For The Nature Conservancy South Africa to review
The Nature Conservancy South Africa has not yet seen this page. It describes the organisation only through what it and its partners have said in public. The Forum has not approached The Nature Conservancy South Africa about anything. Until The Nature Conservancy South Africa has approved the text, it may change. Questions for The Nature Conservancy South Africa:
- Is this description of TNC South Africa and its work correct? What would you like to change?
- Which catchments does the water fund clear, and does any of that work, alone or with CapeNature, take place in the Riviersonderend mountains?
- Has the water fund looked at the Riviersonderend below Theewaterskloof Dam, or at the rivers that join it there?
- Should readers reach you through the moderators, or through a public contact?
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global conservation non-profit that works in 86 countries and territories [MS]. Its South African programme is led by a country director based in Cape Town [MS]. After the drought of 2018, TNC helped set up the Greater Cape Town Water Fund, and it has led the fund since [MS]. It is the implementer of the Cape Water Performance-Based Bond, clearing invasive plants in catchments that feed Cape Town’s dams [MS]. The valley lies downstream of the largest of those dams, Theewaterskloof [IC].
What the letters in square brackets mean
Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.
- [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by an official record, such as a stock exchange notice or a government publication, or by at least two sources that do not depend on each other.
- [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from the organisation’s own releases or website, or from the releases of its partners in the same programme. It has not been checked against sources that do not depend on them.
- [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it in writing yet.
At a glance
| Kind | Non-profit |
| Based in | Cape Town [MS] |
| Website | nature.org |
| Role | Implementer, Cape Water Performance-Based Bond; leads the Greater Cape Town Water Fund [MS] |
| Link to the valley | Indirect. It clears catchments of the water supply system whose largest dam lies upstream of the valley |
| Contact with the Forum | Not approached |
What it does
TNC says it works in 86 countries and territories, in 41 of them directly and in 45 through partners [MS]. In South Africa its best-known work is the Greater Cape Town Water Fund, which clears pines, Australian acacias, and other invasive plants from the mountains whose streams fill the region’s dams [MS].
How its work reaches the valley
The water fund. TNC says that clearing invasive plants in the catchments gives water at about one tenth of the cost of desalination or new groundwater [MS]. The fund aims to restore 54,300 hectares, and had cleared about 41,000 by April 2026 [MS]. In 2021 TNC matched the City of Cape Town’s R62 million for clearing, rand for rand [MS].
The bond. Under the Cape Water Performance-Based Bond, TNC South Africa receives R150 million over five years, as donations and related funding, for clearing and catchment restoration through the fund [MS]. Rand Merchant Bank and TNC developed the bond together [MS]. FirstRand Bank issued it, and Conservation Alpha checks the results [MS].
The valley. Theewaterskloof Dam, on the Riviersonderend near Villiersdorp, is the largest dam in the Western Cape Water Supply System [IC]. The valley lies downstream of it, where the Gobos and Baviaans rivers join the Riviersonderend [IC]. Wild Restoration, which clears invasive plants in the Riviersonderend mountains above Greyton, has told the Forum that the Greater Cape Town Water Fund supports clearing in those mountains through a partnership with CapeNature [TBV]. Which slopes that covers, and whether they drain into the dam or into the valley’s own rivers, is not yet known.
Where it touches this site
- Restoring the River, an idea not yet agreed, names TNC among organisations that have not been asked about it, and draws on TNC’s account of the water fund.
- Ridge to River to Table, an idea not yet agreed, describes the bond and the parties to it.
- The Laws That Shaped the Valley lists the bond’s launch in April 2026 as a market signal.
What is still open
- Which catchments the fund clears, and whether any work, alone or with CapeNature, takes place in the Riviersonderend mountains.
- Whether TNC South Africa has worked with any group in the valley.
Have your say
If you know more about TNC South Africa’s work in the valley’s mountains or rivers, contact the moderators via How to Submit.
Related
- Organisations Outside the Valley
- Conservation Alpha
- FirstRand Bank
- Rand Merchant Bank
- Greater Cape Town Water Fund
- City of Cape Town
- Wild Restoration
References
- The Nature Conservancy. Cape Water Performance-based Bond launched (1 April 2026). The parties and their roles, the R150 million for clearing over five years, and the fund’s progress.
- The Nature Conservancy. In quest to save water, Cape Town turns up the heat on invasives. The fund’s start after the 2018 drought, and its cost compared with desalination and groundwater.
- IPS News. The Cape Water Performance-Based Bond: a new alliance for Cape Town’s water future (April 2026). An opinion piece by TNC’s South Africa country director.
- City of Cape Town. City invests R62m to secure water by clearing invasive alien plants (1 April 2021). TNC’s matching funds.
- City of Cape Town. Dam levels (August 2026). The dams of the Western Cape Water Supply System and their capacities.
- Wikipedia. Theewaterskloof Dam. Its river, its owner, and its place in the Western Cape Water Supply System.
- Wild Restoration. Team and partners. Lists CapeNature among its partners. The link to the Greater Cape Town Water Fund was reported to the Forum in conversation and is not on this page.