A group of concerned residents called the Friends of the Paardevlei Wetland has, in a bid to conserve the Paardevlei Wetland by having it rezoned as a conservation area, started an online petition on Monday July 29, to be submitted to the City of Cape Town.

Tiffany Schultz, chairperson of the Friends of the Paardevlei Wetland, said in the petition that the local wetlands is under threat from new developments planned for the area.

But in a response to Bolander, the City’s deputy mayor and mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews, said that after subdivision of erven within the broader Paardevlei property and the consolidation thereof into one erf, (known as erf 1 Paardevlei or Paardevlei Precinct 2) in 2021, the wetland is no longer part of the mixed-use development planned for Paardevlei Precinct 2.

“The aforementioned erf 1, Paardevlei (Precinct 2) includes land to the north, west and east of the Paardevlei Wetland, but excludes the wetland itself,” he said.

In answer to what the plans are, including the zoning status for the wetland, Mr Andrews said in 2022 approval was obtained to consolidate the erven where the wetland is located into one single erf and to rezone it from Risk Industry to Open Space 2 (OS2) status.

“The OS2 zoning provides for active and passive recreational areas on public land, as well as protection of landscape and heritage areas, including woodlands, ridges, watercourses, wetlands and the coastline.

“This zoning also allows for environmental conservation as primary use,” he said.

In response to the City’s knowledge of the petition’s request Mr Andrews said: “Yes, on July 17 2023 this request was put forward by the lobby group, Friends of Paardevlei Wetland.

“However, the consolidation and rezoning application of the Paardevlei Wetland to OS2 was already approved at that stage. It should be noted that OS2 does permit environmental conservation as a primary use right.”

Ms Schultz said that it’s great that environmental conservation is a possibility. “We are in need of clarity and official confirmation of a conservation plan in place and what that plan will look like.”

Furthermore, Siseko Mbandezi, the City’s acting Mayco member for human settlements, said a City appointed management agent is responsible for the managing and maintenance of the broader Paardevlei property which includes the wetlands.

This management according to Mr Mbandezi is done in accordance to the Operational Environmental Management Plan (OEMP) for the Paardevlei wetland, dated July 2013.

He said discussion about the future use of the wetland is currently still under way, but added that in the current OEMP provision has been made for community input.

“The proposed revised Operational Environmental Management Plan (OEMP) has been developed with a recommendation to establish a Management Review Committee which includes organisations with an interest in the conservation and management of the wetland,” he said.

Ms Schultz said about this prospect of a committee: “I think that is fantastic, my concern is that often these things take time to set up and is slow to be implemented, but developments take so quick, so we are pushing hard to make things happen now and to make sure we are involved before developments happen.

“There has to be fair and proper opportunity for the community to be involved.”

Dr Liz Day, a specialist river and wetland consultant or aquatic ecologist, had done restoration work in the Paardevlei Wetlands area in 2006, and has, through this work, gathered extensive expert knowledge of the area and its ecosystems.

She said in her assessments she found the Paardevlei Wetland to be a pivotal part of the ecosystem, and back then recommended it be rehabilitated back to its natural form and managed as a seasonal wetland, which was then done very successfully.

“Seasonal wetlands are by far the most threatened type, as we had lost most of our seasonal wetlands, and it really is an important wetland type,” she said.

With its rich biodiversity, the Paardevlei wetland performs quite a few important environmental functions, said Dr Day.

In answer to whether the Paardevlei wetland warrants conservation, Dr Day said she certainly thinks the system does. However, she added the most suitable and more feasible manner of conservation is a more complex issue, and many factors would need to be taken into consideration to determine the way forward, starting out with a review of the existing corridors.

“Conservation of some kind is very important, whether it be in the form of a nature reserve or an open space, both can achieve conservation goals, and I would certainly support it,” she said.

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