Public Meeting - 16 September 2025 - Aalwyndal Link: https://vimeo.com/1119669844?fl=pl&fe=sh
We strongly oppose the adoption of the proposed Strategic Biodiversity Offset Framework Plan.
MOSSEL BAY NEWS - More than 120 members of the public, including the residents and property owners of Aalwyndal, gathered in the Mossel Bay Town Hall on Tuesday 16 September for a highly anticipated public information session about the potential development of the Aalwyndal area.
Objection to the Strategic Biodiversity Offset Framework Plan – Aalwyndal & Hartenbos Mossel Bay
Objection Closing date: 30 September 2025
Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism (WCDEDT)
E-mail:
(-1)- Head of Department Jo-Ann Johnston: ecohead@westerncape.gov.za
(-2)- Joe-Mark Arnold (Head of Communications): Joe-Mark.Arnold@westerncape.gov.za
(-3)- Cindy Rose Project Manager: Cindy.Rose@westerncape.gov.za
(-4)- Douglas MacFarlane Project Leader: Douglas.MacFarlane@westerncape.gov.za
Mossel Bay Municipality:
E-mail:
(-5) Jaco Roux - jroux@mosselbay.gov.za
(-6) Dirk Kotze - dkotze@mosselbay.gov.za
(-7) Colin Puren - cpuren@mosselbay.gov.za
(-8) Yolande Van der Berg - yvanderberg@mosselbay.gov.za
MGEV and MPOA:
E-mail:
(-9) admin@mgev.co.za
Eco-Pulse:
E-mail:
(-10) ecologic@mweb.co.za
WHO IT MAY CONCERN
I am a Property Owner in Mossel Bay OR I am a South African (Any one have the Right to Object to this madness)
We strongly oppose the adoption of the proposed Strategic Biodiversity Offset Framework Plan. While conservation is a shared imperative, this framework unfairly burdens private landowners with disproportionate financial obligations and strips them of fundamental property rights. The imposition of annual levies reaching R16,500 per hectare, compulsory membership in a Master Homeowners Association, and rezoning mandates—without adequate public consultation or opt-out mechanisms—amounts to coercive governance.
This plan shifts the cost of ecological stewardship from developers to the broader community, creating a funding gap that is irresponsibly filled by ordinary residents. It weaponizes rezoning and servitude registration to enforce compliance, while offering minimal transparency or accountability in the management of conservation funds.
We reject the notion that biodiversity protection must come at the expense of affordability, autonomy, and fairness. Conservation must be collaborative—not punitive. This framework, as it stands, is deeply flawed and must be reconsidered.
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