Creating jobs while managing natural resources translates into a win for both the environment and local people. The 10-year rehabilitation project of the Verlorenvlei wetlands on the West Coast achieved this and more.

One of the largest wetlands on the West Coast, Verlorenvlei is a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1991, hosting 75 bird species, a rare fish species and more.

The rehabilitation of the wetlands not only created awareness about the importance of the wetland system, increased the movement of water through the system and rehabilitated the area, but also removed alien vegetation and – importantly – alleviated poverty in local communities.