Exploring dune plants with the Pondoland CREW

Thursday, 20/04/2017
Exploring dune plants with the Pondoland CREW 

The Mzamba Blue Flag Beach Stewards asked the Pondoland CREW team to help identify the plants in the working area, as the objective is to achieve the Blue Flag status by meeting certain criterions. The two main criterion that are important in this regard is Environmental management and Environmental information. The Mzamba Blue Flag Beach Stewards team, Phakamani Mfathu, Mxolisi Ngongoma and Wendy Bongwana,  together we put the CREW in the picture of what the project is trying to achieve. The Pondoland CREW team was asked to provide guidance on the plants in this area, from the perspective of identifying important indigenous plants, protecting the existing dune forest plants in the case of any construction, as well as removal of invasive alien plants. This will also help in environmental management of sensitive areas and also to display the plants on the information board in order to educate the community and beach visitors.

After the CREW was  given the background to the project, everyone set off at the Lagoon and headed northwards along the interface between the dunes and the dune forest.  This section is invaded by dense stands alien invasive plants with Lantana camara being one of them.

We also came across a number of dune specialists - Lablab purpureus, Carpobrotus dimidiatus and Ipomoea pes-caprae, Cynanchum amongst others.

Carpobrotus dimidiatus

Phakamani presenting information about the project to the CREW 

Aloa thraskii 

There was huge improvement on the condition of dune forest once we passed the access from the main resort complex to the beach, and there were far fewer invasive aliens present, there was only a couple of them being isolated. The CREW further advised that “it would be a good idea for the construction to focus on the area between the hotel access point and the  River mouth in the south, particularly as there are two existing structures in this area”. They also added that it will be an additional benefit if any reconstruction in this area is accompanied by efforts to rehabilitate the dune forest and remove the invasive alien plants.