Come Run With US!

Come run with us to support the incredible bio diversity of the Olifants River Estuary – the country’s second most important estuary listed as a Critical Biodiversity Area by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).

The Olifants River Mouth. Image by Sacha Specker.

PTWC is partnering with our friends from Run West for two trail runs in September 2023 covering distances of 21km and 10km. Book at https://runwest.co.za/shop/ for this once-in-a-lifetime trail run. All proceeds will be donated to protecting our beloved West Coast from greedy, destructive mining companies.

The Oliftants River Estuary lies 250 km north of Cape Town at the small fishing village town of Papendorp. Consider that 38 fish species from 30 families live in these waters. It is an Important Bird Area (IBA). Two hundred bird species occur here, 72 of them water birds and 21 long-distance migrants that arrive during summer when the bird population almost doubles, which puts the the average at close on 6 000 birds, of which 90% can be found within 9km of the mouth.

Come run with us!

Images by Sacha Specker.

Share the Post:

Related Posts

PTWC Special Report Part 4: The Problem with the Public Participation Process 

In the fourth part of our series of excerpts from the Protect the West Coast (PTWC) Special Report ‘The Tipping Point’, we unpack the Public Participation Process (PPP), which affects South African prospecting and mining applications. PPP is governed by the controversial 2014 One Environmental System (EOS), which is designed to fast-track all environmental authorisations into a single process. However, although it appears robust on paper, the PPP contains flaws that undermine its effectiveness, such as a lack of transparency, a lack of meaningful public involvement, and poorly researched or absent documentation.

Read More

PTWC announces plan to create Africa’s first World Surfing Reserve on the West Coast

A collaboration between Protect the West Coast (PTWC) and the community of Elands Bay to apply for World Surfing Reserve status was revealed last week at the Save The Waves Film Festival in Cape Town. The designation provides for the protection of the ‘surf ecosystem’ and the environment and community around it, with measures to ensure responsible development that safeguards marine biodiversity, subsistence fishing, indigenous culture and ecotourism. Included is the vitally important Ramsar-listed Velorenvlei Estuary that feeds into the ocean at the surf spot.

Read More