Driving environmental sustainability

Cape Town’s biodiversity and ecosystem services play an important part in the city’s ecological, social and economic health. The City is committed to protecting, restoring and managing its natural areas to ensure their long-term sustainability and efficacy, and improve Cape Town’s resilience to climate change.

According to its 2022-2027 Integrated Development Plan, the City of Cape Town will prioritise the protection of its ecosystem services and biodiversity-sensitive areas to ensure their long-term sustainability and improve Cape Town’s resilience to climate change. The City will work to expand land under conservation and manage biodiversity effectively, which includes the removal of alien invasive species.

The City recognises the importance of maintaining Cape Town’s protected areas in a way that supports community access to nature as well as economic activity such as ecotourism. In this regard, it will work with organisations and other spheres of government to continually improve the national park, nature reserves and biodiversity assets in Cape Town.

Green infrastructure Green infrastructure can be cost-effective, enhance quality of life, and improve resilience to climate change. The City aims to identify ecosystem services provided by natural and green open spaces in Cape Town, with a focus on flood attenuation, water purification and infiltration, and coastal zone protection.

Green infrastructure also has the potential to replace or work alongside existing infrastructure to improve the quality of rivers, parks and open spaces. The City will look to strengthen the business case for increased investment in natural assets and green infrastructure, and will develop a pipeline of green infrastructure projects. Environmental health The City’s environmental health services are pivotal in ensuring a healthy environment and reducing exposure to substances and sources that may cause disease, particularly among the most vulnerable residents. Modernising the capabilities of the City’s environmental health function to target its efforts towards activities which are doing the most harm is a key priority. The City will also look to simplify and streamline environmental health compliance measures.

Healthy urban waterways Cape Town’s extensive waterway system requires continuous effort to maintain, particularly to prevent blockages that pose a flood risk, and to clear litter, illegal dumping and pollution. Making

Green infrastructure also has the potential to replace or work alongside existing infrastructure to improve the quality of rivers, parks and open spaces. The City will look to strengthen the business case for increased investment in natural assets and green infrastructure, and will develop a pipeline of green infrastructure projects

waterbodies, vleis and rivers cleaner, more resilient and more accessible to the public is a key City priority. The City of Cape Town plans to collaborate with external role players who have a shared interest in Cape Town’s waterways to make water quality data available and enable collective understanding and action around the health of the region’s waterways.

Water quality improvement The City recognises the serious problem of poor water quality in certain waterbodies, having identified the key causes to be illegal dumping and unsustainable waste management, which leads to sewer blockages and overflows. Prioritised pollution abatement plans for each catchment are intended to identify sources and causes of pollution and guide mitigating actions. The maintenance and upgrade of infrastructure such as the sewer network and pump stations are also to be prioritised to address pollution.

Waterway rehabilitation Waterway and vlei rehabilitation projects are set to deliver multiple benefits, including attenuating flood waters, improving water quality, enhancing recreation facilities, and providing new ecosystem services. Catching up on the significant backlog in waterway dredging and cleaning are key priorities for the City. Coastal programmes The area’s extensive coastline is one of Cape Town’s most important economic, social and environmental assets. The City plans to invest in the restoration and improvement of priority coastal infrastructure and ecological processes, with a focus on improving resilience to the impact of climate change.

Maintaining, managing and developing key coastal infrastructure is crucial to protect municipal and private property, ensure a high-quality coastal environment, and provide public access to the coastline. Coastal infrastructure includes existing seawalls (e.g. Sea Point), tidal pools, dune systems and walkways. The City has planned for various initiatives that are crucial to safeguard economic and recreational activity along the coastline.

Coastal and marine conservation City-led initiatives that drive coastal and marine conservation will see Cape Town’s unique coastal environment protected, contributing to national priorities such as the conservation of the African penguin. Activities will include reducing pollution and accidental sewage overflows, and improving waste management in coastal environments. Monitoring the coastal environment and conserving key coastal ecosystems will be a priority. In addition, the City will strive to sustain its Blue Flag beaches to support tourism-related economic and recreational activities.

Cape Town’s remarkable biodiversity

Cape Town lies within the Cape Floristic Kingdom, which is by some margin the smallest yet most diverse of our planet’s six floristic kingdoms. This is an area of extraordinarily high diversity and endemism (i.e. being native and restricted to an area) that is home to over 9 500 recorded plant species, of which over two-thirds are endemic. Much of this diversity is associated with the globally renowned fynbos biome, which is a Mediterranean-type, fire-prone shrubland. Fynbos biodiversity – based on harvests of fynbos products (e.g. wild flowers) and eco-tourism – has both economic and intrinsic biological value. As such, it is vital to protect this unique region and its endemic species.

Khabokedi Waste Management is a waste management company that specialises in waste collection, transportation, recycling and the management of landfill sites.

Turning waste into work

Established by waste management expert Sipho Makhasana in 2008, Khabokedi Waste Management was founded on the principle of becoming a leader within the waste management industry through the provision of sustainable and cutting-edge environmental solutions.

Beyond its commitment to driving sustainable development and promoting the green economy, the company takes pride in its human-centric operational approach. This is underpinned by the empowerment of its employees, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to deliver quality waste management solutions.

Khabokedi Waste Management currently employs over 250 permanent personnel, as well as 1 200 other workers, and has a fleet of waste management services operating in most provinces across South Africa. Industry recognition In late July 2022, the company was acknowledged for its efforts in the realm of employment generation at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s inaugural Black Industrialists and Exporters Conference. Sipho Makhasana accepted the Job Creation award on behalf of the company, which recognises companies operating in strategic sectors of the economy that have created massive jobs through the products or services they provide. This award aims to encourage South African companies to create jobs that require skills and innovation, while complying with the labour laws of South Africa and relevant international standards.

In accepting the award, which was copresented by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the night, Makhasana stated, “When I started Khabokedi Waste Management, I aimed to make people realise waste is a resource that can be used to address job shortages and reduce the impact on climate change.” He went on to dedicate his award to the company’s entire team, applauding everyone for their efforts in driving the delivery of waste management services without compromise.

Services Off the back of nearly 15 years of experience, Khabokedi Waste Management offers a number of services within its area of expertise. These include, but are not limited to, the following: • landfill site operations and management • transportation management and operations • landfill site rehabilitation • on-site waste management • landfill site construction • training and consulting • environmental project implementation • facilities cleaning • chipping.