The proclamation demonstrated a joint commitment from provincial and local government to protect the biodiversity heritage of Cape Town, said Ms Tasneem Essop, provincial minister of environment, planning and economic development.

“Conservation-worthy land is under great pressure due to the ever-increasing threat of development. The responsibility to reserve land for conservation is too big to be handled by any one sphere of government on its own,” Essop explained.

Ms Marian Nieuwoudt, mayoral committee member for planning and the environment, said the Blaauwberg reserve was of immense conservation and recreational importance.

“Sound ecological management of the resource is needed to ensure that these compatible uses continue in a healthy and thriving natural environment.”

Only days before, Cliff Dorse, area manager for the northern nature areas, had been recognised by the Cape Environmental Trust for his unflagging enthusiasm for environmental conservation and particularly for his contribution to helping develop the Blaauwberg Conservation Area (BCA).

Over the past twenty years CAPTRUST has presented this award to individuals and organisations that have made significant contributions to conservation.

“Cliff’s most impressive quality besides his passion for nature is his passion for awakening enthusiasm in others for the things that he values,” said Dr Frank Wygold, chairperson of CAPTRUST, at the presentation last Saturday.

“He is an educator in the real sense of the word. He awakens interest, nurtures it and then allows it to develop wherever it may. This passion has resulted in his virtual abandonment of free time.”

Having developed a passion for biodiversity conservation in an urban context, Cliff became the first manager of the Zandvlei nature reserve in 1998 and was transferred to the BCA, which has now been declared a nature reserve, in 2003 to oversee the development of this exceptional natural asset.

Covering an area of approximately 2 000 ha, the BCA lies within the Cape Floral Kingdom, a global biodiversity hotspot and unique in the world. The reserve is home to a mosaic of natural, cultural and historical resources and is regarded as one of the most important biodiversity conservation areas in the Cape.

“With a wealth of irreplaceable biological species, it represents the most intact and diverse lowland habitat and the beginning of the West Coast flora. The conservation of this precious nature area is all the more important in the light of the huge development pressures in this region,” said Wygold.

“The city is very fortunate to have Cliff in the BCA, especially during the critical period when it was being reclaimed from an uneducated public .”

Since the beginning of the year Cliff had been in an acting position and in September he was permanently appointed.