Urban Ecology in Cape Town: South African Comparisons and Reflections

Stefan J. Siebert,Sarel S. Cilliers

doi:10.5751/es-05146-170333

Abstract

Little urban ecological research has been done in South Africa. The papers in the Ecology and Society special feature Urban Ecological and Social-Ecological Research in the City of Cape Town make, therefore, an important contribution to the development of urban ecology locally and globally. Different approaches have been used in the study of urban ecology of different urban areas in South Africa. Cape Town is situated in a biodiversity hotspot and is the only South African city which includes a national park. As a result the urban ecological studies were mainly driven by urban nature conservation concerns. In other cities such as Durban, open space planning and environmental management were the major issues which focused ecological studies on urban areas whereas other studies of urban areas in the Eastern Cape and North-West provinces included private and public open spaces and man-made habitats. We reflect on the Cape Town studies in a South African context and highlight conservation of biodiversity, protection of ecosystem services, management of control measures, and the conflict between humans and nature. A brief synthesis has also been given of South African urban ecological research in general.

Highlights

The term “urban ecology” is not often used in South African scientific literature
Urban ecology has much to contribute towards the promotion of sensible development and monitoring of ecosystems, in a global biodiversity hotspot, and in the broader South African context
Despite the tangible environmental degradation around our cities, very little research is being done in urban environments, to identify these problems and to find solutions to solve them

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The term “urban ecology” is not often used in South African scientific literature. When used, it is usually not well defined and refers to various actions following different approaches. The two main focus areas identified from the Cape Town papers were conservation with focus on biodiversity and ecosystem services and management which includes papers on management of control measures and management of the human-nature divide (Table 1). Each of these main groups of papers will be discussed and compared with studies from the rest of South Africa. We acknowledge that there is a wealth of grey literature, including many unpublished reports, websites, and even newspaper coverage on different aspects of urban ecology in many South African urban areas

CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

CONCLUSIONS