ecklonia maxima) forest in the world and rivals the productivity of a tropical rainforest[12]. With an estimated 4.75 tonnes of standing kelp biomass per meter of coastline[12], kelp forests also contribute significantly to shoreline protection and carbon sequestration[7]. Because of its highly productive nature along with its carbon sequestration potential, kelp forests play a significant role in climate change regulation making them important for conservation purposes[12]. The kelp forests also provide ecosystem services for the surrounding people in Western Cape. With its use in creating fertilizers and its use for recreation and tourism, along with its carbon fixation and nutrient cycling properties, kelp is a significant force in the lives of people in Western Cape[12]. Its overall value is estimated to be around $434 million USD per year and while the range of the forest is expanding, the resources within the forest should be carefully managed as to not disrupt the balance of the ecosystem and its values[7].

Fynbos Ecosystem[5]

Widespread Threats

Include the scope/scale of the problem, intensity/frequency/severity of negative impacts, variables influencing those impacts and any other relevant information needed for understanding the issue.

Climate Change

One of the biggest impacts of climate change in the Western Cape has been coastal flooding caused by extreme winter weather events and sea level rise[13]. Cities such as Cape Town are already experiencing destruction of coastal properties and tourist destinations, erosion of beaches, and impacts on roads and railway lines[14]. Many more popular beaches and communities are at risk, with tidal graphs showing continual rising relative sea levels at Granger (2.18mm per year) and Simon's Bays (2.1mm per year)[14]. This, combined with the increased intensity and frequency of storms, means the frequency of floods has been higher during the past four decades compared to those previous[13]. The third-highest flood years were 2004, 2005, and 2006, where 13 floods were recorded each[13]. These record highs have been blamed partly on human-induced climate change from anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions[14]. Since 2010, these GHG emissions have grown exponentially, reaching 59 ± 6.6 GtCO2-eq in 2019 with an average annual growth in the last decade of 1.3%[15].

Conversely, during the dry summer season, the Western Cape region has suffered severely from prolonged drought-like conditions with little to no rainfall[16]. From 2015-2017, the region received below average rainfall which caused the worst water shortage since 1904, leading to government imposed water restrictions and agricultural disasters[17]. These conditions can also be attributed to anthropogenic factors, most predominantly rising global surface temperatures caused by increased industrialization and fossil fuel use, and will see a significant increase in occurrence (95% confidence interval 1.5-6) if current trajectory continues[16].

The combination of winter flooding and summer droughts has major socio-economic impacts on the region, leading to increased food insecurity and unemployment rates[17], impacted coastal tourism[14], and increased physical risk to those who live in the Western Cape[17].

Invasive Species

Pinus pinaster

Image shows a branch of Pinus pinaster.
Branch of Pinus pinaster.

A variety of different species have been found in the Western Cape of South Africa which threaten the rich biodiversity that is present. One example of an invasive species that threatens this environment is Pinus pinaster, also known as Cluster Pine[18]. This species specifically poses a threat to the amphibian species Arthroleptella rugosa, also known as the Rough Moss frog[18]. A large portion of the Rough Moss frog population is located on land covered by the Klein Swartberg Conservancy[19]. This land is vulnerable to fires, and Cluster Pines have provided more fuel load increasing the negative effects of this disturbance[19]. Cluster Pines have also directly affected Rough Moss frogs through altering conditions of their habitat. This includes Cluster Pines reducing soil moisture critical to frogs’ survival, altering habitat by erosion, and decreasing the local temperature by increasing shade which affects the frogs’ reproductive cycles[18]. A previous study has shown that an increased Cluster Pine population is attributed to a decrease in the population of Rough Moss frogs, which highlights the need to manage the invasive Cluster Pines for the future of this amphibian species[18].

Eucalyptus camaldulensis

Image of a Eucalyptus camaldulensis tree.
Eucalyptus camaldulensis

A second invasive species, which is originally native to Australia, is Eucalyptus camaldulensis, also known as red river gum[20]. Red river gum is harshly affecting natural ecosystem processes and several native tree species to the Western Cape, such as Vachellia karroo, Olea europaea, Diospyros glabra, and the native annual Dimorphotheca pluvialis[20]. When red river gum litter was placed on native Western Cape soils, it resulted in a decrease of shoot and root growth for all the previously listed native species[20]. E. camaldulensis has been found to have toxins that negatively affect seedling development and germinating seeds[21]. Red river gum has also been found to make the soil water repellent, and adds to the competition of ecosystems which worsens the growing conditions for native species[22] . Other studies have found that solutions containing E. camaldulensis had an adverse impact on seed development[23]. These negative effects of red river gum showcase the need to remove the species and prioritize species that are resistant to E. camaldulensis[20].

Stakeholders

Indigenous Groups

Indigenous group overview

Zootherapy, which is the use of animals and animal parts in traditional medicine, is widespread and culturally important in indigenous African cultures, including specifically the Xhosa-speaking people (who make up the largest proportion of African ethnic groups in the province) and the Sotho-speaking people[8]. Traditional healers largely outnumber Western doctors, particularly in poor, rural areas, where more than 50% of the South African population resides[8]. It follows that a large portion of the population makes use of zootherapy - between 60 and 80% of the population have purchased traditional medicine or consulted a traditional healer[20]. Some of the species most in demand for traditional medicine are chacma baboon, Cape porcupine, monitor lizard spp., genet spp., puff adder, African rock python, vulture spp., and black-backed jackal, and especially leopard[8]. Therefore these species warrant concerns of sustainability. Conservation policies and interventions will always be incomplete until they balance conservation and sustainability priorities with the socio-economic role of zootherapy.

Farmers

Human-wildlife conflict can take the form of wildlife causing damage to crops, livestock, and farm infrastructure, and therefore loss of income[24]. Some examples include Blue Cranes, Egyptian geese, and leopards.

In the Western Cape Province, Blue Cranes and Egyptian geese are known to cause significant losses in crops[24]. Farmers employ methods such as gas cannons, shooting, or switching crops to those less favoured by Blue Cranes. Because of land change to agriculture, bird species are increasingly relying on farms for sustenance[24].

Additionally, Human-leopard conflict is especially prevalent in South Africa, and this species is already at risk of extinction in the Eastern and Western Cape Provinces[25]. Conflict arises when leopards are forced out of their land by human encroachment, but cannot move to a new territory due to the lack of protected areas, and must resort to hunting livestock[25]. This can lead to retaliatory killings by locals. In the given case, distrust and disagreement between farmers, NGOs, and government officials has prevented the implementation of effective strategies to both protect farmers’ interests and reduce illegal leopard killings, despite all parties sharing many similar views[25].

In both the above examples, farmers suggested solutions based on their own experience, and were amenable to conservation efforts that would protect the species and their own livelihoods[24][25]. Due to their presence on the frontlines of wildlife conservation in the Western Cape, farmers and their strategies in the face of human-wildlife conflict are a deciding factor in biodiversity conservation.

Others?

Current Solutions

A description of the solutions or efforts that are currently underway to tackle the issue or problem.

Ecotourism

Potential Solutions

Describe your analysis and evaluation of additional solutions and recommendations from a technical, social, cultural, economic, financial, political and/or legal points of view (not all of these categories will be relevant to all situations);

Indigenous Conservation

Conclusion

You should conclude your Wiki paper by summarizing the topic, or some aspect of the topic.

References

Please use the Wikipedia reference style. Provide a citation for every sentence, statement, thought, or bit of data not your own, giving the author, year, AND page.

For dictionary references for English-language terms, I strongly recommend you use the Oxford English Dictionary. You can reference foreign-language sources but please also provide translations into English in the reference list.

  1. ↑ Statistics South Africa, 2020. Mid- year population estimates. Available: http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0302/P03022020.pdf
  2. ↑ McCarthy, T., Rubridge, B. (2005). The Story of Earth and Life. pp. 188–195, 262–266. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.
  3. ↑ Tyson, P.D., Preston-Whyte, R.A. (2000) The Weather and Climate of Southern Africa. pp. 221–223. Oxford University Press, Cape Town
  4. ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 4.2 Turpie, Jane K. (September 2003). "The existence value of biodiversity in South Africa: how interest, experience, knowledge, income and perceived level of threat influence local willingness to pay". Ecological Economics. 46(2): 199–216 – via Science Direct.
  5. ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Turpie, Jane K.; Heydenrych, Barry J.; Lamberth, Stephen J. (2001). "Economic value of terrestrial and marine biodiversity in the Cape Floristic Region: implications for defining effective and socially optimal conservation strategies". Biological Conservation. 112: 233–251 – via Science Direct.
  6. ↑ Jump up to: 6.0 6.1 6.2 Underhill, LG; Crawford, RJM; Wolfaardt, AC; Whittington, PA; Dyer, BM; Leshoro, TM; Ruthenberg, M; Upfold, L; Visagie, J (2006). "Regionally coherent trends in colonies of African penguins Spheniscus demersus in the Western Cape, South Africa, 1987–2005". African Journal of Marine Science. 28(3–4): 697–704 – via Taylor & Francis.
  7. ↑ Jump up to: 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Mehta, Akshata; Wynberg, Rachel; Ramcharan-Kotze, Chantal; Smit, Albertus J. (2023). "Exploring local perceptions around the value of marine biodiversity: the case of kelp in the Western Cape, South Africa". Ecosystems and People. 19 – via Taylor & Francis.
  8. ↑ Jump up to: 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Nieman, Wilhelm A.; Leslie, Alison J.; Wilkenson, Anita (2019). "Traditional medicinal animal use by Xhosa and Sotho communities in the Western Cape Province, South Africa". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 15 – via National Library of Medicine.
  9. ↑ Jump up to: 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lewis, SEF; Turpie, JK; Ryan, PG (Mar 2012). "Are African penguins worth saving? The ecotourism value of the Boulders Beach colony". African Journal of Marine Science. 34: 497–504 – via Taylor & Francis.
  10. ↑ Sherley, Richard B.; Crawford, Robert J M.; de Blocq, Andrew D.; Dyer, Bruce M.; Geldenhuys, Deon; Hagen, Christina; Kemper, Jessica; Makhado, Azwianewi B.; Pichegru, Lorien (Jul 9, 2020). "The conservation status and population decline of the African penguin deconstructed in space and time". Ecol Evol. 10(15): 8506–8516 – via National Library of Medicine.
  11. ↑ Sydeman, William J.; Thompson, Sarah Ann; Anker-Nilssen, Tycho; Arimitsu, Mayumi; Bennison, Ashley; Bertrand, Sophie; Boersch-Supan, Philipp; Boyd, Charlotte; Bransome, Nicole C. (June 2017). "Best practices for assessing forage fish fisheries-seabird resource competition". Fisheries Research. 194: 209–221 – via ScienceDirect.
  12. ↑ Jump up to: 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Prew, Zara; Reggy, Maggie; Mehta, Akshata; Clifford Dyer, David (2024). "The African seaforest: a review". Botanica Mariana. 65 (7) – via ResearchGate.
  13. ↑ Jump up to: 13.0 13.1 13.2 Dube, Kaitano (25 June 2021). "Flooding trends and their impacts on coastal communities of Western Cape Province, South Africa". GeoJournal. 87: 453–468 – via Springer Nature Link.
  14. ↑ Jump up to: 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Dube, Kaitano (March 2021). "Rising sea level and its implications on coastal tourism development in Cape Town, South Africa". Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism. 33 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  15. ↑ "Chapter 2: Emissions trends and drivers". Working Group III: Mitigation of Climate Change. IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.
  16. ↑ Jump up to: 16.0 16.1 Otto, Friederike (29 November 2018). "Anthropogenic influence on the drivers of the Western Cape drought 2015–2017". Environmental Research Letters. 13 – via IOP Science.
  17. ↑ Jump up to: 17.0 17.1 17.2 Botai, Christina (10 November 2017). "Drought Characteristics over the Western Cape Province, South Africa". Water. 9 – via MDPI.
  18. ↑ Jump up to: 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Angus, O.; Turner, A. A.; Measey, J. (24 January 2023). "In a rough spot: Declines in Arthroleptella rugosa calling densities are explained by invasive pine trees". Austral Ecology. 48 (3): 498–512 – via Wiley Online Library.
  19. ↑ Jump up to: 19.0 19.1 Measey, J.; Turner, A.; Conradie, W.; Mokhatla, M.; Rebelo, A.; du Preez, L.; Tarrant, J. (25 September 2019). "Has strategic planning made a difference to amphibian conservation research in South Africa?". Bothalia. 49 (1): 1–13 – via ProQuest.
  20. ↑ Jump up to: 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Rumania, S.; Gaertner, M.; Esler, K.J.; Richardson, D. M (3 October 2014). "Allelopathic effects of invasive Eucalyptus camaldulensis on germination and early growth of four native species in the Western Cape, South Africa". Southern Forests: A Journal of Forest Science. 77 (2): 91–105 – via Taylor & Francis Online.
  21. ↑ del Moral, R.; Muller, C.H. (January 1970). "The Allelopathic Effects of Eucalyptus camaldulensis". The American Midland Naturalist. 83 (1): 254–282 – via JSTOR.
  22. ↑ Ruwanza, S.; Gaertner, M.; Richardson, D.M.; Esler, K.J. (June 2013). "Soil water repellency in riparian systems invaded by Eucalyptus camaldulensis: A restoration perspective from the Western Cape Province, South Africa". Geoderma. 200-201: 9–17 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  23. ↑ Andualem, A.M.; Aragaw, M. W.; Molla, A. E.; Tarekegn, Z.G.; Kassa, G.M. (28 November 2024). "Allelopathic effects of leaf extracts of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. on morphological, physiological, and yield traits of Ethiopian wheat (Triticum durum L.) cultivars". BMC Plant Biology. 24 (1138): 1–16 – via National Library of Medicine.
  24. ↑ Jump up to: 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 van Velden, Julia L.; Smith, Tanya; Ryan, Peter G. (2016). "Cranes and Crops: Investigating Farmer Tolerances toward Crop Damage by Threatened Blue Cranes (Anthropoides paradiseus) in the Western Cape, South Africa". Environmental Management. 58: 972–983 – via ProQuest.
  25. ↑ Jump up to: 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Viollaz, Julie S.; Thompson, Sara T.; Petrossian, Gohar A. (2021). "When Human–Wildlife Conflict Turns Deadly: Comparing the Situational Factors That Drive Retaliatory Leopard Killings in South Africa". Animals : an open access journal from MDPI. 11 – via National Library of Medicine.


Seekiefer (Pinus halepensis) 9months-fromtop.jpg
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