Project lead: Gregg Brill

Who’s involved?: Gregg Brill, Pippin Anderson, Patrick O’Farrell

Project description: The research programme on ‘The consequences of global change for ecosystem service delivery in a biodiverse urban-park matrix’ falls under a broad global environmental change and ecosystem services ACCESS-funded project. The project will set out to articulate the diversity of values, benefits and trade-offs derived from water-related ecosystem services in Table Mountain National Park by residents living in the City of Cape Town.

The research aims to answer the following questions:

  1. What are the cultural ecosystem service values and benefits derived from a national park by communities residing in a metropolitan setting?
  2. What is the current resource-use value of ground water for communities accessing the Table Mountain Aquifer in the Peninsula Formation?
  3. How do anthropogenic changes in the landscape surrounding the Table Mountain National Park impact on aquatic ecological integrity and the delivery of water-related ecosystem services?

Does contemporary governance make allowance for the breadth of social, ecological and economic benefits and values emerging from ecosystem services in a national park in an urban centre?