Suzie J’kul
The biodiversity that we are privileged to witness in the Noordhoek valley is not a given. It’s not secured and not protected. We go about our lives thinking that we live in such a beautiful part of the world but it is not safe, in fact some of these animals are on the brink of being added to the list of animals that have gone extinct.
We’ve seen beautiful photographs of the eagle owls on the common eating the platanna, the cobra eating the western leopard toad, the abundance of rich biodiversity is witnessed and admired by residents and visitors on a daily basis.
The reality is that the beauty of the biodiversity that surrounds us relies on a food web; at the base of this pyramid are the amphibians. When the amphibians are removed from the pyramid, the knock on effect of this pyramid is devastating.
Two crucial developments are on the brink of tipping the scales heavily towards extinction of the last wild breeding migratory routes of the western leopard toad in the world. The endangered western leopard toad is the flagship species for biodiversity. When the wlt goes extinct, the rest will follow over time.
1.) Should the 800+ car Generations school development on Silvermine Road go ahead, the influx of road traffic will give little to no hope of this endangered species surviving it’s migration on the Silvermine Road migratory route. The school proposal is set to be placed next to breeding ponds, in the core buffer zone, inner buffer zone and outer buffer zones of the western leopard toad’s migratory route. The Silvermine migratory route is the biggest hotspot for the western leopard toads in Noordhoek. The effects will be irreversible.
2.) Should the Houmoed Rd ext phase 1 go ahead, the influx of road traffic IN an endangered western leopard toad breeding pond and past two other WLT breeding ponds will have a catastrophic effect on the Milkwood park breeding migratory route and ponds that they actually breed in. This abundance of biodiversity has little to no chance of surviving this influx of road traffic and pollution that will follow this road.
The biodiversity in this valley is dependent on a food web, without the amphibians, it is not given that this web of life will be around in ten years time.
The life around us is not promised to us.
But we do get to make a promise to it, what promise are you going to make?
