Gauteng staff met up for a brunch on the 17th of June, meeting each other in person. What a great morning spent getting to know each other and discussing some work-related logistics over a few steaming cups of coffee. Thank you to each and every one of you for making the effort (some travelling from afar) to attend.
CES is committed to the sourcing and hiring of locally based unemployed graduates, with the focus on previously disadvantaged individuals. Providing bird and bat monitoring services at wind energy facilities has presented us with an opportunity to recruit six such graduates. These successful candidates have been employed on a fixed term contract for the duration of the monitoring campaign where they will be trained and upskilled in the practical application of being an environmental consultant. We trust that this will empower them in their careers going forward.
“CES was started with the major motivation to give young graduates an opportunity to get into the field of environmental consulting. We’re proud to be able to demonstrate this continuously after 30 years in the business” (Ted Avis, Founder and MD of CES)
Pictured here is Dr Ted Avis, the Managing Director of CES, collecting three new Renault Dusters. These vehicles were required to replace some of our ageing fleet and to meet the growing demands of our consulting, advisory and monitoring services. CES is now active in bird and bat monitoring at wind energy facilities. This is an additional service offering and builds on over 15 years of experience gained from various environmental assessments undertaken for a wide range of renewable energy clients.
R. rhomboideum is an Endangered succulent species with an Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of approximately 102 km². Currently, only four locations of this species are known, and it is possible that the population uncovered during the ground truthing investigation is a new and unrecorded fifth location. The identification of this species was confirmed by a representative from Rhodes University’s Schonland Herbarium, who has shown interest in conducting further studies on the newly identified population. Unfortunately, urban and industrial development within and around Port Elizabeth had resulted in the rapid loss in habitat for this range restricted species. The South African National Biodiversity Institute’s (SANBI) recommendation for Species of Conservation Concern (SCC) listed as Endangered specifies that no further loss of habitat should be permitted as the species is likely to go extinct in the near future if current pressures continue. As such, all remaining subpopulations must therefore be conserved if this species is to survive in the long term. Following the findings of this species within the development footprint, consultation with the developer and CES has resulted in the redesign and repositioning of infrastructure layouts to avoid the loss of R. rhomboideum individuals within the development site and to ensure the conservation of this species in situ. The findings and outcomes of this study has proved the value of these investigations in ensuring a development which is environmentally sustainable.
CES is proud to congratulate Dr Greer Hawley, a Principal Consultant at CES, on the publication and gazetting of the revised Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan (ECBCP, 2019) by the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT). Dr Greer Hawley, together with Dr Philip Desmet and Dr Derek Berliner, were the lead authors of the ECBCP (2019), which has been an ongoing project for the past five (5) years. The ECBCP (2019) replaces the ECBCP (2007) in its entirety and provides a map of important biodiversity areas, which can be used to inform land use and resource-use planning and decision making. Well-done Greer! For more information, you may follow this link
In January, a team of nine specialists travelled to Mozambique for site-based field work to collect quantitative baseline data to determine the existing conditions in order to develop a Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP), and associated monitoring programmes, for a large infrastructure project.
The workshop, which took place over three days, brought together AquaVitae project stakeholders from France Haliotis (Brittany, France), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canary (Canary Islands), Alfed Wegener Institute (Germany) and various local role players including Wildcoast Abalone, Aqunion, Marifeed, Coastal and Environmental Services, University of Fort Hare, and Rhodes University academics and students.
Article and Image, courtesy Rhodes University.
Between June 2014 and December 2017, large regions of Iraq were under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which resulted in widespread destruction of infrastructure and natural resources as well as the displacement of more than 5 million people. In January 2018, the World Bank Group published their report entitled "Iraq Reconstruction and Investment: Part 2 – Damage and Needs Assessment of Affected Governorates". This assessment was unique in terms of its geographical and sectoral scope and aimed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the damage, losses and needs for reconstruction across social, productive and infrastructure sectors as well as cross-cutting sectors, one of which was "Environment and Forestry".
The Marine Spatial Planning Act establishes the mechanism for the development of marine spatial planning in South Africa. It facilitates the establishment of a National Working Group, a Directors – General Committee and a Ministerial Committee. The act limits the area of the spatial planning to South African waters meaning South Africa’s territorial waters, EEZ and the continental shelf but excluding freshwater bodies and estuaries.
Principal Consultant
Branch Algoa Bay project pamphlet with Marine Spatial Planning Marine Spatial Planning Act - ArticlePilot Phase Project. The training workshop was hosted, on the 5th and 6th of March, by the Western Cape Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) at the Nortier Research Farm, near Lamberts Bay. The aim of the workshop was to inform and train environmental consultants on the process to be followed when implementing Farm Level Management Plans (FLMPS).ally.
Reduce, reuse, recycle. These three words tells us to use less, find ways to use things again in different ways, and try and change what can’t be used into something that can. However, these three words seem to fall flat when, based on estimates, the world cities generate 1.3 billion tonnes of waste annually.
Nicole Wienand, a consultant at CES, attended the Marine Protected Area (MPA) Youth Learning Workshop, hosted at Nelson Mandela University’s Ocean Science Campus on the 6th of March 2019. The workshop aimed to increase the knowledge and awareness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) amongst youth, by equipping young South Africans with the relevant facts and knowledge required to engage in discussions and decision making concerning marine protection and ocean governance.
Environmental Consultant
Branch Marine Protected Areas Youth Learning Workshop View South Africa’s Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s)CES Principal Consultants Amber Jackson, Taryn Martin and Marc Hardy from the Cape Town office attended the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) Western Cape’s Environmental Management Programme Workshop in 2018. IAIA dates back to 1980 and was organised to bring researchers, practitioners, and users of various types of impact assessment approaches from all parts of the world together.
The Development and Implementation of Environmental Management Programmes - Workshop - 2018Principal Consultants Amber Jackson and Marc Hardy were invited to attend the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Environmental and Social Risk Management (ESRM) training programme conducted part-time in Johannesburg between January and October 2018.
IFC Training - 2018
From left to right: Amber Jackson and Tarryn Martin (CES), Lauren Hunter (GEO Data Design (Pty) Ltd), Michael Johnson (CES) and Jaurez Dorfling; Managing Director, (GEO Data Design (Pty) Ltd).
CES’s CT town office in Sea Point was converted into a cocktail party venue after work on Wednesday the 10th October this year. This was for CES’s third annual Cocktail Party with the many environmental consultants we work with in the region. We all had a really good time enjoying good conversation, food and drinks, not to mention the great view from our offices. This was a great opportunity for CES to thank all the consultants who have worked with us and create a valuable networking opportunity for everyone. Around 30 different environmental consultants and service providers joined the CES staff for this event. Some were independent specialist consultants but most came from 16 different consulting companies namely AECOM, Anchor, Arcus, Cedar Towers, Cullinan & Assoc., Data Design, Enviroworks, Evaluaid, IDC, Jones Envir. Labs, Lwande, NCC, PRDW, RHDHV, SIAnalytics and SRK. Not all the consultants we work with were able to join us, but we hope they will be able to come next year.
IFC Training - 2018Valuable insight offered into waste management
“Dr Alan Carter, EOH CES Executive, offers valuable insight into waste management in East London based on his extensive experience in the environmental sector”.
Thicket Ecosystems Guidelines workshop representation in Port Elizabeth
Article by: Rosalie Evans
The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) shared a webinar (http://www.iaia.org/webinar-details.php?ID=18) on the 18th of September 2018, presented by Marla Orenstein.
Given my role as a Senior Environmental Consultant at CES, I like to keep up-to-date with the current events in this field, particularly information coming out from IAIA as my professional body. In her presentation Ms Orenstein discussed the likely benefits and limitations associated with the incorporation of emerging technologies in impact assessment.
Article by: Rosalie Evans
Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and marine environments where they are subject both to marine influences—such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water—and to riverine influences—such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The inflows of both sea water and fresh water provide high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries one of the most productive natural habitats in the world. Disturbances to an estuary can influence a wide variety of habitats and organisms in the associated freshwater or marine ecosystem. Thus, the interaction between the estuarine systems and users creates a delicate balance, the sustainability of which needs to be maintained by implementing an appropriate management plan.
On the 3rd August 2018 Caroline Evans and Gregory Shaw attended the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists – Regional Final, held at Rhodes University Grahamstown. The exposition is for learners between the ages of 13-18 to have a chance to show others their projects about their own scientific investigations. By participating, students increase their awareness of the wonders of science, add to their knowledge and broaden their scientific horizons. EOH Coastal & Environmental Services sponsor a prize each year for the best Environmental Management Project.
Twenty projects were adjudicated with criteria including: relevance to the environmental management field; presentation and design of the project; scientific methods; ability to answer questions; and innovation in the environmental management field. The projects ranged from illegal fly tipping and how it could be dealt with in rural areas to water filtration. Water filtration was the most popular project and understandable given the current situation in the Eastern Cape regarding water shortage and access to good quality drinking water. Learners in the Eastern Cape and especially the rural areas have limited access to resources. They are forced to be imaginative and resourceful when it comes to equipment and materials. This was clearly evident in the majority of the projects where learners had repurposed waste products to house their experiments. Of particular interest and the winner of the EOH Coastal & Environmental Services prize was the method of purification by distillation. The learner had fashioned two receptacles out of 500ml Coca Cola bottles. They had glued the two lids together and inserted clear tubing on the inside of the bottles. The learner left the apparatus in the sun for 5 hours. The result was 300ml of pure water from 400ml of “impure” water. The use of waste materials, the design of the apparatus, the enthusiasm for science and their ambition to really make a difference in their community was inspiring.”
