Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Developmental Planning
(a) How does the allocated budget for the eradication of alien vegetation in the province compare with the ideal amounts required to address the need to eradicate alien vegetation in our nature areas effectively and (b) to what extent must the Western Cape provincial budget be spent on exit areas previously used by the national government’s former Department of Forestry for its plantations;
Whether the national Department of Environmental Affairs is contributing to the efforts to eradicate alien vegetation in the province; if so, what are the relevant details?
- (a) A prediction by Prof Brian van Wilgen and his team at Stellenbosch University estimated that R2,608 billion rand is needed for the eradication of alien vegetation in the province compared to the R42 449 781 spent by CapeNature since 2015/16 and during the previous financial period. Only substantial increases in annual funding under a scenario of low spread and removal of some taxa from the control programme, would allow for control to be achieved in approximately 20 years.
Each CapeNature reserve has an Invasive Alien Control Plan and the entity prioritises on an annual basis the invasive alien plant clearing per reserve based on this plan. A total of R56,386,000 was allocated to CapeNature from the national Department of Environment, Forestry and, Fisheries (DEFF), Natural Resource Management (NRM) programme to manage invasive alien vegetation in its nature reserves for the financial years 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 (R18,795,000 per year on average).
(b) The only budget CapeNature spends on alien clearing on Forestry Exit Areas are within the areas that have been identified to be transferred to CapeNature for conservation purposes. Currently, funding is allocated from the National Department of Environment, Forestry and, Fisheries (DEFF) for alien clearing in Forestry Exit Areas as part of the Working for Forests Programme.
- Yes, the national Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries does contribute to efforts to eradicate alien vegetation in the province. Approximately R140 million per annum is allocated to the Western Cape Province through the various Natural Resources Management programmes.
