Mike Leggatt, Wilderness:
It's difficult not to have a degree of cynicism when reflecting on the drive to 'win' publicity for Wilderness (and perhaps the area as a whole). Will the attention manifest in ways that reflect the intrinsic values of our area, or are we merely exploiting those values for financial gain?
Are we heading in the right direction and is the timing right, or is it time for a concerted intervention? Is there a tangible vision for a sustainable future, or is our future to be determined by the knock-on effects of ad-hoc development and illegal land usage? Do we need more publicity, or should we first ensure certain safeguards are properly enforced before continuing on the current trajectory?
The Garden Route has a growth rate that far exceeds the national average and for many residents the impacts are patently clear. High volumes of traffic are amplified by the slow pace of roadworks on the N2, which themselves have led to concerning visual degradation… the Kaaimans Pass now littered with unsightly rock-catchment fences.
In Wilderness itself, a place once synonymous with its name, the very trees and vegetation that define the village are being systematically removed, sometimes subtly and other times less so.
The past few years have seen significant landscape change and an onslaught of questionable development proposals as well as highly contentious building works and preparatory earthworks. Visual impacts have been disregarded and scale and density no longer reflect site awareness or an understanding of environmental sensitivities.
Notwithstanding the above, the George Municipality, having made it extremely difficult to obtain legal permissions, seems unable and/or unwilling to control illegal building activity and land usages and probably has very little chance of ever rectifying current patterns. Boundaries are being pushed in all directions.
Although strictly legislated, the (illegal) clearing of natural vegetation also seems to be beyond the control of the authorities, as does the rapid growth of alien vegetation and the biomass threats they pose for future fires. All along the verges of scenic routes leading to and from Wilderness Heights (Whites Road and the Seven Passes Road) the undergrowth is littered with household and garden refuse.
Unplanned and uncontrolled densification leads to complications across all sectors of society including the poor and marginalised, who are also at risk from reduced access to basic services and environmental resources.
Perhaps, before driving more publicity campaigns and attracting more attention to the area, we need to ensure that the authorities are better equipped to handle the current pressures, that legislation is enforced and that we, the public, take a more assertive and interactive role in protecting the fragile 'sense of place' from the effects of too much publicity.
