Cutting the trees to increase water resources

The catchment of the Amandel River, which feeds Theewaterskloof Dam from the north east, contains little other than water-hungry alien trees. Photo: Big Oak Adventures 

Cape Town will clear foreign/invasive species from catchment areas. The concept is contrary to the Israeli ecological "green" doctrine that deforestation and desertification reduce water availability. Here each tree has been catalogued and killing trees (including foreign, water consuming species like Eucaliptus) is a crime. I think our regulation is crazy.

"The Nature Conservancy study found that R372 million could fund a 30-year programme to clear invasive trees and prevent them from returning in the seven priority sub-catchments that supply three-quarters of Cape Town’s water. As well as being cheaper, this ‘green’ option would deliver more new water than each of the other options."