Greater Cape Town Water Fund — Invasive Alien Vegetation Clearing for Water Security (South Africa)

Launched in November 2018 after Cape Town's 'Day Zero' drought crisis, the Greater Cape Town Water Fund (GCTWF) brings together The Nature Conservancy, the City of Cape Town, CapeNature, SANBI, WWF South Africa and Working on Fire teams to clear water-thirsty invasive alien trees (pine, wattle, eucalyptus) from priority mountain catchments including Wemmershoek, Steenbras, Berg River and Theewaterskloof. The model is explicitly adapted from TNC's wider Latin American and global Water Funds network.

By October 2023, five years into the programme, teams had cleared more than 46,000 hectares, recovering an estimated 15.2 billion litres of water per year — up from 10,000 hectares cleared and 4.8 billion litres recovered annually as of February 2021. The City of Cape Town committed R50 million (2021-2023) and a further R75 million (approved June 2023). The programme has created 722 green jobs since 2019, nearly half held by women, including around 150 high-altitude rope-access technicians. In April 2023 the Fund registered as an independent legal entity.

The ultimate ambition is to clear 54,300 hectares of catchment plus 5,000 hectares at the Atlantis Aquifer, which analysis suggests could eventually return around 55 billion litres a year — about a third of Cape Town's municipal water needs — though full-scope hydrological outcomes will only be confirmed once clearing approaches that target.