Agenda

1. Welcome.
2. Introduction: Background and objectives of ZIMP.
3. Framework for ZIMP.
4. Examples of existing initiatives;

• Rainfall

• Salinity

• Aquatic weeds

• Prawns

• Birds

5. Modus operandi: Co-ordinator’s network and gaps.
6. Reporting synthesis: the final goal.
7. Open discussion and expressions of interest.

Objectives of the Zandvlei Inventory & Monitoring Programme (ZIMP)

1. Develop a community-driven inventory and monitoring programme to assess trends in Zandvlei environmental conditions through time.
2. Support the aims of the City Council and Zandvlei Trust in terms of their objectives for the vlei.
3. Provide information to all stakeholders about trends in environmental conditions.
4. Raise awareness about the Zandvlei environment through greater community involvement including:
School participation
Resident involvement
Contributions to newsletter
Preparation of annual ZIMP report and meeting.
5. Assess efficacy and impact of management interventions (e.g. effect of biocontrol agents on aquatic weeds such as water hyacinth; lowering of the weir, opening of the mouth etc).
6. Act as an archive for information about the vlei.

Photos and summary of the initial meeting 21 November 2001.

We had about 30 members and interested people, at the Imperial Yacht Club to hear Prof Timm Hoffman and Prof John Bolton (both Zandvlei Trust members, John for many years) with Clifford Dorse,  introduce the agenda for the evening.

Geoff Bailey spoke briefly about recording rainfall data and its importance.  John spoke how salinity and aquatic weeds are good indicators of change in conditions. Elzette Krynauw spoke on her research, how the sand prawns are re-claiming the dredged mouth area of Zandvlei. Clifford spoke about birds and how they are good indicators of the changing environment. Brian Nicolson from CMC Catchment Management endorsed the initiative and supported the idea of ZIMP collecting information for and about the Zandvlei community.

The idea for ZIMP is to create informal, independant groups of people pooling their information under the 5 catagories;

• Social

• Information Management

• History

• Abiotic   (The water body of Zandvlei)

• Biotic     (Fauna and Flora)

The ZIMP Co-ordinating Committee (Timm, John, Clifford) will lay down the standards and guidelines of the  methods for collecting the data. This so that the data will be in a meaningful format and contain the relevent information. ZIMP will work closely with Scientific Services of the Cape Town City Council. The Zandvlei Nature Reserve office will be used as an archive and repository for the information, so that anyone needing to access documents, pictures, reports etc it may do so. The Zandvlei Trust web page will be used to publish some of this information.

Timm emphasised the point that anyone should get involved and record even the simplest observations while out walking or in your garden or hearing an anecdote. You do not have to be an expert or knowledgable about specific subjects. You may eventually become an expert. Training and guidence will be given if it is needed. The reason for establishing ZIMP is that there are many people with old photos, magazine or old newspaper articles, documents, experiences and the like which should be recorded for the community. When people leave the area they often take this information with them and subsequently some local history goes unrecorded.
Eventually when a sizable body of information is collected, people from different disiplines can collate and corroborate the information to establish trends. These trends will be useful for managing our environment, which you have helped establish with your contribution.

If you would like to join in, you may contact the following;

Timm Hoffman  021 788 8910
John Bolton      021 788 5758
Clifford Dorse    021 701 7542