Introduction

This document provides a very concise summary of the issues involved. Supporting documentation can be provided where necessary.

The Brenton Blue Butterfly (Orachrysops niobe) occurs on a 2-hectare piece of land belonging to the Brenton Development Company and two individual private land owners. The total value of these stands is approximately R2 million.

Minister Jordan and Minister de Villiers before him has asked the Government of the Western Cape to ‘seriously consider’ using Section 31A of the Environment Act if necessary. Thus far this has not happened.

In October last year the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the Green Trust (TGT) joined the Brenton Blue Campaign (BBC), an alliance of local conservationist. A previously proposed land swop within Extension 1 (the currently relevant development area)that would have resulted in the butterfly stands being exchanged for Public Open Space, had been rejected by the Brenton Transitional Local Council. As a result the BBC was forced to release the hold on half of the stands earmarked for the butterfly reserve to obtain a further moratorium of sales until the end of November 1996. One of these stands were subsequently sold.

The following activities and initiatives were conducted between October and the present:

• Formation of the Brenton Blue Trust:
  The institutions represented in the original BBC organised themselves in the Brenton Blue Trust (BBT). The Trustees are: Cape Nature Conservation, Brenton Transitional Local Council, the Wildlife & Environment Society, Lepidopterists Society of Africa and the EWT. Objective of the Trust is to save the Brenton Blue from extinction and establish a butterfly reserve at Brenton-on-Sea.
• Renegotiated agreement with the Developer:
  An agreement was reached with the Developer that the BBT would design a solution to the conflict of interests at Brenton-on-Sea that takes due recognition of his interests. All the butterfly stands were taken of the market and a final moratorium until the end of April was negotiated. A similar agreement was also reached with the owner of the one butterfly stand that was sold before October last year.
• Development of a solution:
  Efforts were made in cooperation with the Developer and the Regional Services Council, to identify parcels of government land that could be used for a land swop. One such piece of land has already been identified but may not be enough to cover the entire swop value needed. The Department of Public Works has indicated that they have at their disposal an entire register of state land that could, following appropriate channels, be used to identify further land. Fund raising efforts to contribute to the total swop value raised are currently continuing.
• Interdisciplinary research conducted:
  To resolve the different stand points that were being taken with respect to the biology of the butterfly an research team was pushed into the field over December and January. Within that time and relying on previous research that had been conducted they compiled a comprehensive interdisciplinary assessment of the situation and the current stand of knowledge on the butterfly. Only a draft report is available at this time and the recommendations arrived at may be expanded pending further analysis of the scientific data.
• Legal research:
  A preliminary assessment of the legal situation has been done.
  The relevant National and Provincial Government Departments were informed in November last year that the BBT would approach them early in 1997 with the scientific information needed to make a decision and a ‘package deal’ to resolve the conflict of interest at Brenton-on-Sea. Due to a crisis situation on the ground, this point has now been reached. The longer Government intervention is delayed the more complex and tenuous the situation becomes.