AMATHOLE CATCHMENT FORUM MINUTES

AMATHOLE CATCHMENT FORUM MINUTES Date: 27/08/2015 Time: 10:00 – 14:00 Venue: Cata Community Hall/ Cata Lodge, Cata, Amathole, Eastern Cape, South Afr...
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AMATHOLE CATCHMENT FORUM MINUTES

Date: 27/08/2015 Time: 10:00 – 14:00 Venue: Cata Community Hall/ Cata Lodge, Cata, Amathole, Eastern Cape, South Africa Host/ Organiser: Christine Coppinger / Asiphe Sahula (EWT) Chairperson: Mkosana Kululwa (Department of Water & Sanitation) Translator: Mkosana Kululwa (Department of Water & Sanitation) Minute Keeper: Asiphe Sahula / Christine Coppinger (EWT) Opening Prayer: Mrs Jama (Head Woman) Purpose of the meeting: To identify further stakeholders for the Forum (especially from Cata/Mnyameni), discuss needs, strategy, vision and structure of the Forum and roles & responsibilities.

FIRST NAME

LAST NAME

ORGANIZATION

POSITION

EMAIL

Phumla

Mzazi

DEDEA

[email protected]

Bev

Geach

ECPTA

Senior Manager of Biodiversity Senior Conservation

[email protected]

Planner Scientific Services Shanè

ECPTA

Lindy

Wilson

Hunterstoun

Andrew

Hope

DEA - NRM

[email protected]

Wongama

Copiso

Tyume Valley Community

[email protected]

Cobus

Theron

The Endangered Wildlife Trust

Sarah

Frazee

Conservation South Africa

Nicky

Mcleod

Ben

Cooper

Environmental and Rural Solutions Amahlathi Municipality

Vathiswa

Zikishe

SANBI / Albany Museum

Fleur

Way-Jones

Grahamstown Residents Association

Julian

Gordon

Zoe

Brocklehurst

Charlie

Shackleton

Alan

Southwood

DEDEAT

Vincent Ralph

Clark

Rhodes Univesity

Helen

Barber-James

Albany Museum

Wildlands Conservation Trust Rhodes University

Hogsback Resident

[email protected]

African Crane Conservation Programme CEO

[email protected]

Manager

[email protected]

Senior Manager Community Services EC Coordinator for Red Listing and Species Assessment Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (CREW)

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Hogsback Resident

[email protected]

Planning Manager

[email protected]

Chair of Science in Land and Natural Resource Use Environmental Officer

[email protected]

Post doctoral fellow: Great Escarpment Biodiversity Programme Museum Natural Scientist

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Attendees: please refer to the attendance register Please refer to the following table of abbreviations for any abbreviations found in the text.

ABBREVIATIONS WMA CMF

CMA ACF AFC EWT STSP HCA

AFSCP WESSA GIB BRC WBT DAFF DWS PFM DEA-NRM WfW IA LUI

IDT AIP IAP SANBI IWR RU UFH ASPIRE

Water Management Area – currently 12 in the country. The majority of the Eastern Cape falls within the Umzimvubu – Tsitsikamma WMA Catchment Management Forum (can be an informal collection of stakeholders within a catchment that organize themselves into an official body with a common goal i.e. proper catchment/water management – a representative can be part of the CMA to communicate issues on the ground with decision makers) Catchment Management Agency (has an official mandate defined by the minister). Should be one CMA for each WMA. Amathole Catchment Forum Amathole Forestry Company Endangered Wildlife Trust Source to Sea The Healthy Catchment Alliance, a partnership of organizations (EWT, WESSA, Conservation South Africa and Environmental and Rural Solutions) working for healthy catchments in the Umzimvubu, Umzimkulu and the Amathole. The Amathole Freshwater Species Conservation Project of the EWT Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa Gamtoos Irrigation Board Border Rural Committe Wild Bird Trust Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries Department of Water and Sanitation Upper Tyume Participatory Forest Management Committee Department of Environmental Affairs – Natural Resource Management (i.e. alien plant clearing projects) Working for Water Programme (part of the DEA-NRM programme – government run implementing agent for the alien invasive plant clearing work) Implementing Agent for DEA-NRM, generally employed and managed directly by government Land User Incentive. Land users (could be conservation agencies, NGOs, private land owners living in a conservancy etc.) apply for and receive funding from DEANRM to implement alien plant clearing work. Independent Development Trust Alien invasive plant Interested and affected parties South African National Biodiversity Institute Institute for Water Research at Rhodes University Rhodes University University of Fort Hare Amathole Economic Development Agency

1. Introductions, introductory talk (ACF background) and introduction of invited speaker Christine explained the agenda for everyone highlighting areas in the agenda where we will have discussions and interactions with the members. Background on how the forum developed:  

    

EWT originally involved in endangered species work (Border barb, Eastern Cape Rocky, Amathole toad) In the process of developing a Natural Resource Management Project & identifying stakeholders involved in NRM work, need and gap for a more holistic stakeholder communication of catchment scale was identified EWT accepted role of initiating the Amathole Catchment Forum Two official meetings of the forum this far (Nov 2014, May 2015) Continual stakeholder identification and defining roles Formation of a strategy document for the forum – ongoing, draft phase Decision still needs to be made on the geographic extent

Each member introduced themselves (see register for details)

Christine explained the proposed area for the ACF •

Propose a 3 year, 5 year, 20 year plan of growth of the forum and growth of implementation areas. Use quaternary catchments to define areas of focus.



In the next 3 years/ immediately: R10F & R10G - Tyume Valley



Next 3 to 5 years: R10B & R10D – Cata, Mnyameni, Wolf, Amatele Rivers



Next 20 years: R10A, R10C, R10E, R10H – Alice Town, Ngobozana, Rabula, Gwiligwili Rivers

Kululwa-DWS gave an interpreted summary in the indigenous language (isiXhosa) She highlighted that we are very grateful that there are various stakeholders represented in this meeting from various sectors. We also have key leaders in the communities in the Cata area. These leaders are the gate keepers in the community and they are very important in the decision making processes in the community. She highlighted that the main reason for this meeting is to identify the needs or key issues that need to be addressed in the Cata area that can be included in the Amathole Catchment Forum. She gave a background of how the Amathole Forum developed as part of the Amathole Freshwater Conservation Project led by the Endangered Wildlife Trust-Source to Sea programme. The forum was developed under the need to integrate the natural resource management efforts or projects that already exist in the Amathole area.

2. Guest Speaker Talk: Phumeza Grootboom – Border Rural Committee, giving feedback on the Integrated Conservation Project in Northern Keiskammahoek Christine introduced the guest speaker for the forum Mr Phumeza Grootboom BRC is an NGO based in East Landon dealing with land reform and restitution, focusing on communal land rights and contested issues. They started working with the Cata community in 1998 on a Land Claim and it was accepted. They dealt with the betterment settlement and distributed the racial structure or nature of the movement. It was lodged in the Land Claim Community Court. A settlement was reached outside of court. 50% was set aside as a community fund. It was given to Amahlathi Municipality but they did not have the capacity so it was given to the Amathole District Municipality to administer. BRC played a role of facilitating the processed for development and they were elected as the project manager for the implementation of the development plan. A flood irrigation scheme is one of the projects that were identified. Other household gardens were also included and supported

later on. Forestry is also included in the plan, 400ha was set aside to plant pine trees from 2003 to the current period. There was a conversion of a wattle jungle in Upper Cata into a manageable wattle stand of about 90-92ha (funded by DEA –NRM). They suggested wattle to be used for generating a livelihood including providing firewood, building materials etc. The challenge now is that funds have run out and BRC have been in the process of looking for funds with no success yet. Tourism is part of this development project and includes Cata lodge (Chalets), homestays to accommodate tourists, horse trails, hiking trails, cape parrot viewing sites. The challenge is marketing the community development project since access is difficult due to poor roads. Attracting more tourists is a huge challenge at the moment. Cata Communal Property Association was established as part of the Communal Property Act. Infrastructure was also established as part of the restitution project. Many people had questions about the development fund saying that it was provided by the government. Issues are building capacity to manage the project, shortages of funds - a huge amount of the funding was also from other donars: Thina sinako funded by EU was one of them; partnerships from Sweden with collaborations from Swedish students for project planning and design. Recently a focus on the environment in the form of wattle eradication around the cata dam area, rehabilitation work by planting grass (DEA – NRM funded). It has been difficult to manage the projects. Some of the projects should have actually been developed into businesses but lack of capacity and business skills has been a short fall. But they have the potential to contribute to job creation. Mr Grootboom invited the members of the ACF to visit the area and support the various projects.

3. Review of minutes from last meeting May 2015 (Christine Coppinger) & feedback from participants on activities since last meeting Kululwa then reminded the members that we are also here to identify other key stakeholders that should be part of this forum.

Suggestions: Amathole District Municipality, Local Municipalities: Amahlathi/Nkonkobe, Department of Roads & Transport, Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism Agency (ECPTA), Small Business Enterprise, Science and Technology, Eastern Cape Water Caucus, COGTA, Local Councilors. In the strategy discussions we need to discuss how to keep key stakeholders represented in the meetings. Christine highlighted the main points that were discussed from the minutes of the meeting that was held in May 2015:    

Information session on Catchment Management Forums, Catchment Management Agencies Full representation of stakeholders not yet achieved, however all identified missing stakeholders included in all communications Issue of geographic extent of the Forum Need for clearer vision and mission of the Forum – this was workshopped at last meeting



What is the role of district & local municipalities – propose that they put feedback from communities to their decision makers

Feedback from the member on progress on various projects since we met Cape Parot Project: have been clearing since march at Hogsback and Zingcuka area. Bought the right equipment and had training Biosphere Reserve: there will be a meeting held soon and the ADM is meeting on the 17 of Sept to discuss this meeting WESSA is also a partner woth the EWT NRM project. The Lower CAta Primary is part of the ECO-Schools Programme. To include a water and environmental focus in the curriculum, they do activities in the kids and do workshops with the Teachers. Focusing on the concept of the Ecological Infrastucture. Mt Kawa explain the concept of the Ecological Infratucture. He explianed that there are also natural structures in the landscapes.Gamtoos Irrigation Board is working in the Upper Zingcuka area also has clearing sites, they had to restructure the work The mapping had to be redone to include these sites. Mr Grootboom mentioned that there is a wattle management project in Cata and DEA NRM provided funding for that work.

4. Information session on Catchment forums, their development and how they fit into Water Management at a local, provincial and national level (Asiphe Sahula, EWT - see attached presentation) CMFs & CMAs Concept of CMF – grounding of legislation, as a structure where does it belong, why CMF needs to exist Map of extent of the WMA within which the ACF falls – very big area of the WMA (Mzimvubu – Tsitsikamma) A proto CMA is currently in the process of being established as a CMA NWA 1998 addresses all the issues surrounding water resource management  

SA water resources must be protected and properly managed Human needs must be provided for: cooking, requirements for aquatic ecosystems

Water governance structures & tools:  

NWRS – provides tools and directions for implementation of water resource management on the ground, and provides guidelines for how to move towards to conserving resources WMA – originally 19 Water Management Areas now have been consolidated into 9

 



NWA – gives relevant authorities the power to manage water resources & catchments effectively Each WMA has to have a CMA and each CMA develops a CMS (strategy) – there is hierarchy and legislation that guides us in the development of CMFs and catchment management on the ground National – regional – local levels – need people like us on the ground to run and drive forward what the act says

CMFs            

Non-statutory body Brings together ppl with the same vision – to manage water Initated by DWS but sometimes also organisations working on the ground (like in this case) – differs depending on the area Works with skills and strengths of people living and working in the area Start from the ground – small building blocks fit into bigger agency (CMA) that has power to make decisions and influence legislation Institutional development is a key part of developing CMFs Focusing on collaborating, creating connections to contribute to the development of the CMF CMFs support water resource activities – feed into CMA/NWS CMFs give a platform and opportunity, make decisions towards a common vision CMFs have representatives from separate departments/ stakeholders – different strengths and capacity in different areas – platform gives opportunity to collaborate Need to have municipal levels represented – messages from community on the ground taken to the government level Improves/increases impact of the work we do in different projects

Need for Amathole Catchment Forum     

Need to interact with stakeholders doing great work but in silos Looking at opportunities to promote access to clean water, provide voice for stakeholders, existing forums combine into a wider net of people and network E.g. Wattle clearing happening throughout the catchment but improved communication is needed between these stakeholders EC CMA in the process of being established (proto CMA) – DWS using existing CMFs (water forums) as phase 1s of CMFs – ACF will feed into this process EWT (Asiphe), Rhodes (Margaret), DWS (Kululwa and colleagues) part of proto CMA process – what we’re doing is in line with the vision of CMA province as a whole

Proto – CMA functions   

Water use authorization Control & enforcement Institutional development – CMA involves participatory approach, we all represent those stakeholders as part of the ACF

5. Workshopping proposed structure/aims/roles & responsibilities within the ACF – logistics, action planning and a way forward Process of developing ACF ongoing Need to give the ACF a structure and eventually a constitution that defines roles and responsibilities Need to look into how to access funds certain activities & projects that can be developed by the ACF

Nomacile Nombewu & Kagiso Mangwale (ECPTA - Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency) joined us

Group Discussion Topics: 1. Geographic extent & timeframe of growth (15 min) 2. Identified needs & gaps that the Forum can address (15 min) 3.

Strategy, vision → plan of action to achieve these (15 min)

4. Roles and responsibilities → plan of action to fulfil these (15 min) 5. Full Group Discussion/Feedback (20 min)

Recap from May Workshop: Recap of Needs and Gaps (upper Keiskamma) •

Sustainable use of abundant water resources for the benefit of communities in the catchment



Providing a platform for stakeholder communication and collaboration



Voicing the needs and heeds of communities living in catchments who all have equal rights to clean water – opportunity for redress



Capacitating communities in catchments to influence decisions made about their water



Threats:

-

Acacia mearnsii (Australian wattle) infestation

-

Soil erosion (poor land/catchment management)

Recap of Vision & Mission from May workshopping Vision: •

efficient, effective, sustainable catchment management

Strategy: •

Effective communication



Comprehensive stakeholder list (industry, academic, government, communities)



Sharing experiences



Informative meetings – summary of progress



Stakeholder involvement in meetings – summary of progress

Recap of Roles & Responsibilities •

DWS: facilitate information dissemination NB on legislation



DAFF: support indigenous forest management



Community representatives: share information from Forum with their communities, bring catchment issues to the Forum



Municipalities: feedback into decision making & management



Civil society: help in addressing conservation and social issues

Group Discussion Feedback from current workshop session Group 4 feedback Geographical extent and timeframes 



Set up sub-forums e.g. Cata, Mnyameni etc (about 3 sub forums) to represent smaller geographic areas within the Amathole Catchment Forum area: The sub forums should guide discussions for needs and gaps for the main Amathole Catchment Forum. To go further for site specific needs identified. Identify champions in these various sub groups

Strategy  

Align the CMF strategy to the National Water Resource Strategy Strategy of sub forums to facilitate sustainable water management from grass roots level upwards

Vision  

Incorporate community needs (needs to be identified through community interactions) Could approach using Key pillars: ecological, political, socioeconomic for example

Roles and Responsibilities 



Each partner / member should share responsibilities. For e.g. within each member organisation, responsibilities e.g. for attending meetings, fulfilling activities/projects of the forum should be shared. These responsibilities could also be shared between organisations representing certain interest groups/ strategic pillars of the Forum. Each department/member should have a champion to ensure that other members from other departments are represented

Group 2 feedback Geographic Extent & timeframes  



No need to have many sub groups, one forum is enough. Issue of transport for community members from different regions to attend meetings: Catchment of Cata and Mnyameni (Lower and Upper) to Upper Gxulu; From Hogsback and KeiskammaHoek. Timeframe (3months) – months should be sufficient time, many years of implementation not necessary

Needs  

Agriculture, Forestry, WRM, Water conservation, Environmental Awareness, Indigenous plants knowledge and awareness Environmental awareness and education for communities, not just schools

Gaps 

Finance (Government Support), Transport, Research

Plan of action 

sustainability, commitment from stakeholders, support from each stakeholders

Roles and Responsibilities 

Stakeholders must come up with a plan of action and assess their own role they’d like to play in the Forum

Group 3 feedback – general issues 

Key stakeholder representation at each meeting, if a representation cannot make it they should send someone to represent them.

Geographic Extent 

Focus group in each community to feedback to the bigger catchment forum

Timeframe 

The Forum should have a bigger/longer timeframe than existing projects in the area

Needs       

Protecting biodiversity Environmental Education/awareness: create relevant awareness, easy to engage topics, indigenous plants Action from our discussions Capitalise on water resources from Binfild Dam, capacitating the community Setting up action groups (youth group), pro-active community involvement and reporting environmental issues Career development Community Officers or champions in the communities

Group 1 feedback Geographic extent   

Social structures (smaller subgroups) forming sub catchment forums Rotation of meetings in different areas What a CMF can actually do

Vision 

effective, efficient sustainable catchment management

Strategy  

emphasise effective communication from communities to the forum to CMA We need to get to the stage of formalising the structure of the forum so that it can continue beyond the involvement of the EWT driving the forum.

Recap/Consensus from Group Discussions 

   



Geographic extent: Majority felt subgroups within the overall ACF should be established. These could meet more often, determine needs of the various communities they represent to the ACF at quarterly ACF meetings. Subforum meetings should originally be held more frequently and representatives/ champions to feed back to whole ACF. Most felt that this would be the best way to ensure maximum representation regarding communities included in ACF, also avoiding problems of logistics such as transport for communities to attend ACF meetings – this may still be a problem for representatives of subforums to attend ACF meetings. Key representative stakeholders need to be motivated to attend meetings – champions within departments & organisation to ensure various related stakeholders attend meetings Vision/strategy of the Forum should align with that of the developing CMA and with NWA & IWRM in South Africa, as Asiphe (EWT) presented on. Strategies should also include effective communication between stakeholders using the platform of the ACF Need to cement the strategy/ constitution of the ACF to enable real action plans to be made (to move forward at the next meeting – please attend if you would like to be part of the development of the constitution/strategy development of the forum) Various needs were identified: awareness programmes for communities not just for learners; increased access to funds for projects within catchments; career development; setting up proactive action groups within communities (e.g. youth groups); water conservation; protecting biodiversity; developing livelihoods within catchment landscape

6. Closing & Thanks (Christine - EWT) 

Communicative Newsletter to be lead by EWT (Christine) – require 1pg articles from the members





Strategy document and way forward – being developed, propose the development of an ACF strategy committee to assist with this. Aim to have a draft document by the next meeting which can then be discussed and workshopped with ACF members Suggestion of a committee for strategy document development

Next meeting:    



Proposed date: 19 November Nikite Muller Amathole Water volunteered to chair the meeting We need volunteers for guest presentation for the next meeting Suggestion of the ACF to be represented at Eastern Cape Implementation Committee (ECIC) – linked to SANBI. “The ECIC is a co-operative governance partnership, through which participating agencies can co-ordinate their biodiversity management activities, and align their environmental, social and economic development goals with bioregional plans.” Invite SANparks to future ACF meetings as well