Urban Nature

Cape Town, the capital city of the Western Cape, is famous for its cultural and natural diversity. It is home to more than three million people. They are descended from the first peoples of the Cape, as well as people from elsewhere in Africa, Europe, Asia and other parts of the world.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

A growing city

Today, Cape Town is growing rapidly as people continue to move to the city looking for work and a place to live. Urbanisation is fastest in the lowlands of the city, especially on the Cape Flats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is difficult for the city to provide for the needs of this growing population:
  • More than three million people live in the 2 500 square kilometres of the City of Cape Town.
  • At least 270 000 families are in need of formal housing.
  • More than half the people of Cape Town are younger than 26 years.
  • The overall unemployment rate in Cape Town is 20%, but in some parts of the Cape Flats it is over 50%.
  • The average HIV/AIDS infection rate in Cape Town is 10%, but in some parts of the Cape Flats it is greater than 35%.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Record-breaking biodiversity
  • The City of Cape Town lies at the heart of the Cape Floristic Region. It is home to more types of indigenous plants than any other city on Earth.
  • Development is putting urban nature under pressure. Cape Town is the city with the highest rates of extinction in the world.
  • Cape Town has:
    • More than 2 500 indigenous plant species: 160 are endemic and 150 are threatened with extinction
    • 250 bird species: 4 threatened with extinction
    • 49 reptile species: 3 threatened with extinction
    • 43 mammal species: 3 threatened with extinction
    • 30 fish species: 3 threatened with extinction
    • 18 amphibian species: 4 threatened with extinction

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why worry about the lowlands?
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) recommends that each country should conserve at least 10% of its land. About 20% of the Cape Floristic Region is conserved. This may seem like enough, but if you look closer you will see that most of the protected areas are in the mountains.

In the Cape Floristic Region:
About 95% of protected areas are in the mountains
50% of the mountains are conserved
BUT only 3% of the lowlands are conserved

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The situation is very similar in Cape Town. In 2004 the National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment (NSBA) compared how much Mountain Fynbos and lowland Sand Fynbos remains in the city. They found a big difference between the conservation of mountains and lowlands:
Mountain Fynbos:
Sand Fynbos:
  • 19% of the original Sand Fynbos remains; less than 1% is protected!
Most people don’t realise that the plants and animals that live on Table Mountain are not the same as the plants and animals that live in the lowlands of the City. If we want to prevent plants and animals from becoming extinct in Cape Town, we must conserve the City’s unique lowland habitats as well as the mountains.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conserving the lowlands
  • It is difficult to conserve the lowlands because it is much easier and cheaper to build on flat land than on steep mountain slopes. In Cape Town, the best soil is found in parts of the lowlands, so large areas were ploughed up for agriculture many years ago. Today in many parts of Cape Town, it is difficult to find any trace of the plants and animals that originally lived here.
  • The City of Cape Town and the Botanical Society of South Africa have identified a number of sites that must be conserved in order to prevent plants and animals from becoming extinct. Only a few of these sites are nature reserves. Many special plants and animals survive on road verges, under power lines, on racecourse properties and on the few remaining undeveloped open spaces in the city. For more information on conserving these sites, go to Module 6: Conserving Nature in the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People need nature and, in cities like Cape Town, nature needs people. The Nature Conservation Branch of the City of Cape Town is involved in exciting projects that are bringing people and nature together and making sure that both benefit. The City of Cape Town needs all of us to help conserve the “nature on our doorsteps”. As you work through these modules:

  • Read about what others are doing
  • Think about what you, your school and your community can do