City rolls up sleeves for World Wetlands Day

18 February 2025

For this year’s World Wetlands Day, the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews, staff from the City’s Biodiversity Management Branch and the City’s River Wardens rolled up their sleeves securing pathways and clearing up pollution and invasive vegetation within the surrounding area on the eastern shore of the Zeekoevlei section of False Bay Nature Reserve. The theme for World Wetlands Day 2025 is ‘Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future’.

‘Today I witnessed true environmental stewardship at the Zeekoevlei section of False Bay Nature Reserve. Together with our River Wardens we cleared weeds, opened pathways, put in latte to indicate the formal route to prevent eroding of the vegetation, picked up litter and removed invasive vegetation. We also officially unveiled the access point for Pelican Park residents,’ said Alderman Eddie Andrews.

False Bay Nature Reserve is surrounded by residential developments and hosts a wide range of communities. The reserve’s location in the heart of the city is a living example of our efforts to create a balanced approach for sustainable urban expansion. Cape Town is blessed with many naturally biodiverse spaces intertwined throughout the cityscape.

False Bay Nature Reserve was the first reserve within the City of Cape Town's boundaries to be designated a RAMSAR site, on World Wetlands Day, 2015. In order to achieve RAMSAR status, the wetland must meet nine specific criteria related to its ecological value, including its abundance of biodiversity, species rarity, and migratory capacity.

‘Wetlands are highly interconnected and biodiverse; they link mountains to oceans, span national borders, connect habitats, provide a safe haven and facilitate the species migration. Wetlands sequester carbon, filter fresh waterbodies and provide food to over 40% of plants and animals globally. In South Africa, the biological status of wetland ecosystem types is precarious, with 48% categorised as critically endangered. In addition to this, South Africa has already lost approximately 50% of wetland expanse to urban encroachment and pollution,’ added Alderman Andrews.

The City also honours the protection of wetlands for a common future through one of the Mayor’s priority projects, the River Warden Skills Development Programme, which is aimed at marginalised groups within low-income communities surrounding City nature reserves, to empower individuals with experience in conservation-based stewardship.

Captions: Alderman Eddie Andrews, staff from the City’s Biodiversity Management Branch and the City’s River Wardens rolled up their sleeves securing pathways and clearing up pollution and invasive vegetation within the surrounding area on the eastern shore of the Zeekoevlei section of False Bay Nature Reserve. This happened on 17 February 2025 in celebration of World Wetlands Day.

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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office