Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis recently reintroduced the Cape Water Lily, known as the Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea, to the Rondevlei section of the False Bay Nature Reserve, which is a Ramsar site of wetland significance, Cape {town} Etc reports.
This served as the culmination of the Earthshot Week in Cape Town, that occurred last week.
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The lily was commonly observed in the lowland wetlands on the Cape Flats until the mid-1900s, where it has been currently been restored, according to a press statement issued by the City of Cape Town.
‘This lily is in many ways a symbol of the legacy Earthshot leaves in our city – giving recognition to local climate and conservation heroes and helping them scale their work so that it can make a big impact. We can now affectionately refer to it as the Earthshot Lily,’ said Hill-Lewis.
‘A site has been selected in False Bay Nature Reserve: Rondevlei section, which is managed by the Biodiversity Management Branch. Residents of Cape Town will be able to view the Cape Water Lily as they re-establish in our free-access nature reserve,’ Hill-Lewis added.
Hill-Lewis further stated that this forms part of the City’s ‘international obligations towards biodiversity conservation’ such as the Ramsar City Wetland, as well as being a role model city in the UN decade of ecosystem restoration.
‘The Cape Flats presents us with many showy flowers, such as numerous terrestrial orchids, Gladiolii, Heaths, etc. and the blue water lily, which makes such a show in the vleis (ponds) should certainly be seen when in season,’ said Councillor Alex Lansdowne, Deputy chairperson of the Advisory Committee: Water Quality in Wetlands, Waterways and the Coastal Environment.
‘This species became locally extinct on the Cape Flats due to the pressures of habitat loss, pollution, augmentation as well as historical harvesting for the cut flower trade. Restoring this culturally significant water lily to the Cape Flats is a symbol of our commitment to wetland conservation in Cape Town,’ Lansdowne added.
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Picture: Jaco Marais / Die Burger / Gallo Images
