Cape Town is one of only three cities in the world that ranks as an urban biodiversity hot spot. It is located within the Cape floristic kingdom, the smallest and most diverse of the world’s six floral kingdoms.

The Biodiversity Management Branch is responsible for the conservation of biodiversity within the City's boundaries. A fundamental aspect to the branch’s work is to ensure that biodiversity and nature are mainstreamed into everyday life, which includes delivering tangible benefits to all communities.

More specifically, this branch is responsible for conservation planning, biodiversity management and alien species eradication. In the field of conservation planning, the City’s approved Biodiversity Strategy has resulted in the identification of a biodiversity network of sites (BioNet) that need to be secured to conserve a representative sample of the Cape Town’s unique biodiversity and, thus, promote sustainable development.

At present, the branch manages 24 nature reserves. These areas exclude Table Mountain National Park for example, which is managed by SANParks, and other provincial reserves such as Driftsands, a reserve on the Cape Flats.

Key functions of the branch include:

• Nature reserve management
• Biodiversity strategy co-ordination
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Protected area status
• Invasive alien species co-ordination
  

For further information, contact:

Ms Julia Wood (Manager)
Tel: +27 (0)21 514 4155
Fax: +27 (0)21 511 1951
E-mail: julia.wood@capetown.gov.za

[ p Top ]