Cape Floral Region Protected Areas

• Invasive species
• Fires
• Climate change
• Need to finalize a property-wide integrated management plan
• Strengthen governance arrangements to improve coordination
• Ensure adequate financial resources for the property’s management

On 17 January 2020 the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1007/documents/, and provides the following updates:

• The three management authorities of the property receive and generate sufficient funds to ensure the sustainable operation and management of the property;
• Management Plans for four out of the 13 clusters are complete, with the rest underway. As reported previously, the Integrated Management Plan (IMP) will be developed once all the individual Management Plans have been completed;
• The development of an Environmental Management Framework (EMF) has now been initiated and will be completed by 30 November 2020. The EMF will propose additional buffer zones around each cluster and will guide the future development of a Spatial Development Framework (SDF) which will cover strategic spatial planning and guide land use in the area. The Action Plan for the implementation of the EMF will be finalized by January 2021;
• Permanent housing has been identified for the members of the Imizamo Yethu community who were affected by fire and floods;
• National and provincial drought declarations for the Western Cape Province ended in June/July 2018 and water supplies have since improved significantly. The relevant Directive which would have allowed the city of Cape Town to drill emergency boreholes to alleviate the drought has therefore been withdrawn. In general, the management authorities take into consideration any potential impacts on the property in terms of how and where drilling takes place;
• On 19 June 2020, the State Party submitted to the World Heritage Centre, the EIAs of the proposed Interpretative Centre at the Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve component of the property. The EIAs have been sent to IUCN and are currently being reviewed.

On 3 September 2019, the World Heritage Centre transmitted third party information regarding concerns over the management of the Table Mountain National Park component of the property. The State Party, at the time of drafting this report, has not provided a response to the World Heritage Centre yet.

It is welcomed that sustainable financing arrangements are in place for the effective management of the property. This is a considerable achievement since 2015, when the Committee expressed concerns over longstanding shortfalls in financial resources. It is also appreciated that the State Party has cancelled the permission to drill boreholes as well as the assurances that impacts on World Heritage properties will be assessed in case of any potential borehole drilling. It is noted that the development of an EMF has started, which aims to strengthen the protection of the property.

The progress made towards developing Management Plans for the 13 clusters of the property is appreciated but the ongoing delay in completing all Plans, and hence the implication on the IMP development, is of concern. Recalling again the original request of the Committee to submit a property-wide management strategy by 1 December 2017, it is recommended that the Committee urge once again the State Party to expedite the processes to the greatest extent possible. It is also pointed out that the IMP should ensure a common management framework and objectives for the entire property in line with the defined Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) so it would seem important that this overall management framework is defined before the individual management plans are finalized.

The Committee’s last Decision pertaining to the housing needs of the communities affected by the fire outbreak was to ensure no development took place inside the property. It is therefore recommended that the Committee request the State Party to confirm that the permanent housing identified for the resettlement is outside of the property boundaries and that there will be no impacts on the OUV of the property.

Similarly, details on the proposed Interpretative Centre at one of the components of the property are currently limited. It is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to ensure the EIA is conducted in line with the IUCN World Heritage Advice Note and to submit a copy to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN before any decision is taken that may be difficult to reverse in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines.  The State Party reports that an EIA has been undertaken and was submitted to the World Heritage Centre as an Annex B of its report. However, this annex was not found in the annexes submitted. Therefore, it is important to request the State Party to submit the EIA conducted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN before any decision is taken that may be difficult to reverse in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines

On 18 April 2021, a fire broke out on the edge of Table Mountain National Park, one of the components of the property. According to media reports, the fire only affected a small part of the Park but the authorities are still assessing the extent of the damage.