Africa-Press – South-Africa. Cape Town – A project to rehabilitate and save the Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos vegetation along the Lourens River is set to provide short-term and long-term job opportunities.
The project by Vergelegen Wine Estate in Somerset West is set to launch to coincide with Biological Diversity Day, which is on Saturday.
Vergelegen risk and commercial manager Leslie Naidoo said the environmental endeavour intends to rehabilitate eroded watercourses, store and replant 15 000 indigenous plants, and save the Lourensford Alluvium Fynbos vegetation on the Lourens River.
“The project saved rehabilitated wetlands and halted sediment contamination of the Lourens River, which is the only river in South Africa where a section of adjoining land is a protected natural environment,” said the manager.
Naidoo said the project was started after extreme concern was expressed about the erosion exposed since the wildfire in January 2017, and the rehabilitation finally got under way in August last year.
“There was agreement after discussing with an environmental consultant, a specialist engineer and a wetland expert that without suitable interventions, there would be degradation resulting in escalating and irreversible ecological damage and huge financial costs.
“This project has been a major undertaking, but it has ensured that we were able to control the erosion that would have had an extremely damaging impact on the land, and allows us to contribute to the biodiversity of the Western Cape while increasing job opportunities,” said Naidoo.
The risk and commercial manager said the rescue of plants and the replanting took place over four months. A contract team of 15 – mostly women – from NCC Environmental Services was responsible for the task.
“The project also led to another 10 staff from a local contractor being kept busy for one month installing netting to secure silt in place, as well as the permanent appointment of a horticultural student who assisted the teams and is now part of the gardens upkeep team,” said Naidoo.
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Cape Argus
