THE Take Back Our River Project (TBOR) which is aimed at rehabilitating the rivers in each of the 17 catchments in the eThekwini Municipal area was officially launched on Monday, 17 October.
The initiative is a flagship project of the eThekwini Conservancies Forum that seeks to restore the condition of the rivers across the eThekwini Municipality, through a process of hands-on river assessments, rehabilitation interventions and various restoration strategies including clearing of invasive alien species and mobilising the communities.
This pilot project got off the ground in June 2016 and is scheduled to run until the end of March 2017.
“The approach that this initiative takes is partnership-based, practical and action orientated, with a particular focus on engaging communities from various economic backgrounds with the intention of encouraging these communities to take responsibility for the health of the stretch of river that they live on and/or use,” said Paolo Candotti, chairman of the Kloof Conservancy.
“One of TBOR’s sub-projects, the Aller River Pilot Project designed by the eThekwini Conservancies Forum (with the Kloof Conservancy as the implementing agency), recently received a generous grant of R 600 000 from the eThekwini Municipality, as part of its commitment to climate change mitigation and responsible natural resource management,” he said.
The launch was also attended by local councillors, Melanie Brauteseth (ward 18), Mfanah Qwabe (ward 21) and Jabu Dlamini (ward 92).
Qwabe applauded this project and said it is important to care of the rivers as they supply people and the wildlife with water, an important resource.
“It is up to us to take care of our river as we are the ones who pollute it in the first place. This project will also help the next generation to live a better life than us and there will be more wildlife as the birds are becoming fewer and other species are dying,” he said.
Qwabe added that this project will also help some people to have an income and put food on the table.
