The Overstrand Municipality has begun reviewing and updating its Strategic Baboon Management Plan (SBMP). This review stems from a growing recognition that managing human-baboon interactions requires a long-term, locally relevant, and adaptive strategy that reflects the unique environmental, social and operational realities of our region.
While the Municipality will consider lessons and management approaches from elsewhere in the Western Cape, the intention is not to duplicate other models or apply a uniform approach across the entire Overstrand.
The Overstrand differs from other urban-baboon interface regions in terms of:
- settlement patterns;
- landscape characteristics and natural movement corridors;
- biodiversity and ecosystem functioning;
- levels of urbanisation;
- tourism pressures;
- community expectations;
- operational capacity; and
- the behavioural dynamics of individual baboon troops.
Because individual troops exhibit different behaviours, movement patterns, and levels of urban habituation, the revised SBMP will incorporate area-specific principles. This allows for practical, flexible interventions based on the specific challenges of particular troops and environments. Successful management cannot rely solely on field operations; it requires broader cooperation regarding responsible waste management, public behaviour, urban planning, law enforcement, environmental awareness and landscape conservation.
The review process will aim to balance a number of important and often competing considerations, including:
- biodiversity conservation;
- ecological sustainability;
- public safety;
- animal welfare;
- municipal operational realities;
- waste management challenges;
- tourism and recreational pressures; and
- the wellbeing of affected communities.
Public Participation
As part of this ongoing process, the revised draft SBMP is expected to be submitted to an independent panel of wildlife and conservation experts for a specialist review by August 2026. This will help ensure the document is scientifically credible, operationally practical, environmentally responsible and aligned with applicable environmental legislation and biodiversity management principles.
Following the specialist review, a response report and the revised draft documentation will be released for public comment. The Municipality will run a structured public participation process to ensure affected communities have a meaningful opportunity to contribute. Public meetings will be held in affected towns across the Overstrand and will be facilitated by independent professional facilitators to ensure all viewpoints, concerns, and local experiences are considered transparently.
The review will also consider existing environmental legislation, municipal planning frameworks, and biodiversity management objectives applicable to the Overstrand and the broader Kogelberg Biosphere landscape. Given the diverse perspectives on baboon management, the Municipality aims to establish a constructive, transparent platform through which workable, long-term, and area-appropriate management approaches can be developed.
Mandates and Authority
The Overstrand Municipality wishes to clarify that, pending the finalisation of the revised SBMP and public participation processes, the Municipality remains the responsible authority for baboon management functions within the municipal area.
No private individual, community group, non-governmental organisation (NGO), or non-profit organisation (NPO) has been formally mandated, appointed, or authorised by the Municipality to independently implement, direct, monitor, or undertake baboon management operations on its behalf. The Municipality further confirms that it is not formally affiliated with, nor operationally partnered with, the organisation known as KVET in relation to baboon management activities within the Overstrand.
Certain activities associated with active wildlife management, including the movement, herding, disturbance, interference with, or handling of wildlife, may be regulated in terms of applicable environmental legislation and CapeNature permit requirements. Activities undertaken outside the applicable legal framework may constitute non-compliant actions and may undermine coordinated biodiversity management objectives, public safety considerations, animal welfare protocols, and lawful operational processes.
The Municipality therefore requests that members of the public refrain from participating in or supporting unauthorised wildlife management activities that interfere with formally mandated operations, ecological management objectives, or lawful conservation processes.
The Municipality remains committed to engaging constructively with affected communities and stakeholders through lawful, transparent, and structured processes as part of the development of the revised Strategic Baboon Management Plan.
Further details regarding stakeholder engagement opportunities, timelines, venues, and participation procedures will be communicated as the process progresses.
