Construction World October 2015

About SRK Consulting SRK Consulting is a leader in natural resource and development solutions, providing independent technical advice and services through over 50 offices in 22 countries, on six continents. With an African presence in Angola and Cameroon, and practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, the global group employs more than 1 500 staff in a range of engineering, scientific, environmental and social disciplines.

Albany Thicket, Grassland and Lowland Fynbos within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

a representative proportion of functional ecosystems, and the associated goods and services they provide to the Municipality’s residents and visitors, and which therefore need to be kept in their natural state. “Examples of these features in NMBM include the lowland fynbos in the southern part of the metropolitan area,” said Stewart, “as well as river systems such as the Swartkops River and estuary, which is SA’s top temperate estuary for subsistence value and a vital nursery for fish stocks.” Having detailed these critical areas, the plan goes on to provide accompanying land-use guidelines for avoiding loss or degradation of natural habitat and good development practice at appropriate natural sites outside of the network of critical biodiversity areas. The NMBM’s bioregional plan will now be put to work in guiding reactive decisions on environmental impact assessment, agricultural land-use and development control. It will also be used in proactive forward planning – in integrated development plans, spatial development frameworks and zoning schemes – as well as conservation initiatives such as biodiversity stewardship and expanding protected areas. According to Stewart, SA is fortunate to have been part of a global focus on biodiversity conservation because the country is home to a number of ‘biodiversity hotspots’ as identified by environmental organisation Conservation International; these include the Succulent Karoo region, the Cape Floristic region and the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany region. ∞

Briony Liber, partner and environmental scientist, SRK Consulting (SA).

Warrick Stewart, principal environmental scientist, SRK Consulting SA.

Peter Shepherd, partner and principal hydrologist, SRK Consulting (SA).

The Swartkops Estuary is the top temperate estuary in terms of subsistence value in South Africa.

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