All is not what it seems in picture-perfect Stellenbosch, where a government blitz inspection found large parts of its famous mountainsides invaded by alien vegetation.
Major culprits are the government itself, Stellenbosch municipality and CapeNature, which collectively control most of the town’s formerly pristine areas. More than 100 properties, including privately-owned farms, were targeted in October by teams from the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment (DFFE).
The inspection, by four teams from the environmental management inspectorate (EMI), was initiated three years ago by environmental watchdog Friends of Stellenbosch Mountain, which complained to former environment minister Barbara Creecy.
In the time it took the department to respond, the invasive species problem worsened due partly to inadequate control programmes and funds. “During the operation, the EMI found that most of the areas inspected in Stellenbosch municipality and CapeNature have invasive alien plants infestation,” the department confirmed.
“Stellenbosch municipality and CapeNature assured the EMIs that invasive species monitoring control and eradication plans will be amended to be compliant with the law. It was clear during our operation that work has been done on several sections of municipal nature areas. However, the spread of the invasion is far more extensive and needs urgent attention.”
Some well-known winelands properties and wine farms were inspected, according to a source familiar with the inspections.
Compliance is also complicated by land ownership issues, including in Jonkershoek, made up of a jigsaw puzzle of state and private landowners. “With no clear responsibility, the resulting vacuum has led to alien invasive growth and squatting,” said the source.
Alien vegetation is an environmental hazard with implications for biodiversity, water resources and wildfire management
The department's findings will remain under wraps pending finalisation of an inspection report. Other state-owned areas visited included Paradyskloof, Idas Valley, Papegaaiberg and the Hottentotsholland Nature Reserve.
Alien vegetation is an environmental hazard with implications for biodiversity, water resources and wildfire management. It is particularly concerning around Stellenbosch in light of the winelands’ World Heritage status which obliges landowners to protect the natural environment. Without stringent eradication measures the aliens spread quickly, and are difficult to remove. Troublesome species include pine, hakea, Port Jackson, black wattle, eucalyptus, blackwood and bugweed.
“Alien invasive plants constitute one of the biggest threats to nature areas, on a par with habitat destruction and climate change. Invasives also have a huge economic cost,” according to Friends of Stellenbosch Mountain (FSM).
FSM chair Prof Hans Eggers said the blitz was the first phase in a process designed to force landowners to comply with environmental obligations.
“For the moment, the DFFE operation is a scientific exercise, but the end result should be DFFE issuing some 'warnings' and 'directives' to various land owners, including Stellenbosch municipality. Those directives may take time, but they have teeth as they are directly mandated by the environmental legislation,” Eggers said.
“By far the biggest problem is underfunding. The municipality is rich but does not spend more than R3m per year on invasives, which is completely inadequate.” He said the challenge was magnified by a lack of capacity to respond at scale.
Stellenbosch municipality owns about 3,000ha of vacant land and must manage alien plants there, not on private land which falls under national and provincial authority, said municipal spokesperson Stuart Grobbelaar.
“To meet these obligations, the municipality created its first invasive alien plant (IAP) management plan in 2017 ... and reviewed [it] in 2022 with endorsement from the department of forestry, fisheries and the environment. Alien vegetation affects water catchments and ecosystem health, making its management a priority despite the significant resources required.”
Botanist and fynbos expert Brian du Preez said alien clearing could generate economic opportunities by licensing communities to cut wood for themselves. “What should be done is to incentivise these loggers to cut and kill trees, by removing the permit payment, providing them with training and herbicide to cut trees properly ... This would help the situation a lot,” Du Preez said.
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