Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning
(a) What is the total number of hectares in CapeNature-managed reserves that have been affected by wildfires during the current 2025/26 fire season to date and (b) how does this compare with the same period in the 2024/25 season;
(2)
(a) what are the estimated costs associated with rehabilitation of the (i) natural habitat and (ii) infrastructure in fire-damaged areas;
(3)
(a) what specific response activities have been undertaken by CapeNature (including fire suppression, mitigation and community protection) and (b) how many personnel have been deployed in these operations;
(4)
(a) what collaborative efforts have been undertaken with (i) adjacent municipalities, (ii) SANParks and (iii) community responders to fight wildfires in CapeNature reserves and (b) what outcomes or challenges have been experienced through these partnerships?
(1) (a) 70 785 hectares burned on CapeNature-managed land as at 12 February 2026.
(b) 43 556 hectares burned on CapeNature-managed land in the 2024/25 financial year ending 31 March 2025.
(2) (a)
(i) CapeNature has not undertaken any rehabilitation/restoration of natural habitats following fires as yet. Specific restoration plans are being developed. Some day-to-day operational activities include erosion control and soil stabilisation and CapeNature actively undertakes alien plant clearing in priority areas, following fires. CapeNature undertakes post-fire and permanent protea plot monitoring to assess the recovery of natural habitats and determine thresholds of potential concern related to fire frequency and impacts on biodiversity.
(ii) CapeNature has not suffered infrastructure losses during the current fire season.
(3)
(a) Response activities included Large Scale Rapid Initial Attack (LASRIA), Extended attack on large multi-day fires, active and reactive fire suppression, proactive fire suppression in the form of backburning and counter firing, public liaison and stakeholder and partner interaction during large fires including sharing suppression costs. Multiple CapeNature staff served on the Incident Management Teams that managed the fires. Proactive removal of alien invasive plants to reduce fire fuel load and the creation and maintenance of fire breaks outside the fire season remain critical fire mitigation measures. These are activities that CapeNature is currently under-funded for, with applictaions made through the budget process annually.
(b)The number of personnel cannot be finalised at the time of drafting this response as fire reports are still being submitted. The figures for the Cederberg fire were 2 049 person days over the 15 day period. This included CapeNature teams as well as teams from Working on Fire, Volunteer Wildfire Services and District Municipality fire crews.
(4) (a)
(i) CapeNature has agreements with four of the five district municipalities (excluding Garden Route District Municipality) for integrated fire management in the province, and specifically ensures municipal support.
(ii) Where CapeNature manages areas bordering with SANParks, collaborative fire suppression activities are usually coordinated through incident command.
(iii) CapeNature has an agreement with Volunteer Wildfire Services, and all five Fire Protection Associations in the province. CapeNature also collaborated with Provincial Disaster Management. These collaborations are very well maintained, and the Incident Management Teams are comprised of all partners to get the maximum benefit from the agreements to contain the fire.
(b) Province-wide implementation of the Incident Command System, could be more effective, supported by a robust communication system. CapeNature has initiated agreements with municipalities to use their repeater systems for communication and the purchasing of digital radios to address "communication blind spots". The roll-out of the new digital radio network will be phased in, in alignment with earmarked funding from Provincial Treasury. One of CapeNature’s four landscape regions, the Central Landscape will be equipped by the end of this financial year.
