News & Events

The Western Cape region faced quite a year in 2023, with extreme weather events leaving a lasting impact. Among the areas hit was the Botriver region in the Overberg. The river’s relentless force eroded its banks, wreaking havoc on infrastructure, croplands, riverbanks and triggering landslides along the hillsides. These natural events pose significant challenges for local communities, leaving landowners grappling with the aftermath and seeking assistance.

Conservation at Work in collaboration with CapeNature, Jobs 4 Carbon, Table Mountain Fund, Western Cape Department of Agriculture, Landcare, Rooiberg Breede River Conservancy, and VanWyksdorp Development Institute (VDI) hosted a successful Landowners Day investigating the practical implementation of erosion control measures in the field. The Jobs 4 Carbon project launched in 2014 and has a remarkable impact on the lives of the local community creating 60 jobs while restoring degraded veld in the Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve by planting spekboom, clearing alien invasive species and preventing soil erosion through ponding. A total of 312702 spekboom plants were planted between 2018-2023 as part of the restoration of degraded spekboom thicket.