Environmental Newsletter of the City of Cape Town
THIS CITY WORKS FOR YOU
Published by the City of Cape Town Environmental Resource Management Department,
in partnership with City Health, City Spatial Development, Solid Waste and Town Planning.
SCORING THE STADIUM
Contents
Assessing the impact of a multi-billion rand sports precinct
Cape Town’s local authority has commissioned the largest ever Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) in the City, complying with national EIA regulations
in record time.
T
he draft environmental impact report for the
proposed re-development of Green Point
Stadium (and associated infrastructure) as a
FIFA World Cup 2010 semi-final venue was commissioned by the City in February 2006, and delivered
by independent consultants in July. Opportunity for
public comment ran from 22 July to 22 August, and
a record of decision is expected in September.
In 2004, the South African Football Association
was selected as host to the FIFA World Cup 2010
soccer championship. Cape Town therefore began
considering six possible sites for the development
(or re-development) of a 68 000-seat stadium as a
semi-final venue.
The Green Point site was chosen after a
comparative assessment of the six sites, considering which site was most achievable, affordable and
made the most sense for future sustainability.
Green Point itself comprises two possible sites for
development: the ‘brownfield’ site of the existing stadium; and the ‘greenfield’ site of the land
currently used as the Metropolitan Golf Course.
In terms of the National Environmental
Management Act (107 of 1998), any development that includes a change of land use, and
the construction of roads and associated infrastructure, requires an EIA.
The proposed development at Green Point involves
THE STATUTORY DEFINITION OF ‘ENVIRONMENT’
environmental impact of a 68 000-seat stadium
2 Message from Cllr Nieuwoudt
3 Message from Stephen Boshoff
3 Message from Osman Asmal
4 City of Cape Town - continued on page 2 -
Environmental Resource Management Department
5 The ERM Department’s
internship programme doubles in size
6-7 Nature Conservation
8-9 Coastal Zone Management
10-12 Energy & Climate Change
13-15 Environmental Strategy
16-17 Environmental Education
18-19 Environmental Management
20-21 Sustainable Development:
Local Agenda 21
22-23 Sustainable Development: Heritage Resource Management
24-25 ICLEI World Congress reportback
26-27 Sustainable Development:
Cape Town 2030
28-29 Waste Management
30-31 Air Quality
According to National Environmental Management Act, ‘environment’ means ‘the surroundings
within which humans exist and that are made up of:
(i) the land, water and atmosphere of the earth;
(ii) micro-organisms, plant and animal life;
(iii) any part or combination of (i) and (ii) and the interrelationships among and
between them; and
(iv) the physical, chemical, aesthetic and cultural properties and conditions of the foregoing that influence human health and well-being.’
Hence an EIA does not consider the impact of a development on the bio-physical
environment only.
1 Scoring the Stadium: the View of the two possible sites for development; the ‘brownfield’ site of the existing stadium; and the ‘greenfield’ site
of the land currently used as the Metropolitan Golf Course.
Volume 2/06
August 2006
32 City staff members win gold
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
not only a change in land use (currently zoned as
public open space), but involves the construction
of a new road (the Granger Bay Boulevard) for
the effective management of transport, and the
upgrading of the electrical infrastructure (a new
stadium would require an additional 10 mega volt
amps load of power).
The EIA considered three alternatives:
Alternative 1: Do nothing
Alternative 2: The existing stadium site
Alternative 3: The golf course site.
The draft Scoping Report
More than 250 people, representing a wide variety of stakeholder groups, attended the public
hearings at which a number of impact issues were
identified for consideration.
The Green Point common, for example, has
important heritage value in that it is the oldest public open space near the City; the golf course has
existed on the Common for more than 110 years.
The area was flattened and landscaped (the wetlands were filled in) during the South African War
(1899-1902), for use as a concentration camp by
the English army. Before this, the seasonal vlei was
host to sailing regattas.
The draft scoping report, released in April,
therefore included an assessment of the proposed
developments’ impact on:
• Heritage resources
• Archaeological resources
• Views
• Litter and pollution
• The socio-economic development of the area
• The transport network
• The spatial development plans of the City
(the Green Point Development Framework
of 1998 envisions the areas as a multipurpose sporting precinct)
• Noise, and
• Wind.
The draft Environmental Impact Report
The draft EI report, released in July, concluded
that the ‘do nothing’ alternative would result in a
very high lost opportunity for the City, and should
not be considered. From an economic and social
perspective, a decision not to construct a new stadium on the Common would be considered a very
high negative impact; in addition, the money being
made available for building of a semi-final venue
may not be used for other purposes.
The draft EIR also found that both the existing
stadium site and the golf course alternative would
impact on leaseholders having existing rights
to areas of the Common for sporting and other
activities. Most of those activities could be
accommodated, however, with the exception
of the Metropolitan Golf Club if that site were
selected.
The EIR also concluded that the golf course
alternative has a lower impact on the surrounding
heritage resources, greater potential to unify the
Common, and a lower visual impact (fewer people
will have their views permanently affected by the
development on the golf course site than a development on the existing stadium site).
However, the existing stadium would be regarded as a ‘brownfield’ development, while the golf
course would be regarded as a ‘greenfield’ development. Greenfield developments traditionally
take longer from commission to completion, and
the City does not have time on its side.
The record of decision
After public comment, the final EIR will be submitted to the Provincial Government of the Western
Cape, Department of Environmental Affairs and
Development Planning (DEA&DP), for a record of
decision and authorisation.
Stakeholders will be allowed to appeal against
this decision, during a 30-day period. Any appeals
will then be considered by the MEC, and a final
record of decision will be issued.
For more information, please contact Keith Wiseman, Manager: Integrated Environmental Management,
on 021 487 2283 or email: keith.wiseman@capetown.gov.za
MESSAGE FROM COUNCILLOR NIEUWOUDT
F
rom 27 August to 1 September, Cape Town will be hosting the Third GEF (Global Environment Facility)
Assembly at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The conference, to be opened by President
Mbeki, takes place every four years and includes environmental leaders, decision-makers and development aid
delegates from around the globe.
As the world’s poorest region, Africa is the continent most vulnerable to the impacts of projected climate change
and its impact on the socio-economic conditions of communities.
By hosting the third event in Cape Town, the GEF Council will raise awareness of global environmental issues in
Africa, showcasing South Africa’s efforts to manage its environmental resources, thereby highlighting best practice
for replication in the rest of the continent.
If you are reading this as one of the delegates to the GEF Assembly, we warmly welcome you to South Africa, and to Cape Town.
We trust that you will come to know some of our own innovative local solutions and projects, and see our partnerships in action.
If you are reading this as someone who lives and works in Cape Town or the rest of South Africa, we welcome you, too, to this second issue of
Enviroworks. Cape Town is a City proud of its international achievements in sustainable development. Take some time out this year to be an
‘international visitor’ in your own City, and visit some of the innovative and enthusiastic projects showcased in this issue.
Cllr Marian Niewoudt
Member of the Mayoral Committee: Planning and Environment
MESSAGES
MESSAGE FROM STEPHEN BOSHOFF
How long is 25 years?
F
or many years in Cape Town there has been no consistent strategy to guide the prioritisation of projects or a focus
on specific geographic areas. Instead, there has been a concentration of attention and resources on a ‘hit parade’ of
projects.
However, planning the future begins with an understanding of place and people in the present, and the social and economic
forces underlying the trends that are shaping the future.
And while 2030 may seem a long way into the future, it’s not too far to begin big-picture planning. Since the early 1980s, for example, Cape Town
has changed dramatically – and those years don’t seem that long ago for many of us.
Change and growth are inevitable, pressure for development a given, but a City government with foresight and insight can shape change and direct
development to ensure the best possible outcome for the City and its people.
Critical to imagining possibilities and understanding choices is a spatial framework that underpins a local government’s IDP.
To this end, the City of Cape Town’s directorate of Strategy and Development has proposed an argument for the long-term spatial development
of Cape Town. We have called this vision ‘Cape Town 2030’, see page 26, which includes a broad spatial concept that is not time-bound and that
may take 40 to 100 years to realise.
The City has an exciting vision of what is possible in spatial terms, and already many of the projects and strategies highlighted in Enviroworks play
an important role in that vision. Our goal? An inclusive and equitable society, with an ecologically sustainable future, targeting a zero increase in
the per capital ecological footprint. This issue of Enviroworks shows many of the ways in which we are getting there.
Stephen Boshoff
Executive Director: Strategy and Development, City of Cape Town
MESSAGE FROM OSMAN ASMAL
I
n this department, we have always been committed to doing more than environmental planning. The spheres
in which we operate and partner have expanded to include inputs into waste minimisation, the conservation of our
biodiversity, water and soil, the management of our coastal zone, sustainable urban renewal, energy efficiency and
renewable energy generation.
Hence our official new name – Environmental Resource Management (ERM).
Our core work in the department remains the Integrated Metropolitan Environmental Policy (IMEP), with four lead strategies of Biodiversity, Coastal Zone Management, Energy and Climate Change, and Environmental Education and Training. In
addition, we are working more closely with other City departments to take their environmental-related strategies forward, such as the Air Quality
Management Plan (see page 30) and the Integrated Waste Management Policy (see page 28).
This financial year provides the opportunity for us to make more substantial comments on the new City Integrated Development Plan (IDP) as well
as the City Scorecard. Our department will also focus on integrating environmental work into the 2030 Vision for Cape Town (see page 26).
The last six months have seen some significant achievements. The ERM has secured a R14-million grant for the City from the Danish International
Development Aid (DANIDA) for the Urban Environmental Management Programme, over a five-year period from 2006 to 2010. These funds will go
a long way towards leveraging additional value for environmental work in Cape Town.
The 2006 ICLEI World Congress in March further established Cape Town as a leader in the sector of environmental planning and management, and
provided the opportunity for many cities to share ideas with one another.
The Youth Environment School (YES) remains a flagship programme and continues to lead the way in environmental education nationally
(see page 17).
And the electricity load-shedding in Cape Town between May and July enabled our department, through our Energy and Climate Change Strategy,
to integrate some of our plans into the Energy Recovery Plan in the Western Cape (see page 10).
Osman Asmal
Director: Environmental Resource Management, City of Cape Town
MESSAGES
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
CITY OF CAPE TOWN
ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT
The Environmental Resource Management Department undertakes the
following key tasks under the functional areas listed below:
ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY
MANAGER: GODFREY MVUMA
• Environmental Policy & Strategy
• Environmental Performance & Information
• Strategic Coordination
(Poverty Alleviation & Extended Public Works Programme)
• Project & Partnership Development
• Coastal Coordination & Coastal Zone Management
• Strategy Development & Coordination
Tel: 021 487 2355 E-mail: godfrey.mvuma@capetown.gov.za
INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
MANAGER: KEITH WISEMAN
• Environmental Review Coordination
• Heritage Resource Management
• Environmental Management Systems & Audit Protocol
• Environmental Law, Monitoring & Enforcement
Tel: 021 487 2283 E-mail: keith.wiseman@capetown.gov.za
NATURE CONSERVATION
MANAGER: JULIA WOOD
• Nature Reserve Management
• Biodiversity Strategy Coordination
• Monitoring & Evaluation
• Protected Area Status
• Alien Invasive Species Coordination
Tel: 021 487 2352 E-mail: julia.wood@capetown.gov.za
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
MANAGER: SHIRENE ROSENBERG
• Energy & Climate Change
• Clean Development Mechanism
• Renewable Energy Projects
• Local Agenda 21
• Cleaner Production & Sustainable Procurement
Tel: 021 487 2124 E-mail: shirene.rosenberg@capetown.gov.za
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION, TRAINING & COMMUNICATIONS
MANAGER: KOBIE BRAND
• Environmental Education
• Training
• Communications & Marketing
• Public Awareness
Tel: 021 487 2293 E-mail: kobie.brand@capetown.gov.za
The Department is supported by a Support Services Branch, as follows:
SUPPORT SERVICES
MANAGER: MARIANA VOLSCHENK
• Project support
• HR and general administration
• Finance
Tel: 021 487 2353 E-mail: mariana.volschenk@capetown.gov.za
Working for a
‘worthy cause’
The City deploys additional staff to the
Environmental Resource Management
Department
T
he Environmental Resource Management
(ERM) team has been able to significantly
grow its environmental education campaigns
thanks to 60 new staff members, who have been
transferred from the City’s mothballed Athlone
Power Station and the Maitland Abattoir.
Fifteen of the new staff members are working in
the ERM office in central Cape Town, and 45 are
working with the Nature Conservation branch.
Glen Takaloo, who used to supervise a group of
mechanical operators at Athlone Power Station, is
now working with the communication and marketing team at ERM: ‘It has always been a dream to
work in the education and communication field,
and environmental education is a worthy cause.
So this move has really given me a chance to live my
dream… To earn a living doing something that is
close to my heart – that is the ultimate!’
Paul Arends was a boiler-operator at Athlone,
and he is now manager of the City of Cape Town’s
energy-efficient lightbulb exchange programme
‘It’s one of the best career opportunities I have
been offered,’ he says. ‘I’ve gone from generating
electricity to saving it.’
Kobie Brand, the manager of Environmental
Education, Training and Communications, says her
team are thrilled to have the new recruits. ‘They are
a fantastic addition to our team, and we have been
able to grow our delivery significantly.’
‘We need good teams to go out into communities and schools to raise environmental awareness.
And although our new team members have never
worked in environmental education, in-house training and mentoring have ensured they are up to the
challenge, says Brand.
‘They really fit in and we are inspired by their
commitment and enthusiasm.’
The unit’s Youth Environmental School programme
(YES) and its graduate internship programme have
also benefited from the additional recruits.
Arends says he was nervous when he joined the
unit, but his confidence has grown as he has supervised the City’s drive to persuade staff to hand over
50 000 ‘normal’ lightbulbs in return for energy-efficient ones.
‘When I worked the boilers at Athlone, I never
imagined that one day I’d be talking to the mayor
of Cape Town,’ he says, referring to the launch of
the lightbulb exchange in May (see page 10).
ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
LEARNING
BY
DOING
The City’s
environmental
internship programme
doubles in size
From left: Dr Merle Sowman (EEU-UCT),
Monde Mpendu (from the City’s HR Department)
and interns Jafta Mofokeng, Tebogo Pushoyabane
and Katy Spalding.
T
he City of Cape Town’s environmental internship programme was so successful last year
that almost double the number of graduates
were recruited in 2006.
This unique multi-partnership programme
is housed within the national Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism, with funding from the Danish International Development
Agency (DANIDA). It is co-ordinated for the City by
Kobie Brand, Manager: Environmental Education,
Training and Communications in the ERM department, in partnership with the University of Cape
Town’s Environmental Evaluation Unit (EEU).
This year, 25 graduates from universities in
the Western Cape, Gauteng, North West and
Mpumalanga joined the City for a year. Although
most of the graduates have been placed with the
ERM department’s head office, others are working with City Health, Town Planning, Spatial
Development and the nature reserves, as well as
with the Provincial Government of the Western
Cape, Department of Environmental Affairs and
Development Planning (DEA&DP).
What is so special about the programme is that
interns are not regarded as junior workers, says
Kobie Brand. Many of the interns are assigned to
either managers or even directors, and they work
as fully fledged staff members while receiving mentorship and ongoing training at the same time.
‘While the interns are benefiting from work exposure and the programme’s formal workshops and
training, they are also adding value to our department,’ says Brand. ‘They are the next generation
A group of interns addressed by Lynn O’Neill, from the EEU-UCT during one of their formal training sessions at the
university.
of environmental managers, and their contribution
does not go unnoticed.’
‘Working in an environmental unit is certainly
very different to being at university,’ says intern
Ruth Richards, who has been assigned to Kobie
Brand and now is co-ordinating part of the unit’s
preparation for the GEF Congress (see page 2).
Richards graduated with an Honours degree in
Environmental Management from UCT.
‘I have learned that environmental work is not
only about the environment… There’s so much to
know about how government (all three tiers of it)
works, and how offices work… It’s all essential
knowledge for the working world.’
Julian Warbeck, who works with Osman Asmal,
Director: ERM, was not expecting to spend as much
time in high-level meetings… ‘It can be quite crazy,
with one meeting after the other, and so much
information… I don’t know how Ossie always
manages to be so calm… ‘
Tebogo Pushoyabane, from Vryberg, has a BA
degree in Conservation, Tourism and Sustainable
Development. He works with Dr Godfrey Mvuma,
Manager: Environmental Strategy. He echoes
Richards’ realisation that university does not necessarily prepare graduates for the working world,
and values the opportunity to spend a year coming
to grips with this ‘different reality’. ‘I learned environmental information at university, but what you
need in the workplace – that can be quite different.
Simple things, like seeing that the way to relate to
work colleagues is different to the way I related to
my student friends – that is such a valuable learning, and it is beneficial to all of us.’
ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
Local Action for Biodiversity:
a global initiative
B
iodiversity is set for greater integration in
local planning and policy-making in the City
of Cape Town and a host of international
cities across the globe, after a successful high-level
multi-national workshop held in Rome in June.
The aim of the workshop was to finalise the Global
Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) programme, an
initiative proposed by the City of Cape Town (with
the support of Durban), to the ICLEI membership at
the 2006 ICLEI World Congress.
Cape Town’s proposal was adopted by the ICLEI
Council at its session during the ICLEI World
Congress in Cape Town in March. The structure and
content of the programme are to be taken forward
as the 2006–2009 ICLEI LAB Initiative with the
IUCN Countdown 2010 programme as an official
partner.
The City of Cape Town will be represented on the
management committee that will oversee the threeyear global programme, along with IUCN and ICLEI
representatives. The programme will be located at
the South African National Biodiversity Institute
(SANBI) in Kirstenbosch, and will further profile
Cape Town’s leading role in urban biodiversity
management and protection.
Historically, biodiversity conservation and protection has been viewed as the responsibility of
national, provincial and regional governments, with
little attention or focus at local government level.
However, as local government steps up its delivery of essential basic services, this influences socioeconomic development and ultimately impacts on
local biodiversity. For example, the expansion of
urban settlements into wetland areas has, in some
cities, led to not only the loss of wetland biodiversity but also the loss of ecological services of flood
attenuation and water purification.
Unsustainable development at the local level will
reduce the productivity of local and global ecosystems, and in so doing shrink the basket of environmental goods and services they provide.
Loss of biodiversity will also result in the destabilisation of local and global ecosystems, and the
weakening of their ability to deal with natural
disasters and human-caused stresses (such as pollution and climate change). As such, communities will
lose their resilience with the loss of biodiversity.
Local government, therefore, needs to function as a significant front-line manager of global
biodiversity.
The goal of the LAB programme
The LAB Programme aims to bring together
15 cities to explore the best ways for local governments to engage in effective biodiversity protection
and management.
Specific goals include:
• The documentation and demonstration of global biodiversity best
practice.
• The support of local area biodiversity
projects and initiatives.
• The creation of increased global
awareness at the local level of the
importance of biodiversity.
• Securing Declaration at the local level
of commitment and intent to conserve and protect biodiversity.
• Enhancing global networks, communication and sharing between
cities on biodiversity issues. For more information, please contact Julia Wood, Manager: Nature Conservation,
on 021 487 2352 or email: julia.wood@capetown.gov.za
NATURE CONSERVATION
Blaauwberg Conservation Area
to receive nature reserve status
Panoramic view of Table Mountain and Table Bay as seen from the top of Blaauwberg Hill.
T
he Blaauwberg Conservation Area (BCA),
between Bloubergstrand and Melkbosstrand
on the Cape West coast, has applied to Cape
Nature for Local Authority nature reserve status.
The nature reserve status will be granted in terms of
Nature Conservation Ordinance 19 of 1974.
All the paperwork, planning and site visits have
been completed, and it’s now a matter of waiting
for the final proclamation, says Adelé Pretorius,
Reserve Manager.
The Blaauwberg Conservation Area is home to
a unique tapestry of natural, cultural and historical treasures that date back to the later Stone-age.
In addition it also offers iconic views of Table
Mountain, with Robben Island, Table Bay and the
City Bowl in the foreground.
The fauna and flora of the area are varied,
with many rare and endangered species (such as
a dwarf burrowing skink, Scelotes montispectus, endemic to the area). The BCA conserves
three threatened vegetation types, as well as the
transition zones between them. Due to the varied
habitats within the reserve, 555 plant species have
been identified, of which 47 are known as red data
species (species threatened with extinction). From
a cultural-historical perspective, the protects later
Stone-age KhoiSan middens, World War II buildings on Blaauwberg Hill, and the site of the 1806
Battle of Blaauwberg (which changed the rule at
the Cape).
The BCA is a key node of the City of Cape Town’s
Biodiversity Network, and also hosts a number of
vibrant environmental education, recreation, poverty alleviation and tourism opportunities.
For more information, please contact Adelé Pretorius, BCA Reserve Manager,
on 021 554 0957 or email: bca@sybaweb.co.za
Unusual ‘resident’ at the Bracken Nature Reserve:
the Mountain Dahlia
U
ntil earlier this year, the protected shrub Mountain
Dahlia had never been seen on the Cape Flats.
Also known as the Orange Nodding Head
(or Limparia splendens), the plant is protected under
the Western Cape Nature Conservation Laws (Amendment
Act 2000).
In May, however, Bracken Nature Reserve manager,
Tshepo Mamabolo and Acting Area Manager, North, Clifford
Dorse, accompanied a film crew to the reserve to shoot footage for a biodiversity DVD, when they were confronted by
evidence of this very biodiversity: a plant species that had
never before been observed on the reserve.
Dorse, a botanist, recognised it as the Mountain Dahlia.
It grows to 2,5m tall with simple oval leaves. The flowers are orange, densely clustered into round flower
heads that nod downwards at the end of branches.
The 30-hectare Bracken Nature Reserve lies in the heart
of the Brackenfell residential area. The vegetation type is
West Coast Renosterveld and Sand Plain Fynbos, with a
rich and unique diversity of succulents, geophytes, orchids,
mosses and lichens. The granite-based soil on site differs
from the clay of the surrounding area.
For more information, please contact Clifford Dorse, Acting Area Manager, North,
on 021 511 2041 or email: clifford.dorse@capetown.gov.za
NATURE CONSERVATION
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
The right thing to do?
The ‘Kommetjie whale’
In mid July, a Southern Right whale washed up off the coastal town of Kommetjie in the vicinity of the Slangkop lighthouse,
posing an interesting challenge to the City’s coastal and environmental management as well as to waste disposal teams.
A combination of dangerous seas, the flat rock shelf of Kommetjie, sensitive dunes and protected coastal thicket, as well
as the large number of people living in the area, meant that all common methods for disposing of whales could not be
considered.
W
eighing 35 tons and measuring 14.65m,
the whale had recently given birth and
had been lactating. It had probably died
at sea a few days before it washed to shore.
Most whales sink to the ocean floor, providing
food for vent dwelling bacteria and in turn for the
whole marine eco-system. Those that do not, however, pose a complicated challenge to management
authorities.
The first choice regarding whales that do wash
ashore is to allow them to decompose naturally.
In this case, however, natural decomposition was
not feasible, because the stench of decomposing
blubber would have been extreme and would have
built up over the months. Thus, leaving it where
it was would have caused great discomfort to the
residents of Kommetjie.
The City of Cape Town’s cleansing department
therefore sought permission from Table Mountain
National Park (TMNP) to drag the whale across the
dunes and load it onto a flatbed truck for transportation to the Vissershok landfill site.
TMNP and the City’s Environmental Resource
Management Department refused this permission,
however, because using earthmoving equipment to
pull the whale through the 100-year old milkwood
coastal thicket would leave an irreparable scar.
Another option, of cutting up the carcass, would
require 680 trips at 50kg a time. In addition, the
damage to the sensitive dune system caused by
human traffic would be as great, never mind the
unbearable stench for the workers, and attempting
to stand on the treacherously slippery blubber on
the rocks.
Another common disposal method is to tow the
whale offshore and to sink it or beach it elsewhere.
TMNP explored this option, but the South African
Navy and others were reluctant to provide vessels, given the rocky shore, dangerous seas off the
Kommetjie lighthouse and the need to bring the
vessel close to the rock shelf.
Other alternatives include burying the whale in
the sand, but this particular whale is on a flat rock
shelf and far from sand. Blowing up the carcass
with explosives was therefore also discounted, as
the rock shards from the explosive charge needed
would have posed an unacceptable danger to the
public.
After having exhausted all the possibilities mentioned above, the decision was made to burn and
then cut up and dispose of the whale carcass.
Essentially, what TMNP proposed was to work with
nature to accelerate the natural oxidation process.
While this is not common practice, it has been done
before in New Zealand.
Burning the carcass first would reduce the mass
and volume, allowing for whatever was left to be
cut up and removed either into the sea or to a landfill site. The burn would involve stacking a cremating pyre of wood around the whale and then pouring diesel and petrol into slits within the blubber,
burning it for a few days and then assessing the
situation. Anti-oil pollution solvents may be used
to mop up the resulting oil effluents.
Throughout the process, TMNP remained committed to managing the influx of interested people
by keeping them off the sensitive dune vegetation
and encouraging them to walk on the rocks and the
tarred Kommetjie coastal path.
Adapted from a background document prepared by the Table Mountain National Park.
For more information, or to offer constructive ideas and solutions to whale disposal,
please email: tablemountain@sanparks.org
COASTAL
FINDING THE BALANCE:
shark conservation and recreational safety
T
he City of Cape Town, the Marine and
Coastal Management Branch of the national
Department of Environmental Affairs and
Tourism and WWF’s Sanlam Marine Programme
hosted a two-day Specialist Workshop in May,
to honour the City’s commitment to undertake a
specialist review of a range of issues related to
white sharks and recreational safety.
The aim of the Specialist Workshop was to assess
the range of key issues related to shark attacks and
identify the key elements for a long-term plan to
guide the management of this complex and sensitive issue.
The workshop was attended by a range of specialists, with key input from the Natal Sharks Board,
Iziko Museums’ Shark Research Centre, Provincial
Government of the Western Cape, Table Mountain
National Park, the National Sea Rescue Institute
and South African Lifesaving.
The specialists presented a number of
discussion papers on issues such as:
• White Shark population dynamics
• Coastal recreation trends
• Education and awareness
• Emergency response
• Objective assessments of
available safety measures
• Government responsibilities
• Cage diving
• Shark attack trends, local and
international
• The Shark Spotting Programme
• False Bay Ecosystem management
• Review of international shark
safety approaches.
The Environmental Resource Management Department has
completed its second annual State of the Coast Report
T
he City aims to be ‘a City that leads by
example, through recognising the coastal zone
as a unique and significant natural asset in the City’.
In Cape Town’s vision for our coast, the City is commited to the ‘management of this resource in an
innovative and integrated manner, that will ensure
the environmentally sustainable functioning of the
natural systems while optimising the economic and
social benefits.’
To this end, the State of the Coast Report
measures and assesses the state of the City’s
coastal resource, including:
• Ablutions
• Amenities (resorts, pavilions)
• Coastal Signs
• Dunes
• Water quality
• Boardwalks and access points
• Parking areas
• Slipways
All aspects are rated and scored according to a system adapted from the Blue Flag Programme. This
second Report allows the City to measure change,
both positive and negative, between successive
years of the state of our coast.
Briefly, the Report concludes that there has been
both progress and deterioration in the standard of
coastal management carried out by the City in the
last year.
Some of the key issues that must therefore be
addressed include:
• The continued preparation and implementation of sustainable coastal
management plans;
• Coastal dune management and
rehabilitation;
• Upgrading of signage;
• Renovation and upgrading of certain
coastal resort facilities, parking areas
and ablution facilities;
• Ongoing monitoring of water quality;
• Conservation of natural coastal eco-systems; and
• Ensuring that all City of Cape Town slipways meet permit requirements.
For more information, please contact Gregg Oelofse at Environmental Resource Management
on 021 487 2239 or email: gregg.oelofse@capetown.gov.za
COASTAL
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
City staff change to energy-saving lighting
It took only a month for City
of Cape Town staff members
(including the City Manager
and the Executive Mayor) to change 35 000 lightbulbs...
D
uring May 2006, tens of thousands of
energy-wasting incandescent globes were
crushed and recycled, and replaced with
long-lasting, energy-saving compact fluorescent
lamps (CFLs).
The City launched its Energy-Saving Lamp
Exchange Programme for staff members as part
of its broader energy-efficiency campaign. All staff
members were able to exchange up to 10 used
incandescent (‘normal’) globes (from their homes)
for up to 10 new energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). Eskom made this possible by supplying the City with 50 000 CFLs.
The exchange programme operated from the Civic
Centres in Cape Town, Plumstead and Bellville, with
a mobile unit visiting as many City depots as possible. In the first two days of the programme alone,
more than 3 000 globes were exchanged, while in
the Cape Town Civic Centre, almost 15 000 globes
were exchanged over the course of the month.
Altogether 34 326 globes were exchanged.
‘Some people were so excited about the project
that they forget to bring in their used globes,’ said
Joint Xingashe of the Environmental Resource
Management Department. ‘I was at the Cape
Town stand doing the exchanges, and everyone
was interested – but we had to explain that the
goal was to remove the energy wasting globes first
– not just give out free lights!’
To ensure that the used incandescent globes
were removed from circulation, they were crushed
and the glass and metal was recycled separately.
At the launch of the programme, Cape Town
Executive Mayor Helen Zille noted that ‘our goal
is to be one of the world’s most sustainable cities.
This programme is therefore a real investment in
the future of our City.’
Cllr Lionel Roelf, Mayoral Committee Member for Trading Services, with Executive Mayor Helen Zille and Paul
Arends from Environmental Resource Management, who co-ordinated the City’s lightbulb exchange programme.
Rishal Sooklal, a student intern with the ERM Department, with Achmat Ebrahim, City Manager.
For more information, please contact Paul Arends on 487 2131,
or email: paul.arends@capetown.gov.za
10
ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
THE WINDS OF CHANGE
The City switches on to green power
The City of Cape Town has become the first local government in South Africa to sign
a firm commitment to the purchase of sustainable, renewable wind energy.
O
n 30 June, Cape Town City Manager
Achmat Ebrahim signed a Power Purchase
Agreement (PPA) with the country’s first
commercial wind farm, sited outside the West
Coast town of Darling. The Agreement with Darling
Wind Power is for the purchase of 13.2 gigawatt
hours (13 200 megawatt hours) of electricity per
year for the next 20 years. Darling Wind Power uses
four wind turbines of 1.3 megawatts each.
Renewable energy is also known as green power
or green electricity/energy. Green electricity is
electricity generated in a sustainable manner from
renewable energy resources such as wind, solar,
wave, geothermal and certain biomass and hydro
energy.
‘The signing of the PPA is significant as it unlocks
finances from the Danish government, the Central
Energy Fund and the Development Bank of Southern
Africa, therefore enabling the project to proceed,’
says Brian Jones, Project Manager for Green Energy
at the City. ‘Without a long-term buyer of the
green electricity, the project could simply not have
happened.’
The electricity will be ‘wheeled’ through the
national grid to a substation at Atlantis, where it
will be introduced onto the City’s electrical network
and sold onward to willing buyers.
The project will contribute towards the national
government’s target of 10 000 gigawatt hours a
year of renewable energy consumption by 2013,
and to the City of Cape Town’s target of sourcing
10 of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Customers will be charged a premium of 25 cents
per kilowatt hour, and are guaranteed that every
unit of renewable electricity purchased will be
matched by the input of the same number of units
from Darling Wind Power into the national grid.
A strict audit process will be instituted to ensure
that no more green electricity is sold than is actually generated. Green electricity certificates will be
issued to each green electricity consumer.
Darling Wind Power awaits the arrival of its new wind turbines, which are likely to resemble these typical
European turbines.
The environmental and economic
benefits of wind power
Over the next 20 years, the use of the Darling Wind Farm will save:
• 140 000 tons of coal
• 333 million litres of water.
It will also save the production of:
• 254 000 tons of carbon dioxide
• 2 321 tons of sulphur dioxide
• 1 022 tons of nitric oxide
• 74 tons of particulates
• 41 448 tons of ash.
For more information, please contact Brian Jones at the City of Cape Town Electrical Services
on 021 446 2015 or email: brian.jones@capetown.gov.za
ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
11
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
SUBSIDISING SOLAR WATER HEATERS IN THE CITY
In an innovative pilot project in partnership with ICLEI Cities for Climate Protection/USAID,
the City of Cape Town is testing a new financial model for the delivery of
solar water heaters (SWHs) to residents of Cape Town.
A
GAMA Energy and The Green Connection have been engaged by the City
to support, facilitate and implement the project.
The City has set a target of 10% of homes using a SWH by 2010. 2006
is the year for first delivery against this target.
Internal funds committed by the City as well as the funding from the
partnerships, will be used to subsidise the overall installed cost of at least 60
domestic SWHs in the first phase of the project. The balance of the overall cost
will be raised by means of a personal loan undertaken by each SWH owner. The
project also includes the installation of low-flow showerheads where showers
exist, in order to reduce overall hot water consumption, and thus make more
effective the SWHs themselves.
The first potential beneficiaries are 25 City employees who have signed up
to participate. They attended a workshop in mid-June, to learn more energy
efficiency and the SWH project, and received practical demonstrations of the
technology. Potential beneficiaries could ask technical questions from experts.
During the workshop AGAMA indicated the different monthly repayment
amounts associated with the different SWH options. The amounts will be
deducted monthly from the employees’ salaries over four or five years.
Beneficiaries were selected from low- and middle-income City employees, who
live in either Khayelitsha or Mitchell’s Plain (both areas are part of the City’s
urban renewal strategy). Single, female-headed households were a priority.
This pool of employees were sent letters inviting them to participate in the
project and the City’s internal email: system was used to raise awareness of the
opportunity. City supervisers and managers also advertised the offer among
other staff members.
Says Glynn Morris of AGAMA Energy: ‘It is significant that the City of Cape
Town has chosen to support this initiative among its own staff members as a
show of leadership in seeking to meet the targets to which it has committed.
Furthermore, this initiative indicates the City’s support for national policy and
targets to address Climate Change and Renewable Energy.’
The financial, energy and climate impacts of the project
• One 100-litre SWH will save each owner about R650 of
electricity costs per year at current electricity prices.
• For 60 100-litre SWHs the project total electricity savings is
87 000 (eighty-seven thousand) kilowatt hours per year.
• With South Africa’s great reliance on coal-derived electricity
we are also one of the higher emitters of greenhouse gases in
the world. These greenhouse gases, or emissions, are 0.89 kg CO² for each kWh, or unit of electricity used. As a result, the project’s total annual avoided emissions is
778 tonnes of CO².
For more information, please contact Shirene Rosenberg, Manager: Resource Management,
on 021 487 2124 or email: shirene.rosenberg@capetown.gov.za
12
ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
KHAYELITSHA LOOKOUT HILL
Giving the last dunes on the Flats a second chance
T
he summit of Khayelitsha Lookout Hill, the tallest natural dune ridge in
the Cape Flats, has a spectacular view of the Flats and Table Mountain.
Almost all the other natural sand dunes, which once characterised the
Cape Flats, were flattened during the apartheid era, to make way for Khayelitsha
and other townships. Today, some three decades later, that last remaining dune
is being developed into a vibrant recreational and tourist centre, to showcase
Khayelitsha’s determined emergence as a place of dignity and worth.
Dune rehabilitation
One of the main challenges for Lookout Hill is degradation of the dune,
because of trampling, the development of houses too close to the slopes, and
alien plant invasions. The City of Cape Town has therefore taken the initiative
to rehabilitate the dune, because this degradation is a threat to the long-term
viability of the dune; in addition, the sand that erodes off the dune is an irritant
to the people who live in the area.
The City has employed local labour to clear alien vegetation, stabilise the
dune, and plant new vegetation. The perimeter of the dune has been fenced to
control access to the dune, to give the vegetation a chance to recover.
Renovation of the visitor centre
The City has also employed local labour to renovate the boardwalks to the top
of the hill, landscape and pave the parking area, and fence off the area.
While the work is being completed, crafters are still able to host exhibitions
and stalls at the centre, and locals and tourists continue to visit the area.
ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY
13
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
IMEP
to be
updated
T
he Environmental Resource Management (ERM)
department has initiated the process to review
the City’s Integrated Metropolitan Environmental
Policy (IMEP). This process will align and link the
IMEP with other local, provincial and national
policies and strategies.
‘The IMEP was approved in 2001, in an effort to
safeguard our City’s sustainability and the survival
of our people,’ says Dr Godfrey Mvuma, Manager:
Environmental Strategy. ‘However, much has
changed in the policy and environmental landscape
since then, and the IMEP has to keep pace with the
dynamism of these issues.’
Since 2001, the new Biodiversity Act and the
Air Quality Act have been passed, while the new
Hazardous Waste Bill and the Coastal Management
Bill are on the table. In addition, to these regulatory
frameworks, the National Sustainable Development
Strategy is near completion by the Department of
Environmental Affairs & Tourism. Cape Town has a
new Integrated Development Plan, a new Integrated
Waste Management Policy and a new 2030 Spatial
Development Strategy, while the Western Cape has
a new Sustainable Development Implementation
Plan. Furthermore, two international agreements,
the Millennium Development Goals and the
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, affect the
IMEP. All these developments call for the need to
harmonise IMEP with them. The City of Cape Town
will therefore expect maximum support from all
stakeholders during the review process.
For more information, please contact Dr Godfrey Mvuma, Manager: Environmental Strategy,
on 021 487 2355 or email: godfrey.mvuma@capetown.gov.za
14
ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY
African cities find
local solutions
T
The sustainable buchu harvesting project – the City hopes to pilot this project in other African countries,
with the support of NEPAD.
he City of Cape Town recognises the need for cities
in Africa to work together in the environmental arena
for the common good of the continent.
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)
recommends the development and adoption of an environment initiative to address the region’s environmental
challenges while at the same time combating poverty and
promoting socio-economic development.
Cape Town has therefore taken the initiative, through the
NEPAD Environment Sector, to work with other selected
cities to propose local solutions, projects and partnerships
at the GEF (Global Environment Facility) Assembly at the
end of August.
Projects identified for co-operation among selected
African cities include:
• An Invasive Alien Species (IAS) programme: Cape
Town will propose to work with Nairobi (Kenya),
Maputo (Mozambique), Lagos (Nigeria) and Accra
(Ghana) to undertake a comprehensive survey of
the spread of invasive alien species in each city.
• A medicinal plant survey: Cape Town will propose
to undertake a market survey about the size and
functioning of the existing market for medicinal
plants, in Cape Town, Durban, Nairobi, Blantyre
and Abuja.
• The sustainable buchu harvesting project: the main
focus will be to assist a Rastafarian group sustainably plant and harvest buchu in the City of Cape
Town, with a view to piloting in other African
countries.
• Solid waste management: Cape Town and the Basel
Convention Regional Centre for English Speaking
African Countries in Pretoria and other partners
will propose replicating, in five African cities, the
Dar es Salaam experience in sustainable solid waste
management.
• The promotion of eco-tourism in the NEPAD region,
through a pilot project linking the Kasese District in
Uganda and the City of Cape Town – a step forward
to realising the Cape-to-Cairo Route. This will promote tourism that benefits the poor communities.
• A pilot Energy and Climate Change project linking
Botswana, Kenyan and South African (Cape Town)
Municipalities as well as three municipalities in the
developed world.
For more information, please contact Dr Godfrey Mvuma, Manager: Environmental Strategy,
on 021 487 2355 or email: godfrey.mvuma@capetown.gov.za
ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGY
15
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
A commitment to eco-action
T
he first all inclusive Eco-Schools teacher’s workshop for the Western Cape was held in June at the
Kirstenbosch Gold Fields EE Centre.
The workshop, which hosted more than 100 teachers, was a partnership between Eco-Schools and
the City of Cape Town. It concluded with each teacher preparing a ‘Commitment to Action’ to take back to
their schools. Clearly, worm gardening, and water and energy savings made a big impact on teachers..
• ‘We will invite parents to become part of the school gardening committee – and be
part of glass and plastic recycling. (Litha Primary)’
• ‘We will do class activities with learners about energy saving, and the importance
of appreciating electricity. We will also concentrate on water saving activities in the
school garden. (Caravelle Primary)’
• ‘We will try to get all the different subjects and teachers involved in the Eco-Schools
project to eventually make our school environmentally friendly. (Proteus Secondary)’
• ‘With the information
we got today, we will
encourage other children to
join Eco-Schools and we will
plant trees and tell them
about the importance of
The Eco-Schools Programme
is an international
Environmental Education
programme, launched in South
Africa in 2003.
The programme is
co-ordinated nationally by
the Wildlife & Environment
Society of South Africa
(WESSA), supported by
WWF-SA.
The City of Cape Town
funds Eco-Schools nodes
in Atlantis, Guguletu,
Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plain
and Manenberg, as well as
a Western Cape Eco-Schools
Co-ordinator.
nature. (Learner)’
• ‘I am going to save energy.
(Levana Primary)’
• ‘We are going to get
Footprints to help us start
a worm garden. And we
would like to conduct a
whole school survey to work
out how big our school’s
environmental footprint is.
Cllr Nieuwoudt, Mayoral Committee member for Planning and Environment,
addresses educators at the workshop.
(Herschel Prep)’
• ‘We will see to it that all lights are off at school when it’s daylight. (Rocklands
Primary)’
• ‘Watch us with an earthworm farm, more permaculture/ water saving, energy saving
action… (Reygersdal Primary)’
• ‘We will tackle the litter problem at school.’
• ‘We will do a water pit to save water, and make an earthworm farm. (Vukukhanye
Primary)’
• ‘We will make a food garden involving learners and parents. (Isiphiwo Primary)’
• ‘We will continue addressing the litter issue. (Wespoort Primary)’
• ‘Remove all alien trees from school grounds, and start with a veg garden and soup
kitchen to feed learners. (Atlantis School of Skills)’
• ‘We recommit ourselves to the project of conserving our wetland – get all
conservation organisations on board to save it! (Crestway Secondary)’ For more information on the Eco-Schools Programme,
please visit www.eco-schools.org
16
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Learners say
YES
to environmental stewardship
M
ore than 30 000 children in Cape Town
joined the rest of the world in celebrating World Environmental Week, from 5 to
9 June, as part of the City of Cape Town’s Eighth
Youth Environmental School (YES) programme.
The theme for this year was Local Solutions for
Global Challenges and, unlike earlier YES events,
2006 was run as a satellite-venue only programme.
The aim was to ensure a greater reach, by spreading
the presentations throughout the Cape Metropole,
says Glen Takeloo of the City’s Environmental
Resource Management Department. ‘Transport
was also sponsored, to ensure that those poorer
schools could attend.’
The programme is not just about green environmental issues, adds Lindie Buirski, co-ordinator of
the YES programme. ‘We talk about the fact that
the environment encompasses the social, cultural,
built and natural elements of our surroundings.’
The YES 2006 presentations looked at issues such
as: animal dignity, children living on the street,
drug awareness, predators in the ecosystem, air
pollution, climate change, waste wise, learn not
to burn, alien plants, pollination, music, natural
medicine, the wonderful world of science, paraffin safety, marine conservation, life in two oceans,
coelacanths, greening, wetlands, estuaries, dunes,
Fynbos, honeybees, and many more.
‘If the response of the learners was anything
to go by, then this year’s YES Programme was a
resounding success,’ says Takeloo. ‘The enthusiasm
they showed, and their active participation in the
presentations was indeed a revelation.
‘The presenters also need to be commended for
presenting their activities in an informative, interactive and exciting way.’
Learners walk through the Rondevlei Nature Reserve during a presentation called
Animal Talk.
Irene Toerien from IFAW enthrals learners with information about sharks, whales, penguins and other sea
creatures, while Joint Xingashe translates.
Learners got the chance to dress up as honey bees as part of the Honey Bee
Foundation’s presentation.
For more information, about the YES programme or the Eco-Schools programme,
please contact Lindie Buirski on 021 487 2839 or email: lindie.buirski@capetown.gov.za
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
17
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
A new
tool for
sustainable
urban
renewal
L
essons learned from rapid economic growth
in Cape Town’s two urban renewal nodes will
help urban planners and environmental managers
achieve sustainable development.
The Environmental Resource Management (ERM)
department, together with the Urban Renewal
Programme, have compiled an Environmental
Management Framework (EMF) – a decision-making aid that will help planners and authorities
plan and evaluate urban renewal projects and
programmes.
The mandate of the Urban Renewal Programme
(URP) is to produce visible results within a short
time, yet both Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain are
blessed with areas rich in biodiversity and unique
physical and cultural landscapes. These can be damaged, and lost forever, if not properly managed.
‘The URP will be completed in five years time,
and the impact of decisions made now will continue long into the future,’ says Thandeka Tukula
of ERM. ‘Cumulative environmental impacts of this
rapid urban renewal are difficult to measure, which
is why we need this baseline study to show what
environmental features will be impacted upon by
such developments.’
ERM is currently preparing for an EMF Public
Participation Process. The stakeholder participation
list has been drawn up, and the public participation
will begin in August.
Far from slowing down urban renewal development, the EMF may instead allow for more effective
and efficient decision-making around environmental impact, notes Tukula. ‘Once the EMF has been
approved, some projects within the Urban Renewal
Programme areas may in fact be exempted from
a full Environmental Impact Assessment process.
This will result in development being delivered
faster and more effectively.’
The new Mitchell’s Plain central business district, revitalised as part of the City’s urban renewal programme.
Mitchell’s Plain’s new Taxi and Bus Terminus.
For more information, please contact Thandeka Tukula
on 021 487 2135 or email: thandeka.tukula@capetown.gov.za
18
INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
New regulations for Environmental Impact Assessment
T
he new regulations for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), gazetted
on 21 April 2006, will influence a number of City of Cape Town services
and capital projects. The regulations will come into effect throughout
South Africa on 3 July 2007.
EIA is an internationally accepted tool for predicting the impacts, both positive
and negative, of development proposals, in order to ensure informed decisionmaking and more sustainable development. The new EIA regulations were
developed in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA)
of 1997 (as amended).
New regulations include two detailed lists of development activities for
which EIA authorisation is needed. These schedules will have an impact on
services such as water supply, stormwater and river maintenance and roads,
to name a few.
In some cases, such as stormwater pipes of a certain diameter, a Basic
Assessment is needed – this includes public participation. Problems may arise
when the capital budgets for these services did not include provision for an
EIA.
More than 40 000 EIAs were completed under the previous regulations, the
majority within six months. However, some 9% of EIAs took two years or longer
to complete.
The full implications and approach to compliance with the new regulations
is currently being workshopped by City staff and representatives of the
Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning. It is hoped
that the intention of the new regulations – to speed up EIAs, reduce delays
and improve decision-making – can be realised and the ‘impacts’ of the new
regulations kept to a minimum.
Some of the key changes include:
• The introduction of a simpler form of ‘Basic Assessment’ for smaller or less risky development activities.
• The time frames within which the delegated authority for EIA decision-making must respond.
These vary from 14 days for acknowledging receipt of an application, to 45 days for making a decision
once the EIA is complete.
• A legal requirement to coordinate decision-making
when more than one decision is needed, for example
a rezoning and an EIA.
• Combinations of applications: for example, a number of similar activities in different areas can be combined into one application.
• Applications for exemption can now be made for any provision of the regulations, but will only be
accepted if it can be shown that nobody would be
adversely affected. Similarly, an applicant can now
apply to change a Record of Decision, for example as a result of design changes – something that was
not allowed under the old EIA regulations.
• There are also changes to the rules around appeals.
A ‘Notice of Intent to Appeal’ is now required, and the new regulations make provision for responding statements to be submitted. Overall, these new
provisions will increase the length of time taken for
appeals to be finalised. For more information about the EIA regulations visit
http://www.environment.gov.za/Documents/Documents/2005Mar17/eia_luanch_13042006.html
For more information, please contact Keith Wiseman on 021 487 2283 or email: keith.wiseman@capetown.gov.za
INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
19
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
EN ROUTE TO SUSTAINABILITY
The Cape Care Route
C
ape Town is bursting at the seams with
charismatic individuals, unusual styles of
décor, design and accessories, enthusiastic
organic gardeners, idiosyncratic bicycle dealers
and numerous other people determined to make
their own and other people’s lives better, brighter
and more sustainable.
And now more than 25 of these individuals and
their organisations have launched the Cape Care
Route, with the City of Cape Town, to showcase
their programmes that promote sustainable
development in a practical way.
The Cape Care Route includes destinations such
as the community-based BEN Bicycle Workshop in
Masiphumelele (near Kommetjie); the Footprints
Environmental Centre in Wynberg, an innovative
recycling centre with a waste-to-art project;
Zezamele Fishing Enterprise (Kalk Bay); Philani
Nutrition and Development, a community weaving
centre and crèche; the Lwandle Migrant Labour
Museum, with an interesting solar water heating
project; and the Siyazama Community Allotment
Garden Association (SCAGA) in Khayelitsha, an
organic food gardening project.
The Cape Care Route was initially established as
a side event for the Johannesburg World Summit
on Sustainable Development in 2002. In 2005 the
route as a whole and the different destinations
were individually evaluated by a panel from the City,
Cape Town Tourism, Cape Town Routes Unlimited
and the Civil Society City-Wide Forum. This panel
found that the Route was indeed a worthwhile
addition to Cape Town’s tourist offering, and the
City has committed its ongoing support in the
form of a permanent route co-ordinator and the
development of the destinations.
Since the Summit, the focus of the route has
changed, says Grace Stead, the City’s Local Agenda
21 Co-ordinator. ‘The bottom line is how to get
more people to see what is happening behind
the scenes – getting feet through the gates. It’s
tourism with an environmental, sustainable slant.
For more information, please contact Grace Stead, Local Agenda 21 Co-ordinator,
on 021 938 8422 or email: grace.stead@capetown.gov.za;
or visit visit the route website on www.tourismcapetown.co.za/capecare
20
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
All the route members are destinations in their
own right. They have an authentic, enthusiastic
interactive experience to offer.’ And they are each
looking forward to your visit!
The vision of the Cape Care Route is to showcase
a City committed to a sustainable African future,
by delivering authentic, people-driven experiences
that capture the hearts and expand the minds of
global and local visitors, in a manner than unifies
and empowers communities, celebrates their stories
and uplifts the environment.
To become part of the route, therefore, a
destination had to score highly on the evaluation
scorecard. Membership is not automatically
awarded.
• Does the project have biophysical activities
that entail caring for the environment,
such as protecting plants, animals, birds,
trees, wetlands, food gardens, parks or
streams?
• Does the project have social activities that
entail caring for others such as the young,
unemployed, homeless, the disabled, and
the wider community?
• Does the project have heritage activities,
that entail caring for historical buildings,
cultural interests, museums, exhibitions?
• Does the project have urban activities
that entail caring for the environment
such as recycling, fire prevention, energy
conservation, housing and shelter?
• Is there readiness and willingness to meet
visitor interests and needs?
Is due care taken to meet the interests
and needs of visitors?
• Is there promotion of job creation and
employment opportunities such as local
guides, catering staff, etc?
Learning through partnerships
F
Back (L-R): Mfundo Nazu, Grace Stead, Khunjulwa Socikwa and Chairperson of the
School Board.
Front (L-R): Phindiwe Tywaku, Ndzuzo Mlandu, Noma-Ephese Nkunzi,
Unathi Magida, Siphokazi Fatshe.
ive high school learners from Luhlaza High School in Khayelitsha are the
most recent beneficiaries of a partnership between the two cities of Cape
Town and Aachen (Germany).
The partnership was formed in 2000, to promote sustainable development
and the principles of Agenda 21 through facilitating partnerships and partnership projects that improve environmental, social and economic conditions.
The five learners, together with one of their teachers and the school principal,
spent three weeks in Aachen in March, attending the Inda-Gymnasium (high
school) and getting to know their new learning partners.
Learners from the Inda-Gymnasium are preparing to visit Cape Town in
October.
The visit to Germany itself was merely one aspect of the partnership programme, says Grace Stead, Cape Town’s Agenda 21 Co-ordinator. ‘The five
spent three months preparing for their work as young ambassadors from Cape
Town, learning about Cape Town and our diverse cultural heritage, as well as
about our City’s conservation and recycling programmes.’
‘In fact, some of the learners said that even if they hadn’t got to Germany,
the trip preparation was one of their most memorable and influential learning
experiences.’
For more information, please contact Grace Stead, Local Agenda 21 Co-ordinator,
on 021 938 8422 or email: grace.stead@capetown.gov.za
or visit the partnership website on www.aachen-kapstadt.de
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
21
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
Making memories: A cultural heritage strategy for all
The City of Cape Town has adopted its first ever Cultural Heritage Strategy, which sets out a policy and
framework for the management and protection of the cultural heritage resources of the City.
C
ultural heritage is one of
the sectoral approaches of
the Integrated Metropolitan
Environmental Policy (IMEP, see
page 14).
Cape Town has a rich cultural
heritage, including a variety of
cultural values and sites, as well as
landscapes of historic significance,
areas of scenic beauty and places of
spiritual importance.
The new Cultural Heritage
Strategy will ensure that this cultural
The Waterwitch and Williams memorial.
heritage is identified, appropriately
protected and managed.
and fragrance is a reminder to many Langa women
Current heritage management and conservation in
of the days when they were compelled to lodge
the City focuses on more than just architecture, says
their passbooks at the Pass Office. A museum is
Clive James, Head of Environmental Management.
being established in the restored pass office.
‘Today we place equal emphasis on the social and
The City is committed to protecting and enhancing
landscape context of heritage resources, and the
sites associated with 20th-century history, such
roles played by people, events and memory.’
as the struggle for democratic rights. The Robbie
According to the National Heritage Resource Act,
Waterwitch and Coline Williams, killed in 1989
a heritage resource is any place or object that is of
under mysterious circumstances believed to have
cultural significance.
been orchestrated by Apartheid Security Forces,
Intangible heritage is defined as any non-material
was recently unveiled in Athlone.
heritage or non-material culture, including traditions,
The City is committed to ensuring access to public
oral history, ritual, ceremonies, language, popular
heritage sights, and ensuring that such sights are
memory and indigenous knowledge systems.
appropriately marked and explained for public
Oral traditions, ceremonies, events and knowledge
understanding.
systems are all a vital part of heritage. Intangible
For example, the City has recently published
heritage enriches the experience of the physical
an easily accessible booklet on the history of the
environment through memory and knowledge.
Company’s Garden, and has installed lighting to
The memories associated with this row of
extend the accessibility and improve the safety of
bluegum trees alongside the old Langa Pass Office
the Public Garden section, previously locked to the
are an example of intangible heritage. The shade
public at sunset.
The Bluegums at the Langa Pass Office.
22
The restoration and appropriate re-use of historic
structures is a catalyst in the urban regeneration of
Cape Town. The management of heritage sites and
structures is most successful when integrated into
general conservation and development strategies
for urban regeneration. The City has 32 Urban
Conservation Areras, where new development
is required to be sensitive to the historical and
cultural character of the areas. Trees in these areas
are also protected.
The Company’s Garden entrance.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The City’s Heritage
Resource Section of
the Town Planning
Department has
updated and
reprinted its series
of heritage advice
pamphlets, including
information about
heritage areas,
historic vegetation,
and building within a
heritage context.
The new walkways at Mamre.
The Heritage Resources Section is working in
partnership with the Langa Heritage Foundation
to provide shower facilities at the Initiation site in
Langa.
In partnership with the Fernwood ratepayers in
Newlands, the City is restoring the historic gates at
Fernwood Estate (below). The decayed timberwork
has been replaced, and the historic finials will be
duplicated and replaced. Once work has been
completed, the City will install informative signage
and lighting.
Agenda 21 is a document
developed at the 1992 United
Nations Conference on
Environment and Development,
called the Rio Earth Summit. It
is a global plan of action to stop
environmental degradation and
promote equitable development.
Local Agenda 21 is a participatory
multi-sectoral process to achieve
the goals of Agenda 21, at local
level. It will do this through the
preparation and implementation
of a long-term strategic action
plan that addresses priority local
sustainable development concerns.
Zolisa Pakade and Cass Gaisfort at the shower
facilities, Langa Initiation site.
Community participation in heritage is a vital
part of sustainable heritage management, says
James. The communities in Cape Town have a key
interest in heritage, and an essential role to play in
identifying and protecting heritage resources.
Communities are also valuable resources of
knowledge, and partnerships between the City and
communities empower both parties, he notes.
As part of the City’s commitment to community
participation and Local Agenda 21 (see box), the
Heritage Resources Section of Environmental
Management is working on a number of heritage
projects identified by communities.
In a partnership with the Mamre community, the
City is working to restore the old water mill at this
historic Moravian Mission Station. The village centre
has been upgraded, with parking, landscaping and
walkways from the village green to the Mission
Station.
The Boshof gate at Fernwood Estate.
For more information on heritage resources, please contact Clive James,
Head of Environmental Management, Town Planning Department on 021 400 3620
or email: clive.james@capetown.gov.za
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
23
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
Sustainable event management
The ICLEI World Congress 2006
W
hen the City of Cape Town hosted the
ICLEI World Congress 2006 at the Cape
Town International Convention Centre
(CTICC) in March, they not only discussed the principles sustainable development in local government
but they practised them too.
ICLEI is an international forum for local government leaders that promote sustainable development through a variety of initiatives. This congress
provided an important platform for the international community of local government authorities to
reiterate support for sustainable development and
strengthen cooperation between cities and local
governments worldwide.
However, increasing attention has been paid
recently to the manner in which major international
conferences are managed and the potential for
such events to contribute positively (or negatively)
to sustainable development and environmental
preservation.
24
The ICLEI Congress was a unique opportunity to
demonstrate best sustainable development practice in event management, known as event greening. The City therefore committed itself to ensuring
that the operations leading up to the ICLEI World
Congress 2006 and the organisation and management of the congress demonstrate ‘event greening
principles’.
Recycling of waste at the congress venue
The CTICC implemented a waste separation at
source programme for the duration of the Congress
to ensure that only waste that could be recycled
was sent to landfill.
During the Congress 66% of waste was recycled
and 34% went to landfill. The recyclable materials included cardboard (26%), paper (30%), clear
plastic, PET plastic and tins.
The CTICC provided glass crockery and stainless
steel cutlery for all meals; they also removed all
paper cups from the water stands and delegates
were provided with a plastic bottle that could be
refilled at the water points. This was done so effectively that the most delegates did not realise the
time and effort spent behind the scenes to reduce
the waste even before it could be generated.
ICLEI WORLD CONGRESS
Better buying
The concept of sustainable procurement is based
on the principle that the economic, social and environmental affects of procurement should be examined in a coordinated way and taken into account in
decision-making. The price of goods should reflect
both monetary cost and costs to society and the
environment.
The event greening technical expert worked
closely with the contracted conference organiser
to procure according to sustainable development
principles. The following aspects were considered
for the selection of goods or services:
• The best value for money, such as price,
quality, affordability, availability and
functionality
• Environmental aspects, the affect the
product or service has on the environment
over its lifecycle (from cradle to grave)
• The entire lifecycle of products
• Social aspects, such as poverty eradication,
international equity in the distribution of
resources, labour conditions and human
rights.
Green electricity
The City of Cape Town partnered with Green X
Electricity in the procurement of green electricity
for the Congress. The purchase of green electricity
enabled the Congress to reduce its carbon footprint and lessen its contribution to climate change
(see page 11).
Carbon mitigation
The ICLEI Climate Legacy is an initiative that
attempted to reduce the environmental impact,
specifically the carbon footprint of the ICLEI World
Congress 2006.
A carbon offset payment was included in the
congress fee, to compensate for the CO² emissions
caused as a result of congress related air travel.
This offset payment was calculated according to
participants’ average distance travelled by region.
The funding generated through the ICLEI
Climate Legacy Initiative was donated to a Clean
Development Mechanism (CDM) reduction project
in Cape Town known as Kuyasa (see Enviroworks
volume 1/6, page 14).
Local economic development
The event greening of the ICLEI World Congress
2006 prioritised local economic development in its
sustainable procurement agenda, specifically highlighted through the Cape Town Day where local
community-based organisations provided tours,
lunch and workshop facilities. Local tour guides
and facilitators were also employed to assist with
this function. Delegate bags and gifts were also
locally manufactured and local fair trade products
such as tea and wine was also procured for the
Congress events.
Hotel Cleaner Production programme
Above: The Kuyasa project (funded through the
ICLEI Climate Legacy Initiative), provides beneficiaries
with energy-efficient technologies, saving on their
electricity bills.
A project was initiated by the City of Cape Town
to introduce Cleaner Production principles and
interventions in five of the hotels in Cape Town that
accommodated Congress guests.
The main objectives of this project were to:
• Transfer Cleaner Production skills to the
staff of the City of Cape Town, hotel
staff and students of the Cape Peninsula
University of Technology Hotel School
through involvement in the project.
• Conduct comprehensive energy, water and
waste assessments of each hotel;
• Provide recommendations on implementation to each hotel;
• Explore and identify incentive strategies to
promote adoption of cleaner production;
• Develop and Compile cost-benefit Analysis
of CP conversions;
• Facilitate Implementation and monitor
successes;
• Document on projected and actual financial
and environmental savings.
Each hotel was asked to sign a Memorandum of
Understanding at top management level committing to the project and committing to a budget for
effecting technical changes (such as retrofitting
water saving devices) recommended by the project
team.
Cleaner Production modules are now to be incorporated into the formal curriculum of the Cape
Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) Hotel
School.
For more information about event greening, please contact Grace Stead,
Local Agenda 21 Co-ordinator, on 021 938 8422 or email: grace.stead@capetown.gov.za
ICLEI WORLD CONGRESS
25
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
Bold
vision
of
City
future
M
OVING the airport to Atlantis to make
space for what could be the Midrand of
Cape Town is at the core of bold new
thinking among city planners.
The concept of freeing the present 1 000ha airport site would create a potentially vast economic
engine to trigger job growth, break down racial
fragmentation and dramatically ease poverty in the
city.
The concept is not an imminent plan so much as a
deliberately provocative argument by city planners
to focus Cape Town’s attention on an increasingly
demanding future.
It is coupled with fresh thinking about seeing the
city not as an administrative municipal entity, but
as a functional region that takes in everything from
Table Bay to Saldanha Bay in the west, Worcester
in the north and Hermanus in the east.
The far-reaching conceptual outline – Cape
Town 2030: An Argument for the Long-term
Spatial Development of Cape Town – is the subject of intensive discussion in city committees and
in meetings with politicians and officials in other
spheres of government.
The overall intent of the exercise is to provoke
a wide and vigorous public debate about Cape
Town’s future.
26
The planners suggest much post-1994 planning
has necessarily been limited to meeting basic needs
and this has narrowed the scope for tackling the
City’s most pressing, long term challenges.
Against this background, the City document is
presented as an argument for debate, an exciting
vision of what is possible in spatial terms.
The key figures in the plan, City Executive Director
of Strategy and Development, Stephen Boshoff and
the international award-winning Director of City
Spatial Development and Urban Design, Barbara
Southworth, both caution that failing to think
big in making dramatic and unthinkable choices
about the future city would amount to an abdication of responsibility. If we don’t shape the future,
the future will shape us, Boshoff warns. Rising to
the challenge, they say, is the key to emboldening
Cape Town’s efforts to deal with its most pressing
challenges: economic growth, investment, jobs,
transport, housing and corporate and individual
opportunity.
Of the 2030 vision, Mayor Helen Zille, says: ‘There
can be no doubt that we need a shared vision for
the long-term future of this great city, and these
proposals are an excellent starting point for the
discussion we must have. She added: Cape Town
2030 is the culmination of work done, over many
months, by a group of young, visionary, progressive planners in the city. I have been excited and
challenged by their work, and I am very pleased
that such committed, talented people have chosen
to stay in the public sector in Cape Town. The discussion about Cape Town’s future must now begin,
and I hope everyone will be involved.’
The Cape Town 2030 document raises the prospect of the vast central area of the Cape Flats
becoming the economic powerhouse of the city
region, drawing investment, creating jobs, reducing the cost and distance of daily commutes for
hundreds of thousands of people, finally shattering
the apartheid era racial enclaves of the city economy, and accelerating growth.
Planners say the area has the potential to be the
Midrand of Cape Town by:
• Developing a heavy industry component at
the second port of Saldanha, with stronger
threeway links between the West Coast
development node and Atlantis, already
home to significant and growing industry
and, potentially, a new international airport
and the financial and commercial hub of
Cape Town.
• Densifying residential development in tandem with an intensive focus on creating
dignified living spaces with new parks and
linked green areas, shopping and facilities
and creating the scope for seafront property
development in Khayelitsha and Mitchells
Plain, to allow the False Bay suburbs the
opportunities, and the significant real estate,
that are taken for granted everywhere else,
from Blouberg to Camps Bay.
• Sticking to the City’s present environmental
footprint, with a strong emphasis on preserving the integrity of ecological assets.
• Radically rethinking the transport network,
breaking the pattern of traditional routes
and infrastructure focused on access to the
central city, boosting public transport as
the priority carrier, and working towards
an equitable pattern of access across the
metropole.
• Creating new parks and extended interlinked green belts, and establishing a range
of special places, such as heritage sites, cultural and entertainment venues to enhance
the quality of life of residents and add to the
mix of landmark venues.
TEXT: MICHAEL MORRIS
REPRINTED WITH KIND PERMISSION
FROM THE CAPE ARGUS
For more information, please contact Barbara Southworth, Director: City Spatial Development,
on 021 400 3263 or email: barbara.southworth@capetown.gov.za
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
27
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
The end of
end-of-pipe
management
It is no longer ‘business as usual’ for Cape Town’s Solid
Waste department, as the City
takes the lead with its new
Integrated Waste Management
(IWM) Policy.
T
his Policy takes an entirely different approach
to waste management, says Rustim Keraan:
Director: Solid Waste. ‘We can no longer
focus on what we used to call ‘end-of-pipe’ management. Instead, we have to work to prevent pollution and waste at source, thus the key aim is to
reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills in the municipal area.’
Cape Town’s new IWM Policy and Plan were
adopted by the Executive Mayoral Committee in
May 2006, and indicate a firm commitment to sustainable development within the metro area.
A separate IWM by-law will enable strict enforcement of the Policy. This by-law is being formulated,
and will be augmented by national legislation that
has been drafted for Parliament’s consideration.
Other metro municipalities have adopted IWM
plans – the minimum requirement by the national
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
(DEAT) in terms of the White Paper on Integrated
Pollution and Waste Management (2000). In terms
of the Municipal Systems Act, local governments
have to adopt policies and plans that lead to the
delivery of basic municipal services (of which waste
management is one). Cape Town, however, has
chosen to adopt a more enforceable policy.
Cape Town has not had a unified waste policy
since the formation of the Unicity in 2000.
‘There are key shifts in terms of the new IWM
Policy,’ says Barry Coetzee, Manager: Integrated
Waste Management, Policy, Strategy & By-laws.
‘The most important shift is that waste management service delivery is no longer “business as
usual” – cleaning, collecting and disposing of
waste.’
‘Of course Council will still ensure these services, but because of a dire need to protect the
environment and preserve natural resources, the
policy will also aim to reduce the amount of waste
produced.’
28
Prevention of waste at source includes practices
such as:
• Recycling
• Composting and Vermiculture
• Cleaner production and consumption
mechanisms for industry; and
• Lobbying national government for enabling
legislation that makes producers responsible for their waste.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Changing behaviour
‘Without a market for recyclable materials or
goods, all good efforts to divert and recover recyclable waste will come to naught’, says Coetzee.
Hence the City’s ongoing programmes aimed at
changing consumer and manufacturer behaviour,
which will result in recyclables being separated at
source and fed back into the manufacturing and
production cycle.
The WasteWise Programme drives this process
through awareness and education campaigns.
Schools are targeted both on the educational and
participation fronts, through a logic that learners
can influence behaviour at home, and carry the lesson into the future.
Going national
Recycling must be achieved nationally, explains
Coetzee, otherwise a local, regional or provincial
economy will suffer negative consequences.
By applying the 80/20 principle, waste minimisation initiatives will be launched in the 2006/07
financial year, aimed at key industrial sectors either
involved in the recycling or production of recyclables. ‘These can be described as “low hanging
fruit” – they are easier to target, and the gains will
be relatively large.’
Part of this process will include obtaining agreement from these sectors to ensure participation and
the creation of essential partnerships. The “agreement to participate” route is necessary in view
of a lack of national legislation that could either
provide incentives to industry to invest in recycling
infrastructure as part of production processes, or
act as disincentives (with punitive measures) if
companies/entities ignore the waste minimisation
imperative.
Meeting the Cleaner Cape Town Challenge
Winners of the Cleaner Cape Town Challenge
were announced during World Environment Week
in June 2006. The competition aimed to reward
and recognise individuals, organisations and businesses that help reduce waste, litter, air and water
pollution, vandalism and urban decay.
Groups were judged according to criteria such
as general appearance; education; evidence of
stakeholder partnerships; action and/or activi-
ties in progress or completed; and environmental
management (draft or complete environmental
management plan with information on waste management, water and energy conservation, water
and air pollution prevention, and rehabilitation of
indigenous habitat.)
Footprints Environmental Centre, in Wynberg
(pictured above) won first prize in the Youth and
Community Section. Footprints is also one of the
destinations on the Cape Care Route (see page 20).
Hazardous waste
Currently the City is focusing on creating the space and infrastructure for
household hazardous waste at community drop-offs. Most drop-offs already
accept used vehicle lubricants in a joint
initiative with the ROSE Foundation,
which then organises for the recovery and re-use of these hydrocarbon
substances.
For more information, please contact Barry Coetzee, Manager: Integrated Waste Management,
Policy, Strategy & By-laws, on 021 400 2992, or email: barry.coetzee@capetown.gov.za
WASTE MANAGEMENT
29
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
A
clear
strategy
for
clean air
C
ape Town’s new Air Quality Management
Plan (AQMP), officially launched in April
2006, aims high – with a vision of making
Cape Town the city with the cleanest air in Africa.
Its mission, to reduce the health effects of poor air
quality on people in Cape Town, especially during ‘brown haze’ episodes, is backed by 11 objectives, each with a strategy to ensure that these are
achieved.
Clean air doesn’t happen overnight, of course,
notes Dr Ivan Bromfield, Manager: Specialised
Health Services, ‘but with a clear strategy and measurable objectives, reviewed every year, our vision is
possible.’ City Health is therefore currently setting
up the mechanisms to implement each strategy, in
order to meet each measurable objective.
The AQMP is a national requirement, in terms
of the National Environmental Management: Air
Quality Act. Every municipality must include, as
part of its integrated development planning, an air
quality management plan.
In Cape Town the AQMP is led by a multi-disciplinary Air Quality Co-ordinating Group (including
representatives from City Health, Environmental
Resource Management, Spatial Development,
Scientific Services, Transport Planning and Human
Settlements), tasked to ensure that the plan is
implemented. The team is chaired by Dr Bromfield.
Five working groups report to the Co-ordinating
Group, dealing with Air Quality Monitoring and
Standards; the Khayelitsha Air Quality strategy (see
box); Transport, Planning and Vehicle Emissions;
Health; and Public Awareness and Education.
KAPS update
One of the objectives of the AQMP is to
improve air quality in informal areas.
To this end, the business plan for the
Khayelitsha Air Pollution Strategy (KAPS)
has been approved by the Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT),
and the City will soon begin recruiting
survey staff from the community (see
Enviroworks volume 1/6, page 27). The
KAPS project is funded by DEAT’s poverty
alleviation programme.
In April 2006 City Health’s Air Pollution Control
Division launched a new air quality monitoring station in the informal area of Wallacedene. The monitoring equipment (pictured above) was funded by
ICLEI (local governments for sustainability).
The Wallacedene project is part of a DEAT, USAID
and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air
Quality Monitoring Mentorship Programme. This
Programme aims to provide an exchange of air
quality monitoring experience and skills between
the City of Cape Town and the other selected partner in the Programme, Mangaung Municipality in
the Free State.
The EPA has also provided training through an
Air Quality Monitoring Course, which Cape Town
hopes to institutionalise through its AQMP and
local tertiary educational institutions.
To view the City’s air quality monitoring data, visit http://www.capetown.gov.za/airqual/monsites/sites.asp
For more information, please contact Dr Ivan Bromfield, Manager: Specialised Health Services,
or email: ivan.bromfield capetown.gov.za
30
AIR QUALITY
Where there’s smoke,
there’s a
Why is your diesel vehicle
emitting black smoke?
• Your vehicle is overloaded
• The valve timing is incorrect
• There is an unnecessary delay in
changing gears
• The turbo charger or blower is
defective
• The vehicle is overheating
• You are using a poor quality fuel
• The oil level in the crankcase is too high
…
diesel
emissions
test team......
What can you do about it?
I
n just a few days in April, the City of Cape
Town’s diesel vehicle emissions testing unit
issued more than 250 compliance certificates
to drivers who had voluntarily submitted their vehicles for smoke testing. These certificates can assist
with ISO14000 certification.
The free, voluntary testing was part of a new
City campaign aimed at improving air quality in
the city, increasing the awareness of the health
and environmental impact of diesel exhaust emissions, changing the behaviour of vehicle owners,
and establishing a mutually beneficial relationship
between diesel vehicle owners and the City.
For the duration of the campaign, legal action
was waived against owners whose vehicles did
not comply with the City’s Air Pollution Control
By-law.
Vehicle emissions testing took place at nine venues throughout the City for the duration of the
campaign.
• Follow a stringent maintenance
programme
• Turn off your vehicle if you are going
to idle for more than a few minutes.
• A diesel truck burns five litres of fuel
for every hour that it idles.
• Use low sulphur diesel
• If you are planning to buy a new
vehicle, choose one that has an environmentally friendly engine design.
According to the Brown Haze Report of 1997,
almost two thirds of the visual degradation of the
atmosphere seen as the all-too-familiar brown haze
that blights the False Bay coastline can be attributed to vehicular emissions, of which 48% is caused
by diesel driven vehicles.
In 2000, the City of Cape Town therefore established a diesel vehicle emissions testing unit.
Random testing of diesel vehicles is carried out
at various roadside testing sites within the City,
and since the inception of the unit, the failure
rate of vehicles has decreased from 17% to 4.5%.
However, because the number of testing sites is
limited, many vehicles are not caught in the net.
A total of 264 vehicles were tested during the 12
days of the City’s voluntary campaign. Of these, 12
vehicles (4.9%) failed the test. As a spin-off to the
project, the Unit also tested 85 buses of Golden
Arrow Bus Company, at their request. Fleet owners are welcome to approach the Diesel Vehicle
Emissions Testing Unit to test their entire fleet. This
service is free.
During the first few days of the project, more than
60% of the vehicles submitted for testing were luxury and recreational vehicles.
The City of Cape Town is the only city in
South Africa that has as dedicated diesel
emissions testing unit. More than 20 000 diesel
vehicles have been tested since the inception of the
programme.
For more information, please contact David Oliver, Regional Air Quality Officer,
on 021 590 1419 or email: david.oliver.capetown.gov.za
AIR QUALITY
31
Volume 2/06 • August 2006
Winning Gold at the C.A.P.E
From left: Charles Moses (head of Rondevlei’s field team), Dalton Gibbs (Acting Area
Manager, South) and John Hartnick (Rondevlei’s access control and visitor liaison).
T
hree staff members from the Environmental Resource Management
department were awarded top honours at the Cape Action for People and
the Environment (C.A.P.E.) awards ceremony this June. Dalton Gibbs, John
Hartnick and Charles Moses, all from the Nature Conservation Branch, received
Gold Awards for their exceptional contributions to the CAPE Programme. There
were only two other recipients of Gold.
In terms of the C.A.P.E. Policy on C.A.P.E. Action Partner Recognition Certificates,
there are two types of awards: Standard Awards; and Gold Awards.
Gold Awards are presented to those who have made exceptional contributions,
in respect of any, or a combination of:
• Excellent project achievement
• Mobilisation of effective partnerships
• Exceptional leadership
• Exceptional mentorship
• Exceptional personal effort beyond the call of duty
• Innovative research
• Excellent communication
Dalton Gibbs was awarded gold for his dedication and outstanding achievements; John Hartnick, who manages the reserve’s access control and visitor
liaison, was awarded Gold for his lifetime contribution to conservation; and
Charles Moses, head of Rondevlei’s field team, was also awarded Gold for his
lifetime contribution to conservation. Between them, they have 77 years’ service at the reserve.
Reserve Manager
offers ‘service above
self’
Clifford Dorse, Acting Area Manager, North,
recently received a Rotary Award for Service
Above Self, in recognition of his dedication to
the Blaauwberg Conservation Area (BCA).
The BCA (see page 7) is a huge conservation
area, in City terms, says Dorse, and it is of great
value ecologically and for recreation purposes.
‘One of our main objectives is to promote the
BCA, to tell people that it exists!’ says Dorse. ‘This Award is so important it tells
us that we are being noticed.’
The Blouberg Rotary Club also contributed R2 000 to the Friends of the BCA,
which Dorse says will make a significant different to the work in the conservation area.
The Friends work as support, on every level, in the BCA, from providing meals
to fencing workers to leading walks, monthly hacks and information meetings.
ERM staff take an
‘Adventure into Citizenship’
E
nvironmental Resource Management staff members were invited
by Executive Mayor Helen Zille to give a presentation to learners
from around the country who were selected to participate in the
Rotary ‘Adventure into Citizenship’ programme.
Left to right: Isgaak Crombie, Glen Takeloo, Sydney Gxakuma, Executive Mayor
Helen Zille, Oscar Finnucane and Harricharan Ramblass
Local conservationists share skills in Central Africa
W
Main Pic: Clifford Dorse
Inset: A Goliath frog, found by Clifford Dorse and
Dalton Gibbs in the North East of the DRC.
hile residents in the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) were counting votes,
two Cape Town nature conservationists were counting species, in the far north of
the country.
Dalton Gibbs (Acting Area Manager, South) and
Clifford Dorse (Acting Area Manager, North) spent
nine days in the north-east of the DRC (in their
private capacity, on well-earned leave from their
local work) conducting a baseline study of fauna
on the edge of the Congo Basin.
The area is under concession to the consortium
Moto Gold Mines, and DRC conservation officials
requested skilled nature conservators to ‘see what
fauna were still there, before mining started’, says
Dorse.
‘People had been saying that there were no animals left in the area, but we spent nine days on site,
16 hours a day, looking for wildlife – and finding it!’
‘This is what we studied to do – and finding plentiful snakes, frogs, bats and birds was absolutely
wonderful.’
Environmental Resource Management Department, City of Cape Town
44 Wale Street, Cape Town,
PO Box 16548, Vlaeberg 8018
Tel: +27 21 487 2284 Fax: +27 21 487 2255 E-mail: enviro@capetown.gov.za
32