GARDEN ROUTE NEWS - Approaching winter fronts have the Garden Route on edge as fears of a repeat of the 2017 mega fire disaster looms as a clear and present danger, according to Cobus Meiring of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF).
"Regional environmental and disaster management agencies are in agreement that the 2017 conditions conducive to the worst fire disaster in South African history are again ready for the perfect storm," said Meiring in a media statement last week on Thursday 22 May.
"Despite best efforts and collaboration between landowners affected by the 2017 fire disaster, invasive alien plants (IAPs) have made a comeback on the Knysna as well as the 2018 Outeniqua burn scars providing more fuel for a wild fire than ever before.
"Not only is Knysna and surrounds again in the path of danger, but many other areas including George, Wilderness, Sedgefield and Great Brak."
The Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM), George Municipality the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association and many other entities involved with firefighting have ramped up their collective strength to deal with an increasing number of wild fires. Meiring says, however, but the core problem of invasive alien plants in the Southern Cape landscape remains.
Garden Route landowners in the urban edge are especially exposed as they can only do so much in terms of safeguarding their properties by creating defendable zones, cleaning their gutters and prepare escape routes.
All river systems, mountains and river corridors in the Garden Route are infested with high density IAP plant growth.
Landowners are not unaware of the danger invasive plants pose, but more often than not lack the resources to do anything meaningful about it. Still, fire- proofing the Garden Route is important. A collective effort is needed, says Meiring.
"Government efforts through the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) Working for Water Programme to eradicate IAP growth have collapsed as a result of a lack of funding, no further investment in bio-control and limited capacity to enforce legislation."
GREF will be focusing on climate change and Invasive alien plant implications at the Annual Climate Change and Environmental Indaba in partnership with Nelson Mandela University on 27 June.
"At stake is not only fire risk, but hard hitting drought is looming in coming years and loss of critical bio diversity is negative for the region’s appeal as a world class destination," said Meiring.
* The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) is a public platform for environmental managers and landowners, and a climate change think tank. (www.grefscli.co.za).
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