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Blaauwberg Nature Reserve gets Green Coast Status once more

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Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Green Coast Status for Blaauwberg Nature Reserve The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) has once again awarded Blaauwberg Nature Reserve Green Coast Status, making it the fifth time that the nature reserve has been given the prestigious status. The Green Coast Status complements the International Blue Flag programme as it allows municipalities to sustainably manage coastal sites outside of traditionally developed swimming beaches, explains the City of Cape Town. On Monday, 28 October 2024, WESSA, who is the national implementer for the Green Coast Programme, presented official Green Coast Status to the City’s Environmental Management Department during a special ceremony yesterday at the Two Oceans Aquarium. The City’s Environmental Management Department. Image: City of Cape Town What is Green Coast Status about? According to the City, Green Coast sites aim to protect at least one of three main coastal themes, namely: sensitive habitats, sensitive species and cultural heritage. And Blaauwberg Nature Reserve, meeting those themes, is situated in an area that includes 2 000 hectares of pristine coastal landscape, and inland koppies and flats. It’s also home to critically endangered vegetation. Alderman Eddie Andrews, the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment said they were proud that Blaauwberg Nature Reserve was a beacon for coastal conservation in Cape Town and South Africa. “This achievement comes as a result of the City’s Environmental Management Department and its implementing partner, the Friends of Blaauwberg Conservation Area sparing no effort in actively monitoring; maintaining and ensuring the accessibility of this coastline, while providing opportunities for environmental education; sustainable tourism and the empowerment of local communities.” Alderman Andrews said. “It is an amazing honour to receive this achievement for the fifth time this year. We want to thank WESSA for recognising the hard work, effort and passion of people in our Environmental Management Department and the Friends of Blaauwberg Conservation Area.” he added. The post Blaauwberg Nature Reserve gets Green Coast Status once more appeared first on SA People.

Blaauwberg Nature Reserve has once again received Green Coast Status from WESSA, now for the fifth time since 2018. The post Blaauwberg Nature Reserve gets Green Coast Status once more appeared first on SA People.

Green Coast Status for Blaauwberg Nature Reserve

The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) has once again awarded Blaauwberg Nature Reserve Green Coast Status, making it the fifth time that the nature reserve has been given the prestigious status.

The Green Coast Status complements the International Blue Flag programme as it allows municipalities to sustainably manage coastal sites outside of traditionally developed swimming beaches, explains the City of Cape Town.

On Monday, 28 October 2024, WESSA, who is the national implementer for the Green Coast Programme, presented official Green Coast Status to the City’s Environmental Management Department during a special ceremony yesterday at the Two Oceans Aquarium.

blaauwberg nature reserve
The City’s Environmental Management Department. Image: City of Cape Town

What is Green Coast Status about?

According to the City, Green Coast sites aim to protect at least one of three main coastal themes, namely: sensitive habitats, sensitive species and cultural heritage.

And Blaauwberg Nature Reserve, meeting those themes, is situated in an area that includes 2 000 hectares of pristine coastal landscape, and inland koppies and flats. It’s also home to critically endangered vegetation.

Alderman Eddie Andrews, the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment said they were proud that Blaauwberg Nature Reserve was a beacon for coastal conservation in Cape Town and South Africa.

“This achievement comes as a result of the City’s Environmental Management Department and its implementing partner, the Friends of Blaauwberg Conservation Area sparing no effort in actively monitoring; maintaining and ensuring the accessibility of this coastline, while providing opportunities for environmental education; sustainable tourism and the empowerment of local communities.” Alderman Andrews said.

“It is an amazing honour to receive this achievement for the fifth time this year. We want to thank WESSA for recognising the hard work, effort and passion of people in our Environmental Management Department and the Friends of Blaauwberg Conservation Area.” he added.

The post Blaauwberg Nature Reserve gets Green Coast Status once more appeared first on SA People.

Read the full story here.
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Tiny, solid windows in the shells of heart cockles let in light for the photosynthetic algae inside them – and they could show us how to make better fibre-optic cables

Heart cockles come in many colours and host photosynthetic algae inside their shellsDakota McCoy A heart-shaped mollusc has evolved tiny windows that work like fibre-optic cables, the first known example in nature. Heart cockles (Corculum cardissa) are bivalve molluscs a bit like clams that have a symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic algae that live inside them. The algae have a safe home, get light to photosynthesise and provide nutrients for their hosts. Unlike other bivalves, heart cockles don’t open their shells up wide, yet they somehow funnel light to their interior even while staying shut. Now, Dakota McCoy at the University of Chicago and her colleagues have found that there are transparent calcium carbonate crystal structures in the heart cockle shells that function like fibre-optic bundles, letting light inside to bathe the algae. “If you don’t have to open and can just have a transparent window, that’s a very safe way to irradiate your algae,” says McCoy. The researchers examined fragments of different heart cockle shells and the transparent structures within them, as well as the intensity and colour of light that gets through. They found that the windows were made from long, thin fibres of a mineral called aragonite – a form of calcium carbonate – which lets twice as much of the photosynthetically useful light through as it does harmful ultraviolet light. “We put on sunblock because UV causes mutations and cancer. The heart cockles are using these windows as a sunblock,” says McCoy. Heart cockle shells illuminated from within to show the transparent windows in their shells, which can be little triangles (left) or stripes (right)Dakota McCoy While the aragonite threads look similar to manufactured fibre optics, they lack a protective, insulating sheath, called cladding, yet transmit light just as effectively. This could serve as an inspiration for cladding-free fibre-optic cables, which would be cheaper to manufacture. The natural, UV-blocking properties of the shells could also be used to help protect corals, which, like the cockles, host photosynthetic algae inside them, but are more susceptible to environmental stresses like light and heat, says McCoy.

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As Australia privatises nature repair, the cheapest approach won’t save our threatened species

Australia’s carbon credit scheme largely fails to protect threatened species, despite assumptions to the contrary. The findings provide cautionary lessons for the nature repair scheme.

ShutterstockAustralia is a world-leader in species extinction and environmental decline. So great is the problem, the federal government now wants to harness money from the private sector to pay for nature repair. Under the government’s new “nature repair market”, those who run projects to restore and protect the environment are rewarded with biodiversity credits. These credits can be sold to private buyers, such as corporations wanting to meet environmental goals. The nature repair market is similar in many ways to Ausralia’s existing carbon credit scheme. So, examining the extent to which carbon projects actually protect biodiversity is important as the government sets up the nature repair market. This was the focus of our new research. Alarmingly, we found Australia’s carbon credit scheme largely fails to protect threatened species, despite assumptions to the contrary. The findings provide cautionary lessons for the nature repair scheme. Spotlight on the carbon credit scheme Australia’s carbon credit scheme encourages activities that reduce carbon. They include planting trees, reducing animal grazing on vegetation, or retaining vegetation instead of cutting it down. Project proponents earn credits for carbon reduction, which can then be sold on a carbon market. The scheme also purports to offer “non-carbon” benefits. These include increasing biodiversity and expanding habitats for native species. Indeed, biodiversity conservation has underpinned the carbon credit scheme since it began in 2011. But does the carbon scheme actually benefit biodiversity? To answer this question, we overlaid the locations of carbon-reduction projects with the locations of habitat for threatened plants and animals species. We then scored the level of degradation of each habitat, and identified the processes imperilling the threatened species. So what did we find? Threatened species most in need of habitat restoration are the least likely to have their habitat restored under the carbon credit scheme. Projects under the scheme are primarily located in arid parts of Australia not suitable for growing crops – mostly vast cattle grazing leases. Carbon projects here involve inexpensive activities such as removing some cattle or managing weeds. These areas support habitat for only 6% of Australia’s threatened species. In other words, vegetation loss here generally doesn’t threaten species’ survival. In contrast, just 20% of carbon projects take place on productive agricultural land which supports nearly half of Australia’s threatened species. In these areas, property values are high and landholders can earn good money from farming. That means carbon-reduction projects are often less financially attractive than other land uses, so their number and size is limited. So what’s the upshot? 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Negotiations Stall Over Some Crucial Issues on Final Day of UN Biodiversity Summit in Colombia

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Cape nature reserve granted Green Coast Status

At a special ceremony, WESSA awarded Green Coast Status to Blaauwberg Nature Reserve for the fifth time this year. The post Cape nature reserve granted Green Coast Status appeared first on SA People.

Cape Town’s Blaauwberg Nature Reserve has been again awarded Green Coast Status this year. Markedly, it is the fifth time that the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) has awarded this nature reserve this prestigious status. The award recognises the work that those involved are doing in protecting the environment. About Green Coast Status WESSA, founder of the programme, presented official Green Coast Status to the Blaauwberg Nature Reserve at a special ceremony. The event was held at the Two Oceans Aquarium on 28 October 2024. The award is a recognition of the hard work and effort put in by the parties involved. These include individuals from the Environmental Management Department and the Friends of Blaauwberg Conservation Area. The Green Coast Awards recognise local conservation champions and towns for their effective environmental practices and support of nature-based tourism. As part of WESSA’s advocacy efforts, these awards also provide a platform for citizen science monitoring projects (such as water quality testing and biodiversity surveys), local community activism, and environmental education. These empower individuals to take action in protecting South Africa’s coastlines. About Blaauwberg Nature Reserve The Blaauwberg Nature Reserve in the Cape covers approximately 2 000 hectares of coastal terrain, including inland koppies and flats. It is home to critically endangered vegetation and has a seven-kilometre coastline. Markedly, the Blaauwberg Hill in the reserve is one of the rare spots in the world where you can view two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These are Table Mountain and Robben Island. Along this stretch of coastline, the Green Coast Zone promotes conservation, sustainable tourism and environmental education. Eddie Andrews, City of Cape Town’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, said that this achievement comes as a result of the City’s Environmental Management Department and its implementing partner, the Friends of Blaauwberg Conservation Area’s collective efforts. These include ‘actively monitoring, maintaining, and ensuring the accessibility of the coastline, while providing opportunities for environmental education, sustainable tourism, and the empowerment of local communities’, said Andrews. “Today we can proudly say that Blaauwberg Nature Reserve is a beacon for coastal conservation in Cape Town and South Africa. I am pleased that we have set the ‘Green’ bar.”Eddie Andrews. The post Cape nature reserve granted Green Coast Status appeared first on SA People.

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