Restoring the banks of the Berg River

The first major joint project, entitled 'Planting natural vegetation along the Berg River," was implemented between 2016 and 2019 under the 'Partnership Projects for Sustainable Local Development (Nakopa)' funding programme. The project involved clearing non-native invasive tree species along a section of the Berg River. This 'alien clearing' is very important, because the non-native plants unbalance the natural ecosystem, as they require much more water. Especially in times of climate change, with drier summers, it is important to help stabilise the ecosystem by planting natural, site-appropriate plants that require far less water. After the non-native vegetation was cleared, a section of the riverbank and a small island were planted with seedlings of native species.

The work for this project was mainly carried out by the Cape Agency for Sustainable Integrated Development in Rural Areas (CASIDRA), a state-owned enterprise of the Western Cape Government, contracted by Drakenstein Municipality. For this purpose, people from disadvantaged communities were selected, trained and employed on a temporary basis.

It is important to mention that the content of the original project had to be changed due to the severe drought that affected the Western Cape region of South Africa between 2016 and 2017. The drought and the absolute ban on irrigation prevented the planting of trees and shrubs, as these require regular irrigation during the first few years. Instead of the originally planned planting of site-appropriate trees and shrubs along the riverbank, the focus was therefore placed on restoring the wetland and shore zone of the Berg River.

The project included the following activities:

• Job creation: Drakenstein Municipality initially contracted ten temporary workers in January 2017 to both clean up the adjacent arboretum, and remove aquatic plants that were not suitable for the site. As the project progressed, CASIDRA was then contracted in 2018 to manage the project. CASIDRA assembled a team of twelve workers for implementation between October 2018 and September 2019. CASIDRA ensured that the team was trained and had the necessary equipment to carry out the work.
• Removal of unsuitable plants (alien clearing) along the Berg River bank: The work team appointed by CASIDRA cleared all unsuitable trees along the bank of the Berg River in the southern part of the arboretum. The team also removed non-native aquatic plants in the northern and southern portions of the arboretum.
• Planting of native, site-appropriate plants along the riverbank: An area was selected for the ecological restoration of a shore zone at the arboretum. This area was identified by the Western Cape Government as having high potential for successful renaturation. In total, over 500 native plants, including trees and shrubs, were successfully introduced along the Berg River shoreline.
• Delegation trip: In April 2019 a four-member delegation from Neumarkt visited Drakenstein to inspect the Nakopa project area and discuss project formalities.

All in all, we can say that the Nakopa project was the first major project of the climate partnership between Neumarkt and Drakenstein, which was established in 2014. The joint implementation was a good learning experience, despite the difficult conditions created by the critical drought in 2016 and 2017.

In early 2021, Engagement Global approved a second Nakopa project that we had proposed. With the experience gained from the first project, we are now planning a more extensive renaturation of the Berg River – the 'lifeline of Drakenstein'. The context here is that climate change in the Western Cape is increasingly leading to periods of drought in the summer. One of the important approaches to counter this problem is the development of natural ecosystems, especially in river basins. The new feature of the second Nakopa project is that it includes private landowners along the Berg River, and harmonises private and public restoration activities.

The basis for the current and future cooperation between Neumarkt and Drakenstein is the 10-point-plan agreed in November 2019, which defined specific projects for the next few years. Despite the corona pandemic, or rather because of it, the current projects will be continued as far as possible in 2021. This is because it is now especially important to identify fresh prospects for the local people. Regular video conferences have become an established practice, and guarantee the ongoing dialogue and advancement of the joint project work. If everything stays on schedule, the 'Climate Park' in Drakenstein, which was realised through the FKKP support programme, will also be inaugurated in spring 2022. This will be another milestone in the sustainability partnership between Drakenstein and Neumarkt.