Rescuing Cape Town's Rare Renosterveld: SANParks' Climate-Smart Project on Table Mountain

By Prof Wendy Foden, Keaton Hatting and Dr Nicola Bredenkamp 

If you’ve driven past Groote Schuur Hospital lately and noticed those strange new rectangles on the slopes of Table Mountain, you might have wondered what they are. Landing pads for aliens? Outdoor yoga arenas? No, they are something far more exciting.

South African National Parks (SANParks) has launched a ground breaking climate-smart restoration project to revive Peninsula Shale Renosterveld, one of the most threatened and unique ecosystems in South Africa. With only around 5% of its original extent remaining globally, two small remnants persist within Table Mountain National Park (TMNP). Signal Hill is home to are markable array of species, including the endemic Table Mountain Pride butterfly and the threatened Silvertree.

In stark contrast, the Groote Schuur Estate, adjacent to Rhodes Memorial, has endured centuries of agricultural use, urban expansion, and invasive alien plants, leaving its renosterveld on the edge of collapse.

Restoring a Fragile Ecosystem

To reverse this decline, SANParks has launched an ambitious project to restore the Groote Schuur renosterveld. Over the past year, seeds and plant material from more than 80 indigenous species were collected and propagated in preparation for winter planting. Twenty large plots were cleared of invasive alien plants, tilled, and fenced to protect young plants from porcupines. In late July, more than 20 SANParks staff, contractors, and volunteers undertook the massive task of planting and sowing approximately 9,000 seedlings and 10kilograms of seeds. As the plots establish, the plants will produce their own seed, gradually spreading across the site and reinstating this rare vegetation type.

“We’re delighted to have begun restoring this site to its true biodiversity value and beauty,” said Keaton Hattingh, project coordinator. “Planting week was tough but hugely rewarding. We are especially grateful to our volunteers and to the experts from the SANParks Honorary Rangers, Fynbos LIFE, and NCC Environmental Services for their tireless efforts and wonderful camaraderie.”

Building Climate Resilience

The urgency of this work is amplified by climate change. Cape Town’s average temperature has already risen by 1.5°C, with projections showing further warming and drying. This means that parts of TMNP are becoming unsuitable for the species that originally thrived there.

To address this, SANParks is pioneering climate-smart restoration, an approach that anticipates future conditions by planting sensitive species in areas that are currently cooler, buffering against some of the anticipated change. The Groote Schuur slopes provide diverse microclimates, ranging from hot, north-facing aspects at low elevations to cooler, south-facing ones at higher elevations.

Species selected for restoration include both climate-resilient plants and those dependent on cooler conditions. Over the coming years, SANParks scientists will monitor seedling survival and growth to understand how different species respond to changing conditions.

Advancing Global Knowledge

“The Groote Schuur restoration project provides a unique research opportunity,” said Prof Wendy Foden, SANParks Specialist Climate Change Scientist and Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Climate Change Specialist Group. “By studying how species respond to different microclimates, we can identify which are most vulnerable to climate change and why. This will help SANParks improve restoration and conservation in a changing climate, while also offering valuable lessons for conservation efforts worldwide.”

Through this initiative, SANParks aims not only to restore a beloved Cape Town landmark to its natural beauty and biodiversity, but also to contribute to global understanding of how to restore ecosystems under climate change pressures.

International Collaboration

This restoration effort forms part of a three-year strategic exchange programme (2023–2026) between Table Mountain National Park and Réunion National Park. Supported by the French Development Agency (Agence Française deDéveloppement), the international partnership is designed to strengthen cooperation and ecosystem resilience in biodiversity hotspots. The project also contributes directly to the Table Mountain National Park Management Plan, advancing its goals of conserving threatened ecosystems and building resilience to climate change.

*Foden is a specialist scientist, Hatting, the AFD project coordinator and Bredenkamp is also a Scientist.