The river's native fish populations have similarly been affected by unsustainable human use of the water, pollution, the introduction of alien fish, and invasive alien plant species such as black wattle which damage the river banks.
While it's unlikely we'll ever again see wild hippo roaming the banks of the Berg River, a great deal of rehabilitation work is being done on the whole of the Pearl Valley Berg River frontage of the riparian zone (the strip between the land and the water) to better manage this precious natural resource.
Thanks to a partnership between Pearl Valley Golf & Country Estate, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning of the Western Cape, more than 12,000 indigenous shrubs and trees, including yellowwoods, wild peaches, wild olives and wild almonds, have been planted along a 1,200 metre strip of the river. The Working for Water programme has cleared the last remaining alien vegetation at the site, and this summer, wet-zone plants will be established to complete the project.
It's an undertaking that's receiving international attention, and earlier this year a group of delegates from the Centre for Leadership in Global Sustainability at United States research university Virginia Tech, visited the area to see how South Africans are successfully dealing with the problem of managing water resources by restoring ecological functionality and biodiversity. The project was also part of the World Design Capital projects for 2014.
With World Rivers Day taking place this year on Saturday, 26 September the time has never been better to highlight the importance of looking after our precious natural resources. But Pearl Valley is keenly aware of this need year round. "Pearl Valley has indigenous vegetation coverage of 80% in the residential and communal gardens," says Gawie Marx, general manager for the estate. "The water-wise landscaped vegetation includes many species of endangered flora, succulents and grasses."
