Cape Town: Deputy Mayor and Member of the Mayoral Committee for Spatial Planning and Environment – Alderman Eddie Andrews represented the City of Cape Town at the RAMSAR Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP15) in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe on Saturday, July 26, 2025. There he introduced the first Wetlands Report of the City.
Reportedly, Cape Town counts among 43 accredited Wetland Cities around the World. The recently held event brought together more than 170 governments to focus on protecting wetlands for the common future and to strengthen international commitments for wetlands conservation.
Cape Town is one of the most biodiverse cities in the world. It also includes False Bay Nature Reserve which is an individual Ramsar Site for its important wetland habitats.
Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews said that the City of Cape Town was granted accreditation as an international Wetland City in 2022, which remains a great honor for them as a municipality. He afforded the opportunity to introduce the Wetland Report of the City at COP15, which highlights some of the excellent work and milestones the city officials have accomplished over the last few years.
The report recognized the best-practice work that the City of Cape Town has undertaken to date in implementing policies and plans to ensure Cape Town’s wetlands are protected, rehabilitated and restored.
Andrews and his team recognized that the challenges they face are living in the fastest growing urban city in South Africa, but it is with saying this that he is even more proud of the committed and talented Biodiversity Management experts and teams who, with great determination and passion, deliver on innovative plans to resolve challenges.
The Wetland Report of the City of Cape Town provides the public with a comprehensive and beautiful summary of Natural wetlands and watercourses. It includes an update on the various wetlands as the management challenges the city currently.
The aim of this report is to profile the wetlands of the City of Cape Town to citizens by showcasing the vital role that these play in the urban environment as well as the benefits to local residents, in terms of recreation, for job creation and skills development opportunities as well.
Eddie Andrews also stated that in the Wetlands Report, they have included some of the ways with which they are future-proofing wetlands of Cape Town. As how they do the critical monitoring of these precious areas in the city.
The report submitted showcase many of the vital projects that they have achieved great success with over the last few years. Some of the highlights that stand out to them are the major wetland rehabilitation project, which the team delivered in the Zandvlei ecological corridor.
Noatbly, The Liveable Urban Waterways programme currently has seven projects under way. This proactively rehabilitated waterways across Cape Town as well as the phenomenal results, as the team has had with the Paardevlei Wetland. It is a new nature reserve which has increased exponentially in popularity and is one of Cape Town’s premier birding localities.
According to Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews what they have achieved in terms of job creation and skills development through the River Wardens Programme has also truly been impactful.
This project rightfully forms part of the Mayor’s Priority Programme and continues to deliver great success in preserving the wetlands and improving water quality. The City of Cape Town is committed to finding long term solutions and this is evident with this Mayoral Priority Programme focus on water quality improvement of the rivers and wetlands.
The City of Cape Town will remain committed to carrying out the responsibilities, that this RAMSAR accreditation requires in protecting Cape Town’s precious wetlands.