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The Western Cape’s 2016 Ecosystem Threat Status layer was developed to more accurately reflect the current threat status of ecosystems in the Western Cape Province, especially in terms of habitat loss (criterion A1). Ecosystems are based on the SA vegetation Map (2012 version) and relevant indigenous forest types (DAFF, 2010), as per the national approach to assessing ecosystem threat.Threat status is provided for each ecosystem according to three assessments: (1) the national assessment in 2011 (note: threatened ecosystems identified in the NBA 2011 are the same as those listed in the gazette in December 2011); (2) CapeNature’s 2014 assessment of criterion A1 (habitat loss); and (3) the highest status achieved in either the national assessment or CapeNature’s 2016 assessment of criterion A1 (habitat loss). This latter category is considered the best available status for the Western Cape Province (see field "WC_ETS2016" in this shapefile).
Description of Purpose:
The 2016 Western Cape Ecosystem Threat Status should be considered as best available science in all land-use planning and decision-making. It should be considered as one of the lead informants when assessing significance ratings of development applications or in calculating biodiversity offsets.Threatened ecosystems identified according to CapeNature’s 2014 or 2016 assessments will not, however, trigger a basic assessment in terms of listing notice 3 of the NEMA EIA regulations as they have not yet been gazetted.Until such time, ‘Listed threatened ecosystems’ will continue to refer to those NBA 2011 threatened ecosystems which were published in terms of NEMBA, and are noted in the attribute table accompanying this product (see field "NBA_ETS11"). It is also important to note that while the original extent of each ecosystem has been mapped, a basic assessment report in terms of the EIA regulations is only triggered in remaining natural habitat within each ecosystem and not in portions of the ecosystem where natural habitat has already been irreversibly lost.
Publication Date: 6 March 2017
For more information please refer to the Cape Nature metadata for this layer available at http://sharepoint.westerncape.gov.za/depts/dotp/psm/smi/ProvincialSpatialInformation/Shared%20Documents/Spatial%20Data/Cape%20Nature%20Data/Ecosystem%20Theat%20Status/Ecosystem_Threat_Status_2016.pdf
Field Descriptions
Name - The name of the ecosystem; either representing a national vegetation type (SANBI, 2016) or indigenous forest type (DAFF,2010).
NBA_ETS11 - Ecosystem Threat Status, as per the National Biodiversity Assessment 2011 ("Vegmap_with_threatened_ecosystems.shp")and as gazetted in December 2011.
CNa1_ETS14 - Ecosystem Threat Status as assessed for Criterion A1: Habitat Loss, in the Western Cape Province, as per CapeNature's 2014 analysis.
WC_ETS2016 - Best available Ecosystem Threat Status for the Western Cape Province; reflecting the highest status assigned in either the national assessment (NBA, 2011) or most recent provincial assessment (CapeNature, 2016).
chng - Change in Ecosystem Threat Status between the National Listing and the latest provincial assessment (CapeNature, 2016).
chng_type - Categorical characterization of change.
chng_year - Date of assessment where change occurred. |