The Cape Peninsula baboon management joint task team (JTT) has finalised a draft baboon strategic management plan for the sustainable management of the chacma baboon population on the Cape Peninsula.
The draft plan proposes a new sustainable approach with the three authorities, South African National Parks (SANParks), CapeNature and the City of Cape Town, leading and supporting the implementation of the plan.
In a media statement released by Cape Nature, the plan also proposes the involvement of other stakeholders and role-players, key among which are residents living in areas adjacent to the baboons’ natural habitat.
The draft plan is now available for public comment. Residents, interested and affected parties, and stakeholders are encouraged to submit their written comments by March 31 and attend a stakeholder meeting at Kirstenbosch on March 3.
The draft plan is the result of the collective effort of the joint task team, comprising representatives of SANParks, CapeNature and the City of Cape Town.
It is informed, among others, by research, international best practice and operational experience, as well as input from stakeholders at Minister Barbara Creecy’s round-table event at Kirstenbosch on June 7 last year, and the community engagements undertaken by the City of Cape Town in August and September last year.
Residents may click on the following links for the plan and comment form.
Dr Luthando Dziba, SANParks’s managing executive of conservation, said: “We are very excited to share the draft baboon strategic management plan with our stakeholders for public comment.
“We look forward to robust engagement on the baboon strategic management plan from our stakeholders. We hope the comments will help us improve the plan even further and ensure it represents the best options for people to live in harmony with nature,” said Dziba.
“With the draft plan now ready for public comment, CapeNature looks forward to receiving and considering with SANParks and the City of Cape Town inputs from other interested and affected parties towards the practical implementation of the plan and setting a new standard for human-wildlife conflict management in the urban-wildlife interface,” said Dr Ernst Baard, CapeNature’s executive director, conservation operations.
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