ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS - The message emerging from recent environmental gatherings is clear: climate change is no longer a distant threat, but a reality demanding action, cooperation and a far greater sense of shared responsibility.
The recent Resilient Landscapes Forum, hosted at the Gourikwa Coastal Nature Reserve, followed closely on the Extreme Weather Reflection event hosted at Nelson Mandela University. Both gatherings brought together people who recognise that environmental resilience cannot be left to government alone.
The urgency of these discussions is reinforced by growing concern over increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and the potential influence of phenomena such as El Niño.
For the Southern Cape, predictions of changing weather patterns offer little room for complacency, with the region potentially facing prolonged droughts, destructive floods, wildfires, severe winds and increasingly challenging conditions for both people and the environment.
“Civil society has a vital role to play in environmental management,” says Cobus Meiring of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF), who attended the Resilient Landscapes Forum.
“Forums, conservancies and similar structures provide essential platforms where land managers, academics, communities and government can meet, share knowledge and collectively respond to environmental challenges.”
Meiring says government simply does not have the capacity to manage every environmental issue. The protection of natural systems therefore increasingly depends on responsible landowners and land managers taking ownership of the landscapes under their care.
The implications extend well beyond conservation. Agriculture remains a key driver of the regional economy, and farmers understand the potentially devastating consequences of prolonged drought. The water crisis experienced in Cape Town, which brought the city close to so-called Day Zero, demonstrated how quickly an environmental crisis can develop into a broader economic and social crisis.
For the Southern Cape, the stakes are particularly high. Its coastline, Klein Karoo, forests, rivers, lakes and extraordinary biodiversity are irreplaceable natural assets, but their long-term sustainability cannot be taken for granted.
The recent environmental gatherings highlighted the importance of preparing before disaster strikes, rather than relying solely on responses once an extreme weather event has occurred.
Ultimately, the resilience of the Southern Cape will depend not only on how effectively the region responds to the next drought, flood, wildfire or severe storm, but on how well communities, landowners, scientists, conservation bodies and government work together beforehand.
A better-cared-for environment, Meiring argues, remains fundamental to a safer economy, resilient communities and a higher quality of life for everyone.
The Garden Route Environmental Forum (Gref) is a public platform for environmental managers and a climate-change think tank.
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