Latest summaries of the potential impact of climate change in southern Africa indicate that it is now beyond reasonable doubt that people are responsible for climate change and that they should take responsibility and do something about it.
The outlook on the potential impact of climate change on the world’s plants, animals, oceans and their associated ecosystems, is dire, to say the least.
Already certain negative impacts on the frogs, birds, coral reefs, food security and commercially important fish stocks of not only the world, but locally as well have shifted their natural distribution ranges to cope with a changing climate. These summaries are alarming, yet they maintain a strong element of motivation that we should and can do something about it.
One of the loud alarm bells for South Africa and indeed the Western Cape is the indication that we may not have enough fresh water to drink in 20-30 years.
Fire management is key
CapeNature has been mapping fires in the fynbos for many years and calculated that over the past 14 years the region experienced around 1 139 veld fires, on an estimated 1.2 million ha of fynbos. Even though fynbos requires fire, the optimum frequency of fire needed is in intervals of 10 – 15 years.
CapeNature has been mapping fires in the fynbos for many years and calculated that over the past 14 years the region experienced around 1 139 veld fires, on an estimated 1.2 million ha of fynbos. Even though fynbos requires fire, the optimum frequency of fire needed is in intervals of 10 – 15 years.
Add to that the increased fuel load from invasive alien plants, and the result is that fires in the region are burning too hot and too frequently and is impacting on the production processes of fynbos, hampering the ecology of catchments and the associated ecological infrastructure for optimum water production.
During the last number of years, there has been an observed gradual shift in the typical onset of the typical winter rains in the southwest, and on average, there may be an almost two-month delay in the onset of winter rains, followed by concomitant “late” rains and even snow towards late spring/early summer.
This may have had an impact on the occurrence of fire in the dry season in the Western Cape and research has shown that the frequency and extent of fires across the region has increased significantly; and this could be linked to a warming and drying climate, with resulting droughts.
Following the substantially dry summer of 2015-16 with very little rain, reports from our CapeNature regional staff indicated that rivers, mountain streams, boreholes, springs and dams on nature reserves and neighboring farms had dried up. Our conservation managers have noticed that it has been hotter for longer periods, and the rain has been less even though there were more rainfall events.
During the last summer, some rivers feeding human settlements have run dry for the first time. Virtually all of our neighbors reported lower river and dam levels and severe water stress.
It follows that the inability of farmers to irrigate crops properly due to severe water shortage may have a significant negative impact on crop yields, which in turn may have a negative impact on job and food security, and employment.
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