Overstrand, a Generation Restoration pilot city, created an integrated catchment-to-coast restoration plan for the Onrus wetland and estuary. The project involved baseline analyses and regulatory groundwork needed to enable future rehabilitation work, and engaged local communities, landowners, and NGOs through stakeholder workshops and awareness activities to build long-term support.

About the city

Overstrand is a municipality in South Africa’s Western Cape, located in the southwest of the country. Its population is approximately 133,000 residents spread across almost 60,000 households, with the principal towns of Hermanus, Gansbaai and Kleinmond. Overstrand is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, and it has a Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters.  Overstrand’s economy and the livelihoods of its population are heavily reliant on tourism, agriculture, fishing, forestry, and manufacturing.

Local challenges

 Overstrand is increasingly impacted by climate change, particularly through more frequent heatwaves and storms affecting the area. Furthermore, changing rainfall patterns and more frequent droughts pose numerous threats, including drying out of wetlands, increased risk of fire, and reduced water supplies for agricultural, industrial, and domestic needs. At the same time, Overstrand’s coastal location makes it susceptible to sea level rise, which threatens infrastructure, residential areas, and terrestrial ecosystems, including farming areas, with flooding and saltwater intrusion. Growing urban sprawl in the area also leads to biodiversity loss, particularly due to invasive species, pollution, and habitat destruction. Local populations, freshwater ecosystems, and marine areas are negatively impacted by both plastic pollution and water pollution from agricultural runoff and city wastewater discharges. Economic inequality and poverty exacerbate these challenges, particularly among vulnerable populations, who often live in informal settlements.

The pilot project specifically addresses challenges associated with the Onrus catchment system and the Onrus wetland, a peat wetland located close to the town of Hermanus that is important for biodiversity and flood control. Although it was historically hardy and erosion-resistant, various disturbances have eroded the Onrus wetland over time, including drying of the wetland following the construction of a dam upstream, proliferation of invasive vegetation in the area, and a fire event in 2019 that degraded its underground structure. The wetland was then severely damaged by flooding in 2023 and 2024, which exacerbated its erosion, resulting in the loss of approximately 75% of this important ecosystem.

Action through Generation Restoration

The Generation Restoration pilot project in Overstrand aimed to rehabilitate the Onrus wetland and set up conditions for broader restoration in the Onrus catchment area, to safeguard water resources, prevent land degradation, preserve biodiversity, and mitigate the effects of climate change.

The project began with an information session with local interested stakeholders, including local community members, landowners, NGOs, and government representatives. The session included an overview of the pilot project objectives and upcoming technical work, including baseline studies, hydrological and invasive-species assessments, and the preparation of the Maintenance Management Plan.

Preliminary technical work included detailed baseline assessments of the Onrus wetland, primarily using existing datasets and remote sensing data, to understand the wetland’s current status, drivers of degradation, and determine a plan for restoration/rehabilitation. Baseline surveys included a review of the extent and intensity of invasive species proliferation in the wetland, producing a full GIS dataset of invasive species and areas of land transformation to guide prioritization and budget planning. A hydrology assessment quantified historic changes in surface and groundwater flow across the Onrus catchment and identified key drivers of reduced streamflow and wetland degradation. From this baseline data, the project produced a design report outlining the proposed restoration methods that would be implemented pending further funding. These include constructing six gabion weirs (a rock-filled wire basket structure that slows water flow and prevents erosion) from upstream to downstream to slow water flow and rebuild the wetland’s structure, and utilizing excavated peat and rescued vegetation to fill and reshape eroded gullies, with gentle slopes suitable for replanting indigenous wetland vegetation.

Following the design phase, a detailed ecological health assessment of the Onrus Estuary was undertaken to quantify post-flood degradation and guide the final Estuary Maintenance Management Plan. This study assessed hydrology and hydrodynamics, water quality, habitat status, and biodiversity, confirming that the estuary had become a critically impaired ecosystem requiring immediate intervention. The results informed the preparation of the Maintenance Management Plan for the estuary and lower Onrus River, an operational framework for managing, restoring, and maintaining the Onrus estuary. The proposed restoration interventions included sediment dredging, dewatering, and mouth management to restore hydrodynamic function. Findings were then presented in another meeting with stakeholders to garner feedback on project design and prepare for implementation, pending available resources. Together, the wetland rehabilitation design and the estuary Maintenance Management Plan form two complementary restoration activities to be undertaken “from catchment to coast.”

Additional project activities included developing a proposal for a funding model and potential funding sources to finance the proposed restoration work, based on carbon and biodiversity credit financing, which directly aligns with global trends in climate finance and ecosystem service markets. The project team also developed a document outlining the necessary steps to implement an effective restoration plan in other municipalities, ensuring alignment with legislative and policy frameworks. Public outreach through communications campaigns, awareness materials, and community meetings further strengthened stakeholder engagement and long-term support for restoration efforts.

Main outcomes

The project successfully laid the groundwork for broader implementation in the Onrus catchment and wetland. The project completed a full suite of baseline studies, design reports, and regulatory plans, providing Overstrand Municipality with an actionable roadmap for restoring the Onrus system, including the estuary and wetland. Together, the wetland rehabilitation design and estuary Maintenance Management Plan established a clear implementation framework for restoring hydrological balance, rebuilding degraded habitats, and improving ecosystem connectivity.

The project strengthened institutional collaboration and visibility, including the establishment of a steering committee group uniting local government, NGOs, and national agencies in a shared vision for restoration. The project also enabled the development of key documents which allowed the Municipality to unlock more funding from different sources to continue and scale-up the project and restoration work beyond the pilot’s duration. The Municipality also developed a guiding document for other municipalities in South Africa to carry out similar work. 

Through stakeholder workshops, awareness campaigns, and international presentations, the project built local ownership and global visibility for catchment restoration and rehabilitation. A replication guideline and innovative blended finance model were developed to enable other municipalities to adopt similar restoration approaches, scaling the impact of the Generation Restoration initiative beyond Overstrand.

Highlight impact metrics

  • 3 technical assessments completed
  • 1 GIS dataset produced mapping invasive alien plant species
  • Wetland and estuary restoration designs finalized 
  • ZAR 5 million in co-financing leveraged from BOCMA for invasive species removal
  • Catchment-to-coast governance strengthened through an active steering committee
  • Project showcased through conferences, webinars, and knowledge exchanges, including site visits by international practitioners and policymakers
  • 1 carbon sequestration project in the process of being established with the White Desert Foundation (set-up of a nursery to grow indigenous palmiet wetland plants to be planted back into the system as part of restoration of river banks)

Pilot City

City Map

Partners

Ecosystem Types

Freshwaters, Oceans and coasts, Peatlands y Urban areas

Project Budget

$80,000 USD

Project Duration

Ongoing through the broader Catchment to Coast (C2C) programme

Climate, Biodiversity, and Pollution Risks Addressed

  • Droughts
  • Extreme precipitation / flooding
  • Coastal erosion
  • Habitat destruction
  • Invasive species
  • Species loss / extinction
  • Ecosystem degradation
  • Water pollution

Restoration Techniques Applied

  • Bioengineering techniques
  • Dredging
  • Erosion control
  • Invasive species control
  • Native species
  • Shoreline restoration
  • Wetland restoration
Presentation of the Onrus C2C project by Project Coordinator Danielle Smith, and a field trip to the Onrus Peatland and Onrus Estuary, facilitated by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Credit: SANBI.
The Generation Restoration team in Overstrand during the UNEP Second Capacity Building Workshop held in Cape Town (March 2025). Credit: City of Cape Town
Liezl de Villiers (Divisional Manager: Environmental Management and Conservation) and Danielle Smith (Project Coordinator) from the Overstand Municipality presenting the C2C project during a field trip to Onrus during the UNEP Second Capacity Building Workshop held in Cape Town (March 2025). Credit: UNEP.
Liezl de Villiers (Divisional Manager: Environmental Management and Conservation) and Deputy Mayor Ald Elnora Gillion represented Overstrand Municipality at the Regional Consultative Meeting of Major Groups and Stakeholders for Africa and the UNEP AMCEN Breakfast Dialogue on Cities and Climate: Bridging National and Subnational Action in Nairobi, Kenya, in July 2025. Credit: UNEP Josephat Kariuki.
Group picture of AMCEN Breakfast Dialogue attendees. Credit: UNEP Josephat Kariuki.
Danielle Smith, Project Coordinator for the C2C project, accompanying the Deputy Mayor at the RAMSAR COP15 in Zimbabwe in July 2025, in the session in the session “Thriving Wetlands, Thriving Cities: Bold Leadership and Decisive Action”. Credit: Danielle Smith - Overstrand Municipality.
Group photo of presenters for the session on “Thriving Wetlands, Thriving Cities: Bold Leadership and Decisive Action”. Credit: Danielle Smith - Overstrand Municipality.
A meeting between Overstrand Municipality, City of Cape Town, and Victoria Falls Municipality during the RAMSAR COP15. Credit: City of Cape Town.
Group photo of Executive Mayor, Ald Archie Klass from the Overstrand Municipality, and Speaker of Overberg District Municipality, Ald Lindile Ntsabo, with colleagues from the ICLEI Korea office and staff of the Yeoncheon County Biosphere Reserve in South Korea. Credit: Ernita van Wyk, ICLEI Africa.
ICLEI Korea's Minwoo Chun presenting Overstrand Municipality’s Executive Mayor with a bag made from recycled waste. Credit: Ernita van Wyk, ICLEI Africa.
Presentation of the Onrus C2C project at COP16 in Cali, Colombia. Credit: UNEP.
C2C team at COP16 in Cali, Colombia. Credit: UNEP.

Key learnings & next steps

The pilot project in Overstrand generated several key learnings, particularly around laying the necessary foundations to implement complex projects, engaging key stakeholders, and promoting good coordination: 

  • No quick fixes: A central lesson from the pilot is that there are no quick fixes in complex ecological restoration work, even when scientific consensus and political will exist. The project demonstrated that assembling the right technical team, conducting fieldwork, running hydrological and ecological models, and preparing rigorous reports inherently take time. Administrative processes added further delays, underscoring the importance of doing things correctly, particularly in high-urgency situations, to avoid costly mistakes later on.
  • Importance of stakeholder engagement: The project also confirmed the importance of early involvement of key decision-makers and ongoing engagement with the public and affected communities. Government stakeholders can streamline approvals and provide crucial institutional memory, while local residents and community groups often hold detailed knowledge of the landscape that improves intervention design. The project also benefited from Overstrand’s active civil society involvement and demonstrated that non-governmental actors can be powerful drivers of accountability and implementation.
  • Avoiding duplication of effort: Finally, the project highlighted the need for active coordination to avoid duplication of effort. With multiple consultants, municipal departments, and partner organizations involved, overlapping work was initially common. Clear project management and communication systems were essential to harmonize efforts. A major internal learning was the importance of persistence, creativity, and adaptability, especially in securing financing. The team repeatedly re-framed the project (peat restoration, climate resilience, water security, invasive species clearing) to unlock different funding streams, with UNEP support ultimately catalyzing broader investment and interest.

Future plans for the project envision a full transition from planning to on-the-ground restoration and rehabilitation across the catchment-to-coast system. This includes dredging of the estuary, landscaping and restoring the wetland, clearing of invasive species throughout the entire catchment, bank rehabilitation, and other restoration activities throughout the Onrus system. This work, pending available funding, would be guided by continued steering committee meetings, continuing to integrate diverse perspectives and feedback into all stages of the project process. 

Meet the community

We should never let a good disaster go to waste. This specific project is very important because it focuses on restoration from the catchment to the coast. Although it is one of the smallest catchments we have, it has been severely impacted by flooding, which has effectively destroyed a significant ecosystem service. That is why this catchment is such a critical priority for restoration. It is small enough to serve as a practical blueprint for other catchments, demonstrating how to stabilize them before they reach the level of degradation currently experienced here.

—Liezl de Villiers, Division Manager: Environmental Management and Conservation, Overstrand Municipality

Beyond Restoration

Overstrand Municipality operates within a robust and multilayered policy environment that enables nature-based solutions and ecological restoration. Core plans and policies, including the Integrated Development Plan, Environmental Management Framework, Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plans, and Disaster Management Plan embed ecological protection, green infrastructure, and ecosystem-service provision into spatial planning, budgeting, and risk management. Furthermore, the Western Cape Coastal Management Programme, Rural Land Use Planning Guidelines, and the Overberg District Climate Response Framework prioritize safeguarding biodiversity, maintaining ecological infrastructure, and restoring catchments. 

This policy backdrop has already enabled various initiatives to center nature-based solutions, for example restoration of coastal dunes in the Kleinmond area to protect against erosion, enhance biodiversity, and improve coastal resilience. Implementation of restoration projects is supported by inclusive citizen engagement, participatory budgeting, and gender-responsive planning. Overstrand also actively partners with the private sector, such as through programs that promote nature-based enterprises, green financing mechanisms, and hydrological ecosystem service protection. Engagements with ICLEI, GEF-supported biodiversity initiatives, and exploratory work on Water Funds illustrate Overstrand’s growing commitment to blended finance and collaborative stewardship, further strengthening its capacity to deliver restoration projects.

Further resources

Other project collaborators include:

Other individuals who worked extensively on the peatland before the project started, which also played a great role in its establishment: 

  • Dr. Piet-Louis Grundling, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)
  • Dr. Althea Grundling, Agricultural Research Council

The Overstrand Municipality also extends its sincere thanks to the Overstrand Municipality Fire Department for successfully monitoring and extinguishing the peatland fire:

“We would like to extend our sincere thanks for their exceptional response and unwavering commitment during the subsurface peat fire the wetland experienced. At the time, the source of the fire was unknown, yet they never gave up on locating it, continuing to investigate, monitor and respond with determination and care. Through consulting with experts, allocating resources, and persistently managing flare-ups, they ultimately succeeded in extinguishing the peat fire. We are deeply grateful for their dedication, perseverance and tireless efforts in protecting our community and environment.”