The latest Cape Town State of the Environment (SOE) Report, which was released on 2 June, shows the value and positive impact of individual local environmental action, but overall paints a mixed picture of the metropole’s environmental sustainability.

Cape Town’s air quality has improved over the last financial year, as has the quality of the sea water on the Atlantic Coast, solid waste disposal and water usage – and this is largely thanks to the actions of individuals who make an effort to use less water, create less waste, and recycle more, says the Report.

The 2007/8 Report provides a snapshot of the environment for that financial year. It considers Air Quality, Carbon Footprint, Biodiversity, Invasive Alien Species, Freshwater Quality, Coastal water Quality and Wastewater Quality, Water use, Solid Waste Disposal, Urban Sprawl, and Access to Nature. In most of these areas, Cape Town is falling short of becoming truly sustainable. The SOE Report notes that the city’s environmental challenges are increasing, and that it is not yet able to address them adequately, thus effectively undermining the foundation on which its economy is built.
Nevertheless, the City of Cape Town is confident that the ultimate goal of creating a more environmentally sustainable city is an achievable one.

Urban sprawl is a key driver of environmental decline – it has a significant impact on the city’s unique and rare biodiversity, and it places increasing pressure on its infrastructure – an already overburdened resource.

The City has prepared numerous strategies to address the trends identified in the SOE Report, the most important of which is the revised Integrated Metropolitan Environmental Policy (IMEP) Agenda which allocates responsibilities and performance targets to all of the City’s departments.

The Agenda has 17 specific targets that, in addition to the perennial environmental issues, address areas such as energy efficiency, outdoor advertising, environmental education and communication, and cultural heritage, as well as the City’s administrative operations. These targets will be linked to actual performance goals.

“Positive environmental change is a slow process,” says Mayoral Committee Member for Planning and Environment, Cllr Marian Nieuwoudt. “Decades of environmental degradation cannot be undone in five years. We are realistic by first aiming to slow down and stop deterioration, whilst taking a long term approach to reversing negative trends.”

The first City of Cape Town State of the Environment Report (SoER) was published in 1998, and provided the City with a baseline from which to measure and record changes in Cape Town’s environmental state. Its purpose is to provide decision-makers with key information on trends towards or away from a Sustainable City. In doing so, the Report aims to ensure that decisions are based on accurate data and analysis and that environment is mainstreamed into City operations.