The magnificent flora of  Chapmans Peak
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EAST FORT GATE PROJECT
Chapman's Peak Drive Tourism Development

The "Cape Fynbos Biome"
The Cape Floral Kingdom is the smallest and yet the most diverse of all the plant kingdoms. During the last ice age, many species were lost when much of the Earth was ice covered , but for some strange reason the Western Cape was not, and thus many of the Western Capes plants are twice as old as most floral species elsewhere on earth.

Chapmans Peak has a great variety of fynbos to excite botanists and visitors alike, however it is severely threatened by alien species which in turn bring along alien pests. The National Park has committed itself to the control of alien species, however, without a corresponding initiative from abutting communities the Park we be reinfested in a very short time. This means that we have to teach our own communities about our wonderful unique fynbos, the danger of aliens and all that side effects whic are considerable.

What are the side effects of aliens?
South Africa is not a water rich nation. We get only 60% of the world average rainfall, so our plants are adapted to the climate and their frugal use of water leaves much to flow into wetlands and rivers. It also alows engineers to create dams to store water for urban areas Most alien species have evolved in areas where higher rainfall persists and thus they consume more water. So much so that our dams rivers and wetlands are starved of water and water tables have dropped.

To Be Continued