UCT Sustainability and the SDGs 2022 - Magazine - Page 34
SDG 15
LIFE ON LAND
Institutional initiatives
Reforesting the campus
In April 2021, a devastating 昀椀re tore through parts of UCT’s
upper campus, destroying buildings but also much of the
trees and vegetation that stabilised the slopes and served as
Africa’s rich terrestrial ecosystems, from fynbos to
forests and deserts, are vital for sustaining biodiversity,
supporting livelihoods and regulating the climate. Yet
these landscapes are increasingly under pressure from
urban expansion, deforestation, invasive species and
illegal wildlife trade.
a green lung for the campus. Though it left deep scars on the
We want to create a space for
open dialogue, allowing the
community to engage with each
other and the environment
without the constraints of
formal procedures.
landscape, particularly in the dam precinct and the adjoining
forest areas bordering Table Mountain National Park (TNP),
it also provided an opportunity for environmental restoration,
which included an appropriate tree-planting project.
In 2024, UCT kicked off a signi昀椀cant environmental
restoration project in the dam precinct. This is part of a
larger multi-year endeavour by UCT’s Properties & Services
(P&S) department to mitigate erosion and restore indigenous
biodiversity after the 昀椀res.
One of the most striking aspects of this greening project
is its focus on planting indigenous species, which have a
cultural signi昀椀cance and are better suited to the biome.
The project involves a careful plant selection process
to ensure that the replanting efforts are sustainable and
effective. The goal is not only to restore what was lost, but to
create a more resilient ecosystem that can withstand future
_ Dr Britta Rennkamp of UCT’s African
Tackling the illegal trade in SA’s rare
succulent plants
The world’s only hot arid biodiversity hotspot, South Africa’s
Succulent Karoo biome, is home to over 6 000 plant species
– around 40% of which are found nowhere else on Earth.
However, the illegal trade of these rare succulents, with more
than one million plants harvested since 2019, is putting the
biome’s integrity and local livelihoods at risk.
Researchers at UCT’s Faculty of Law, working with
Climate and Development Initiative.
colleagues at the University of Alabama, investigated the
ongoing projects to restore not only the the physical forest
supply chains and people involved in the global succulent
that was damaged by the 昀椀res in April 2021 but also the
trade, to identify solutions to how the trade could be
cultural and spiritual connections the UCT community shares
curtailed. They found the sale of succulent plants re昀氀ects
with the natural fauna and 昀氀ora.
deep inequalities in the sense that international traders
The script for the event did not follow the convention of a
and collectors pro昀椀t from the illegal trade. But people who
formal programme of proceedings and had numerous group
have traditionally used succulents in cultural and medicinal
discussions and solo re昀氀ections.
practices are largely excluded from these bene昀椀ts.
This event fell under the community of practice/social
The research highlights that neither militarised enforcement
responsiveness theme of Khusela Ikamva, which has a focus
nor blanket bans are effective. A better alternative would
on unlocking the knowledge of different communities to co-
include community-led cultivation, value-chain reforms and
create and develop ideas that change pathways towards
regulated legal markets that enable rural communities to
climate resilience.
bene昀椀t while protecting biodiversity.
environmental stresses.
Community engagement
Building community through nature renewal at UCT
As part of UCT’s Khusela Ikamva sustainable campus
initiative, several departments and units hosted an event
called Forest Conversations. This event is related to the
68 - Sustainability and the SDGs 2024
UCT-led research project 昀椀nds four distinct gira昀昀e species
In a ground-breaking research study published in 2024, a team of scientists, led by UCT researchers uncovered four
distinct species of Africa’s much-loved gentle giant: the giraffe, which is quite the opposite to the widely assumed
notion that just one specie exists. The collaboration included UCT’s Department of Biological Sciences and the
Giraffe Conservation Foundation working with colleagues from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, other European
universities, and many African government partners. This distinction was con昀椀rmed in an interdisciplinary research
study that analysed the skull morphology of giraffes. And with just 117 000 giraffes left in the African wild, these 昀椀ndings
demonstrate the importance of shining a spotlight on the silent extinction of these gentle giants.
Sustainability and the SDGs 2024 – 69
