Residents, businesses and interested parties from baboon-affected areas wanting to attend any one of five online meetings, each focussed on sustainable proposals for baboon management in a specific suburb – have just under two weeks left to confirm their attendance.
Hosted by the City of Cape Town, the meetings will provide a platform to discuss a number of proposals aimed at initiating “a more sustainable programme for the management of the Chacma baboon population in the Cape Peninsula”.
These “initial proposals” stem from a roundtable discussion held at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden on Tuesday 7 June. Organised by South African National Parks (SANParks), Cape Nature and the City, the discussion brought the three state-entities together with interested and affected stakeholders for “an open but constructive conversation about sustainable solutions” to baboon management in Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) and the City of Cape Town.
The discussion followed reports in April that the City was set to abandon its urban baboon management programme in July next year.
However, at the discussion it was announced that a joint task team had been established, comprising of the three conservation and management authorities, to navigate the way forward.
In a media statement released last week, the City said that the outcome of the upcoming meetings would be presented to the joint task team, together with other key role players.
“The task team is responsible for the transition to a more sustainable baboon programme with the intention to have this in place, or in progress, by 30 June 2023. This is when the City’s three-year contract with NCC Environmental Services, who is currently managing the Urban Baboon Programme on the City’s behalf, is coming to an end,” the City said.
Eddie Andrews, the Deputy Mayor and Mayco member for spatial planning and environment, says the City proposes that under the new programme, communities will become directly involved in devising and implementing solutions that are suitable to their unique circumstances.
“Our intention is to facilitate, support, and guide local solutions for local challenges,” says Andrews.
Jenni Trethowan, founder of the non-government organisation (NGO) Baboon Matters, however, says the authorities should have first resolved the issue of their mandates and legal responsibilities prior to community engagements.
The NGO creates awareness for the plight of baboons living on the urban edge.
“It seems that we are putting the cart before the horse in expecting community groups to come up with solutions to resolve the long outstanding issues of management of the baboon-human interface,” says Trethowan.
Among the initial proposals that will be discussed during the online meetings is the installation of strategic and virtual fences “where the environment allows, with permission from SANParks and residents’ support”.
Trethowan says, whether electric, baboon-proof fences or virtual fences, the statement is that fences are dependent on support from SANParks and TMNP.
“Who pays for the fences? Is it a SANParks duty? Or must the residents pay? Who will maintain the fences?” she asks.
The establishment of Special Rating Areas (SRAs) in baboon-affected suburbs (“where the special rates can fund solutions to keep baboons out of the urban area”) is also listed as a proposal.
Trethowan says the notion of SRAs is interesting but she asks who will do the work needed to get communities to understand and buy into SRAs.
“It is also interesting to consider that since the City first started paying for the (Urban Baboon) programme, funds have been taken from the rate base, so residents have been paying for the programme all this time – with little to no say in how it should be run. But now they (residents) are expected to pay more each month for the project to continue.”
She adds that SRAs may be possible but not within the timelines suggested. “And not without a great deal of hard work from the City who would have to facilitate the process. Unless, once again, they are leaving the groundwork to ratepayers organisations and NGOs – all of whom are volunteers.”
Among the many other proposals on the table are the establishment of a grant-in-aid for a welfare organisation to respond to injured wild animals and wild animals in distress across the whole metro, and the development of a workplace and participative programme for the management of a sustainable population of baboons on the Cape Peninsula.
Participants in the online meetings will also be asked to work with SANParks and CapeNature on a Memorandum of Understanding to govern baboon management in the Cape Peninsula.
Andrews says the more people participate, the better the outcomes will be.
“The success of the new programme will rely on the support and active participation of affected communities and residents,’ he says.
The meetings will be hosted online on:
- Kommetjie: Tuesday, 16 August from 18:00 to 19:30.
- Scarborough: Wednesday, 17 August from 18:00 to 19:30.
- Constantia/Tokai: Tuesday, 23 August from 18:00 to 19:30.
- Da Gama: Wednesday, 24 August from 18:00 to 19:30.
- Simon’s Town: Tuesday, 30 August from 18:00 to 19:30.
- To RSVP and to indicate which meeting(s) you wish to attend, email WildCT@capetown.gov.za by Friday 12 August.
