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Garden Route Environmental Forum

24 February 2026 Media Release: Garden Route Conservation Powers Biodiversity and Economic Growth

Media Release: Garden Route Conservation Powers Biodiversity and Economic Growth

For Immediate Release
24 February 2026

Mandated conservation agencies in the Garden Route continue to prove that environmental protection and economic growth can advance together. Both South African National Parks (SANParks) and CapeNature are delivering on their mandates- conserving critical biodiversity while generating revenue and sustainable employment across the region.

According to Cobus Meiring of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF), a productive conservation sector is central to the stability of the Garden Route economy.

“Well-managed caravan parks, chalets and hospitality facilities within protected areas remain popular among domestic and international visitors. Safe trails, maintained infrastructure and efficient visitor services reinforce the Garden Route’s standing as a leading global tourism destination.”

The wider tourism industry including guest houses, hotels, restaurants and tour operators have largely recovered from the effects of COVID-19. Visitor numbers are improving in both coastal towns and inland centres, supporting jobs and small businesses throughout the Southern Cape.

Conservation benefits extend to interior mountain catchments, forests and fynbos landscapes that are vital for water security in a drought-prone region. These areas also support hiking, mountain biking, wildlife experiences and agri-tourism, broadening the region’s economic base while protecting strategic natural assets.

Marine and coastal environments further enhance the Garden Route’s international appeal. Healthy beaches, estuaries and marine ecosystems sustain whale watching, angling and boating activities. Protecting these systems is essential for maintaining ecological integrity and coastal livelihoods.

Urbanisation remains a growing pressure in this globally recognised biodiversity hotspot. Expanding and better managing the conservation footprint must remain a priority.

Biosphere Reserves, stewardship programmes and private conservation initiatives all play an important role in strengthening and enlarging protected areas.

Through continued collaboration between conservation authorities, municipalities, landowners and civil society, the Southern Cape can safeguard its natural heritage while reinforcing long-term economic resilience.

The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) serves as a public platform for landowners and environmental managers and operates as a climate change think
tank. (www.grefecsf.co.za<http://www.grefecsf.co.za>)

Photo: Gericke’ s Point by Roger de la Harpe

ENDS

9 February 2026 Media Release: The Environmental Cost of Human-Caused Fires

Media Release: Understanding the Environmental Cost of Anthropogenic Fires

9 February 2026

At the request of Cobus Meiring of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF), sustainability analyst Ryan Kaye comments on the environmental impact of recent and ongoing fires in the Southern Cape.

With the recent spate of runaway fires along the Garden Route echoing the devastating fires experienced in Los Angeles in 2025 it is important to reflect on their broader implications. Beyond the obvious financial, infrastructural and emotional toll, fires carry significant environmental costs that are often overlooked in public discourse.

Fire plays an important, and in the case of fynbos sometimes vital, role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. However, not all fires are beneficial. Fires that are started or intensified by human activity, known as anthropogenic fires almost always cause more environmental harm than good.

Naturally occurring fire cycles help prevent bush encroachment, open new habitats for pioneer species, recycle nutrients into the soil and enable the germination of certain fynbos plant species. These fires occur in relatively stable cycles shaped by fuel build-up, climatic conditions and ignition sources such as lightning. Local plant species have adapted to these rhythms, allowing enough time for vegetation recovery and seed banks to replenish between fires. Natural fires also burn at predictable intensities, sparing many mature plants and buried seeds.

Controlled burns carried out by conservation land managers mimic these natural cycles and play an important role in maintaining ecosystem health while reducing risk to infrastructure. Outside of these carefully planned interventions, most human-caused fires lack the safeguards inherent in natural systems.

Human ignitions far exceed lightning-caused fires, resulting in fires that occur too frequently and at inappropriate times of year. This disrupts plant recovery and depletes seed banks. The problem is intensified by invasive alien plant species along the Garden Route, which increase fuel loads and cause hotter, longer-burning fires that destroy both mature plants and seeds. Climate change, unsustainable land use and excessive water abstraction by alien vegetation further worsen these conditions.

Following fires, the loss of plant cover leads to soil erosion, weakening ecosystems and making them more vulnerable to invasion by alien species creating a destructive feedback loop. Wildlife is also affected. While many species are adapted to natural fire cycles, frequent, intense and fast-moving fires in fragmented landscapes reduce escape routes and increase animal mortality.

Reducing the ecological damage of anthropogenic fires requires proactive fire prevention, rapid response capacity and, critically, addressing underlying drivers such as invasive species, land-use practices, water management and climate change.

Ryan Kaye holds an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Restoration from the University of Antwerp and works as a Sustainability Analyst.
GREF is a public platform for environmental managers and landowners and serves a climate change think tank (grefecsf.co.za)

Issued on behalf of Ryan Kaye

28 January 2025 Media Release: Foot-and-Mouth Disease Poses Major Threat as Southern Cape Farmers Step Up Biosecurity

Media Release: Foot-and-Mouth Disease Poses Major Threat as Southern Cape Farmers Step Up Biosecurity

28 January 2025

The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) remains one of the most serious threats facing South African agriculture and the broader economy. Industry leaders argue that the scale of the current risk could have been significantly reduced if faster, more coordinated national response measures had been implemented earlier. While several parts of the country have reported cases of the highly contagious disease, the Southern Cape has to date remained free of confirmed infections. Despite this, cattle and dairy farmers across the region are taking proactive steps to protect their herds.

“Especially along the coastal plateau there are vast numbers of cattle in the Garden Route, and agriculture is a cornerstone of the regional economy,” says GREF convener Cobus Meiring.

“The absence of cases here does not mean we must relax. On the contrary, it means prevention is absolutely critical.”

Farmers are currently implementing a range of biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of it rapidly spreading through the Garden Route. These include restricting farm access, disinfecting vehicles and equipment, limiting the movement of livestock, and closely monitoring animals for early signs of infection. Many producers have also increased record-keeping around animal movements and are engaging more frequently with veterinarians.

One of the biggest concerns remains the movement of unmonitored or undocumented herds between regions. “Uncontrolled movement is always a major risk factor,” Meiring explains. “Even a single breach can have devastating consequences.”

While current efforts are widely supported, questions remain about whether more could be done. Improved enforcement of movement controls, faster information sharing between authorities and farmers, and greater consistency in biosecurity protocols across provinces have all been highlighted as areas needing attention.

“We can only prepare as best we can and ensure that all reasonable safety precautions are firmly in place,” says Meiring. “But this requires collective discipline.”

The plea from industry leaders is clear: all stakeholders, including commercial farmers and smallholders to transporters and regulators must strictly adhere to established protocols to prevent the spread of the disease.

The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) serves as a public platform for landowners and environmental managers and operates as a climate change think tank. In the context of FMD, the organisation is emphasising the importance of shared responsibility in safeguarding both food security and regional livelihoods.

1 December 2025 Media Release: GREF and NMU to Co-Host Sustainability Seminar in Gqeberha

GREF and NMU to Co-Host Sustainability Seminar in Gqeberha

For immediate release
1 December 2025

“The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) and Nelson Mandela University (NMU) will co-host the 2026 Sustainability Seminar at the NMU South Campus in Gqeberha. The event theme, “Building Partnerships for People, Land and Nature,” highlights the importance of collaboration in responding to environmental challenges affecting both the Garden Route and the Eastern Cape” says GREF convener Cobus Meiring.

Peter du Toit of Future iQ in Knysna will deliver the keynote presentation on “Empowering Better Climate Decisions through Science and Simulation.” His address will focus on how science-based planning and modelling can support effective climate adaptation and better long-term decision-making.

The Garden Route and Eastern Cape share extensive environmental connectivity well beyond formal boundaries. This includes marine and coastal systems, river catchments, estuaries and shared climate pressures. A major area of joint interest is the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve, stretching from George to the Van Stadens River and extending into the Klein Karoo. Alongside it, the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR), managed from Riversdale, forms the second biosphere reserve in the region. Together, these internationally recognised areas reinforce the need for cooperative landscape-level management.

GREF, Garden Route District Municipality and NMU have maintained a strategic working relationship for many years, strengthened further by the involvement of the NMU Faculty: Life, Earth, Environmental and Agricultural Sciences. This year’s seminar continues to build on that partnership by bringing academia, conservation authorities and practitioners into a shared space for learning and planning.

SANParks will also participate, with Dr Nomvuselelo (SANParks: Social Cohesion) providing insights into the future of conservation and new opportunities for inter-institutional collaboration. The Tsitsikamma National Park, which forms part of the Garden Route National Park, is a central ecological node within the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve and reflects the region’s interconnected environmental heritage.

The seminar takes place on Thursday, 4 December 2025, at NMU South Campus. It will also mark the official launch of the Eastern Cape Sustainability Forum (ECSF), which will serve as a sister platform to GREF and help strengthen cross-provincial cooperation.

For more information, contact louiselouisamare@gmail.com.

The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) is a public platform for environmental managers and practitioners and serves as a regional climate-change think-tank.
More information: www.grefecsf.org.za.

12 November 2025 Media Release: GREF: Western Cape Nature Reserves Offer a Safe Haven for Biodiversity and Holiday Visitors

Media Release: GREF: Western Cape Nature Reserves Offer a Safe Haven for Biodiversity and Holiday Visitors

For immediate release
12 November 2025

As the holiday season approaches, the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) highlights the importance of the Western Cape’s nature reserves, which continues to stand out as a beacon of conservation excellence and effective environmental management in South Africa.

A recent report by the EMS Foundation (NGO) on 53 provincial nature reserves across South Africa paints a grim national picture: widespread decay, biodiversity loss, and crumbling infrastructure threaten the future of many protected areas. The Western Cape, through CapeNature, remains a rare exception. Its network of reserves, spanning marine, coastal, and estuarine ecosystems is renowned for strong management, skilled personnel, and innovative conservation practices.

Partnerships with SANParks and private landowners and conservancies further extend the province’s conservation footprint, while collaboration with local authorities ensures a coordinated approach to protecting fragile ecosystems. In addition, private reserves and conservancies, driven by passionate environmental custodians, contribute invaluable expertise, resources, and on-the-ground stewardship to safeguard biodiversity and habitats that are increasingly rare.

“Our quality of life depends on how we manage what remains of the Western Cape’s biodiversity and unique ecosystems,” says Cobus Meiring, GREF Convener. “Through responsible stewardship, public–private partnerships, and community engagement, these reserves continue to thrive — providing safe havens for wildlife and natural beauty for all to enjoy.”

Holidaymakers visiting the Western Cape this season can look forward to exploring well-managed, secure, and scenic reserves, from coastal pathways to pristine fynbos landscapes and vibrant estuaries. GREF encourages visitors to respect these special places: leave no trace, avoid littering, and follow reserve guidelines to ensure that every footprint remains clean.

GREF applauds CapeNature, private reserve managers, and the province’s conservancy networks for their tireless efforts to protect biodiversity. These reserves are more than tourist attractions — they are essential to the ecological health of the Western Cape and the protection of its natural legacy for future generations.

By working together, authorities, landowners, and visitors can ensure that the Western Cape remains a model of conservation excellence in South Africa — protecting biodiversity while offering unforgettable holiday experiences.

The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) is a regional platform for environmental managers and conservation entities, serving as a climate change think tank.

For more information, visit: www.grefecsf.co.za

Issued by:
Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF)
Enquiries: cobus@naturalbridge.co.za

ENDS

11 November 2025 Media Release: GREF: Western Cape Nature Reserves Offer a Safe Haven for Biodiversity and Holiday Visitors

Media Release: GREF: Western Cape Nature Reserves Offer a Safe Haven for Biodiversity and Holiday Visitors

For immediate release
11 November 2025

As the holiday season approaches, the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) highlights the importance of the Western Cape’s nature reserves, which continue to stand out as a beacon of conservation excellence and effective environmental management in South Africa.

A recent report by the EMS Foundation (NGO) on 53 provincial nature reserves across South Africa paints a grim national picture: widespread decay, biodiversity loss, and crumbling infrastructure threaten the future of many protected areas. The Western Cape, through CapeNature, remains a rare exception. Its network of reserves, spanning marine, coastal, and estuarine ecosystems is renowned for strong management, skilled personnel, and innovative conservation practices.

Partnerships with SANParks and private landowners and conservancies further extend the province’s conservation footprint, while collaboration with local authorities ensures a coordinated approach to protecting fragile ecosystems. In addition, private reserves and conservancies, driven by passionate environmental custodians, contribute invaluable expertise, resources, and on-the-ground stewardship to safeguard biodiversity and habitats that are increasingly rare.

“Our quality of life depends on how we manage what remains of the Western Cape’s biodiversity and unique ecosystems,” says Cobus Meiring, GREF Convener. “Through responsible stewardship, public–private partnerships, and community engagement, these reserves continue to thrive — providing safe havens for wildlife and natural beauty for all to enjoy.”

Holidaymakers visiting the Western Cape this season can look forward to exploring well-managed, secure, and scenic reserves, from coastal pathways to pristine fynbos landscapes and vibrant estuaries. GREF encourages visitors to respect these special places: leave no trace, avoid littering, and follow reserve guidelines to ensure that every footprint remains clean.

GREF applauds CapeNature, private reserve managers, and the province’s conservancy networks for their tireless efforts to protect biodiversity. These reserves are more than tourist attractions — they are essential to the ecological health of the Western Cape and the protection of its natural legacy for future generations.

By working together, authorities, landowners, and visitors can ensure that the Western Cape remains a model of conservation excellence in South Africa — protecting biodiversity while offering unforgettable holiday experiences.

The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) is a regional platform for environmental managers and conservation entities, serving as a climate change think tank.

For more information, visit: www.grefecsf.co.za

Issued by:
Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF)
Enquiries: cobus@naturalbridge.co.za

ENDS

28 August 2025 Media Release: Groundbreaking initiative launched to combat high risk environmental threats in the Garden Route

Media Release: Groundbreaking initiative launched to combat high risk environmental threats in the Garden Route

28 August 2025

A first-of-its-kind platform to combat primarily Invasive Alien Plants (IAPs) in the Garden Route was launched today during an engagement, chaired by Paul Gerber from the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). Through this initiative, the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) also joined hands with the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) and key partners to address some of the region’s most urgent environmental and wildfire risks, bringing together government, conservation bodies, and local stakeholders.

The key obstacle to achieving high-impact and effective results remains the lack of funding, which was one of the issues that cut across the board.

Cobus Meiring from GREF, said: “The drive to launch this platform is also rooted in past occurrences and helps prevent similar instances like the Knysna and Bitou wildfires of 2017 and the Outeniqua fires of 2018, where IAPs fuelled the intensity and spread of these disasters. Furthermore, rather than just sharing information, stakeholders involved in this platform will focus on executing tangible actions”.

“It is important to note that while post-fire rehabilitation has progressed, AIPs have re-emerged more aggressively, worsening the wildfire risk for the region and threatening the Garden Route’s biodiversity.”

The platform has set a bold interim vision: to reduce IAP coverage across the Garden Route by 30% by 2030. This will support biodiversity conservation, water security, and wildfire risk reduction.

“We cannot afford to lose further control of wildfires. IAPs are choking our rivers, threatening ecosystems, and putting lives, infrastructure, and local economies at risk. This platform is about coordinated action,” said Cobus.

According to Gerhard Otto, GRDM Head of Disaster Management, “We need to roll out block burning to achieve greater impact over the next two to three years. IAPs have already been flagged by the GRDM as one of the highest risks for the region and we need to focus on block-burning the highest risk areas.”

GRDM Fire Chief Deon Stoffels emphasised that, “fynbos fires are part of the natural cycle, but IAPs create unnaturally high fuel loads that make fires catastrophic.”

A Coordinated Effort for Risk Reduction

The multi-stakeholder Task Team includes DFFE, GRDM Disaster Management and Fire Services, local municipalities, CapeNature, SANParks, the Southern Cape Fire Protection Association, and several NGOs and research institutions.

Together, the team will:

  • Coordinate alien invasive plant management across administrative boundaries.
  • Strengthen fire management capacity through integrated planning and joint operations.
  • Support ecological rehabilitation in exit plantation areas (such as Buffelsnek, Bergplaas and Jonkersberg).
  • Explore leveraging technology like drone mapping, geo-referenced data, and machine learning for cost-effective clearing and monitoring.
  • Engage landowners and communities in coordinated clearance and fire mitigation efforts.

Stakeholders stressed that the funding challenge is immense. Clearing the IAPs between George and Nature’s Valley alone would cost R2.3 billion (2018 figures). This is far beyond individual landowners’ means. GRDM over the past few years submitted two multi-million rand funding applications of which none were approved; financial resources therefore remain limited.

Call-to-Action

The Task Team is open to consult with all stakeholders who play a role or is responsible for the management of IAPs, including private landowners. Participation is vital to ensure that IAP clearance takes place at an ecological and landscape level, not just in fragmented administrative blocks. More details about how to get involved will be communicated soon.

Next Steps

In the coming quarter, the sub-teams will be to “connect the dots” of what has been done so far, enforcement efforts, consolidate available funds and more.

ENDS

09 July 2025 Media Release: Climate experts agree that red lights are flashing

Media Release: Climate experts agree that red lights are flashing

For immediate release
09 July 2025

“Experts presenting at the 2025 GREF Climate Change Indaba in collaboration with Nelson Mandela University did not paint a rosy picture”, says Cobus Meiring of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF).

At this point in time scientific data used to monitor climate change indicate that the meeting of targets and time frames to avert global catastrophe are unlikely to be achieved.

Already South Africa is feeling the pain as fire, torrential rain and angry seas hammer coastal provinces with increasing regularity causing death and destruction.

What is reported in mainstream media does not always portray wider implications. One example is local rural roads and infrastructure which are repeatedly damaged and not rehabilitated given slow economic growth and capacity. In many places the damage caused by floods to access roads and infrastructure isolate rural communities from the outside world and negatively affect mobility, trade, service delivery, economic prosperity and rural productivity.

The take- home massage for South Africa is that the country will have to get its act together and do so very fast. There is simply no more room for wasting sparse resources,  counter- productive policies and tolerating predatory entities hampering vital maintenance, construction, service delivery and development.

The development of resilient infrastructure and responsible environmental management must be escalated from “nice to have” to essential. Fire, floods and drought are real and present dangers. The state of South African water quality, rivers and catchments is dire and deteriorating fast. These systems are vital not only for the sake of bio- diversity conservation, but for ensuring water security going forward.

All is not lost just yet and there are promising signs that the reaching of some climate tipping points might just be averted, but nothing can be left to chance in a fast changing natural world and failure to plan ahead will no doubt have severe implications.

Issued by:
The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) – a climate change and environmental management think- tank. 

Photo: Expert panel at GREF
Mr Peter du Toit, Dr Roy Marcus, Dr Anna Taylor, Mr Anton Cartwright, Dr Albert van Jaarsveld, Dr Bianca Curry

ENDS

22 May 2025 Media Release: Fire danger place Invasive Alien Plants in the spotlight

Media Release: Fire danger place Invasive Alien Plants in the spotlight

For immediate release
22 May 2025

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”, says 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.

Despite best efforts and collaboration between landowners affected by the 2017 fire disaster, Invasive Alien Plants (IAP’s) 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 – fighting has ramped up their collective strength to deal  with an increasingly number of wild fires, but the core problem remains: Invasive Alien Plants on the Southern Cape landscape.

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, and a collective effort u

Government efforts (e.g. The DFFE Working for Water Programme) to eradicate IAP growth has 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.

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).

ENDS

07 April 2025 Media Release: Garden Route coastline and estuaries protected as the Wild Coast falters

Media Release: Garden Route coastline and estuaries protected as the Wild Coast falters

For immediate release
07 April 2025

“Via the Garden Route Estuaries Forum and the Garden Route Marine and Coastal Committee (MCC) encompassing all layers of governmental authorities and mandated entities including SANParks, Cape Nature Conservation (CNC) and inclusive of all civil conservation bodies an effective monitoring system guarding the regional coastline and estuaries has been established, ” says Cobus Meiring of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) and MCC Chairperson.

The functioning of these Forums are vital in order to ensure and maintain a high level of oversight preventing invaluable natural infrastructure from further decline to the point where unique coastal habitats and eco- systems completely collapse and disappear.

In contrast a recent report by the Daily Maverick on the state of the Eastern Cape Wild Coast by esteemed South African environmental practitioners and investigative journalists reflect upon “Environmental Anarchy” destroying with what is no doubt one of Africa’s most precious and vulnerable coastlines. Unregulated sand mining, illegal land occupation, complete disregard for environmental legislation, corrupt traditional authorities, clearing of invaluable ancient dune forests, the destruction of wetlands as well as unbridled harvesting of all manner of marine life already impacts on the Eastern Cape Wild Coast’ s sustainability.

Until fairly recently the Garden Route boasted a much richer bio-diversity and interlinked marine and coastal habitats and eco- systems which today resemble but a fraction of what once thrived unbounded. Today the Garden Route is subjected to dense linear coastal development, commercial agriculture, mega invasive alien plant impact as well as exponential human influx with much more on the way as the Western Cape proves to be a must- see local and global destination.

The Southern Cape population prospers and continue to grow socio-economically as local market values rise along with increasing popularity from local and international tourism as the region is globally recognized as an iconic and safe destination.

The preservation of the Eastern Cape coastline should be elevated to a national priority, and it has to start with the collaboration of all governmental structures with the political will to ensure its preservation for future generations also facing challenges posed by a changing climate. The Wild Coast has the potential to be an easy match for the Western Cape environmental management success, but environmental lawlessness has to make way for responsible conservation, tourism, job creation and prosperity to follow.

The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) is a public platform for environmental managers and conservationists and a climate change think- tank. (www.grefscli.co.za).

ENDS