Nipping alien flora in the bud

THE first phase of an invasive alien vegetation clearing and habitat restoration project, set to span across 600 hectares of coastal strips, rivers and wetlands in the greater Durban area, was recently rolled out in the eMdloti community.

The project, instigated by the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s (EWT) Threatened Amphibian Programme, was launched in February with the purpose of rehabilitating key habitats for the critically-endangered Pickersgill’s reed frog, said Angie Wilken, the EWT North Coast manager.

Working alongside the eThekwini Municipality’s Restoration Ecology Branch (Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department), Mount Moreland Conservancy, the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) as well as the local community, the project saw tons of alien invasive plants being culled and removed from the coastal village.

Terry Rens of the eMdloti Urban Improvement Project (UIP) said she was thrilled that the environmental restoration project also incorporated a poverty-alleviation programme.

“The project provides regular income and employment to 64 people within the Durban area, which means this project takes on several major issues within our communities,” she said. According to Wilken, the project will be completed in the space of three years.

“The next phases will involve filling in the areas where the alien plants were removed with indigenous flora and also to continually sweep over the areas to ensure that the alien vegetation does not return,” explained Rens.

Rens appealed to the community to refrain from illegally dumping in the protected areas, saying, “This is not something that we can tackle on our own. We need to work alongside the authorities to eradicate the aliens and to restore the greenbelts to their original state,” she said.

What’s more, the EWT also urged residents to begin eradicating invasive alien species from their properties to assist with the project.