Cape Town: The Deputy Mayor and Member of the Mayoral Committee for Spatial Planning and Environment – Alderman Eddie Andrews is inviting residents to an online meeting, to be held on Thursday, Feb 20, 2025 from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. where officials from the Biodiversity Management branch of the city will explain the importance of the critical draft policy.
The closing date for comments is March 13, 2025. The plan provides details on the profile of Cape Town Biodiversity, the BioNet Map and the associated land use guidelines for these areas.
Reportedly, the Cape Town was the first municipality in South Africa to develop and implement a spatial biodiversity plan which is fitting since the beautiful city claims the title of the most biodiverse city in the world.
Being in partnership with the various conservation organisations, the City of Cape Town confirmed that the conserved land in city covers 55,703 ha, which is 22.72% of the municipal area. Moreover, the city manages a total of 20,045 hectares in its 22 nature reserves and 16 Biodiversity Agreement Conservation Areas in the conservation estate of South Africa, as the majority of which are open to the public.
The City of Cape Town is now inviting residents to provide input on the upgraded policy, which will continue to guide the sustainable forward planning in this ever-growing city.
Notably, the conservation estate of the Cape Town comprises of Table Mountain National Park, Nature Reserves and Conservation Areas, as well as some private biodiversity stewardship sites.
Alderman Eddie Andrews said that he asked all interested residents to join them on call on Thursday, Feb 20, 2025, where they will explain the importance of the Biodiversity Spatial Plan, that covers the entire city.
The plan has been updated over the years to include the revised red list of threatened ecosystems within Cape Town. According to Andrews it has been adapted to the sobering climate change realities they face, strategic water source areas and groundwater protection zones were also added to this critical plan to promote water security.
The draft policy incorporated the latest best practice national principles and methods for spatial biodiversity planning.