workshop on the Ecological status of Western Cape Rivers

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the Breede-Olifants Catchment Management Agency (BOCMA), CapeNature and Blue Science recently visited us to host a workshop. We were also joined by our friends in conservation, the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve.

The workshop focused on the national DWS project to update the Present Ecological State, Ecological Importance, and Ecological Sensitivity (PES, EI & ES) through a Desktop PESEIS assessment. This project, lead by Blue Science, aimed  to assess the current ecological status of rivers in the Western Cape and will contribute data to the national Present Ecological Status (PES) Project.

As the project nears completion, workshops like this are being held to support capacity building and knowledge sharing. While much of the work was done through desktop assessments, site visits are now being conducted to compare data and confirm whether the ecological conditions observed in the field match those indicated in the assessments. 

The Huis-Tradouw catchment was selected as a focal area, and the GVB Conservancy was identified as a key site and organisation, due to the significant groundwork we are doing to improve the ecological status of the Tradouw and Huis River systems.
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We are grateful for opportunities like these; they not only allow us to learn but also give us a platform to showcase our ongoing restoration and conservation work being done on the ground.