A cache in the Giba Gorge Environmental Precinct. (GGEP )
This is part of the GGEP series of caches we have placed. It will be a quick grab on your way to the next cache. Enjoy the peace, fresh air and the bird life as you walk through the gorge.
This cache is placed on the Ddabushe trail
Ndabushe Trail (meaning Caracal)
What are the consequences of not conserving?
If conservation management interventions are not undertaken in Giba and the current level of threats are allowed to continue unabated, many of us will witness (in our lifetimes), the almost complete transformation of these habitats. Due to a lack of management in recent years, the signs are already here, i.e. areas of forest highly infested with gums, camphors and ginger lilly, grasslands that have been encroached on by pioneer woody species and rivers that have been infilled with sediment from poor road maintenance practices.
Fortunately a large proportion of the GGEP is still in a natural or semi-natural state but the warnings are clear – ignore the situation and we will witness the rapid localized extinction of many plants and animal species that have existed here for hundreds of thousands of years.
While the consequences for plant and animal species are obvious, the consequences of not conserving these areas for humans are less obvious. Natural indigenous areas, such as Giba, are becoming increasingly rare in the urban centres of South Africa. As one of the few vestiges of our natural heritage in the outer west area of Durban, Giba offers landowners a unique sense of place. Advantages of living here include aesthetic appeal and spiritual well being. Imagine the consequences if the entire area was to be infested with gums! It would become just another degraded landscape! What would the impacts of this be on property values, for instance?
Pristine grasslands abut Winston Park
Gum-infested landscapes abound just downstream from Giba in the Umhlatuzana Valley
Evidence of encroaching alien gum trees under control in Giba
There are also consequences to less affluent communities downstream of Giba, such as those in Tshelimnyama that benefit from the ecosystem goods services that this area supplies. These include water filtration services, pollinators for their crops and soil formation processes – for a community that is more directly reliant on nature for its well being, these are essential services that come free of charge.