The Betty’s Bay Conservancy (BBC) recently supported the BBRA’s application to lease Erf 4030 Betty’s Bay with the intention of establishing a community conservation area. It submitted a letter of support to the Overstrand Municipality and included some recommendations.
A lease and project to restore erf 4030 to pristine fynbos vegetation are in line with the BBC‘s goals, hence its support of this application. It is vitally important to preserve the biodiversity within the village of Betty’s Bay and particularly on municipal-owned land as this biodiversity makes Betty’s Bay unique. Erf 4030, which is “conservation-worthy”, is an excellent opportunity to do this – not only for the fynbos but for the wildlife that live, feed and seek shelter in these diminishing green spaces.
Currently, there is encroachment from Erf 2416 onto erf 4030
Erf 4030 is currently zoned as a Category C zoned property under the Urban Conservation EMOZ: where portions that are found to be modified ecosystems with a limited biodiversity and functioning can be managed as recreational areas with medium to high impact.
The BBC’s recommendations regarding management of the land included:
- Management of the veld must aim to restore the ecosystem to represent that of the Hangklip Sand Fynbos vegetation that existed on the site.
- Maintain the existing patches of functioning wetlands and remarkable rocky outcrops.
- Allow vegetation to develop into vegetation with more long-lived, slow-growing trees and shrubs such as Spoonwood, Ironwood, Cape Beach and Cape Sumac.
- Remove dead wood and dying tolbos.
- Promote corridors to adjacent properties of the Urban Conservation EMOZ as this area is small. This should allow larger animals such as the remaining Grysbok to remain and be re-colonized.
- The disturbed area around Crassula Hall should be mapped and not further encroach and the final boundary must be defined through wide consultation.
The BBC hope that developing a community conservation area on Erf 4030 could be the start of other conservation related projects to restore biodiversity in Betty’s Bay and connect its open spaces to the Core of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve.
The BBC suggests that the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society (BotSoc) is also an important stakeholder in such a project and that BBRA, BBC, BotSoc and other relevant organizations, work together with the community on an exciting project to restore Erf 4030.
Jan Biers and Carol Clark