Partnering with Landowners: What makes restoration projects successful?
Updated: 4 days ago
Article written by Georgina van Biljon
22 October 2026
Over the past 14 years, we've had the privilege of working with more than 160 landowners on restoration and landscaping projects across the Western Cape. Some projects have flourished from the start, while others have faced significant challenges.
Every property is different. Every river, wetland, landscape, and landowner has unique circumstances that require a tailored approach. Yet despite these differences, we've noticed several common factors that consistently contribute to successful restoration projects.
If you're considering a rehabilitation, restoration, or ecological landscaping project on your property, these lessons may help you avoid common pitfalls and set your project up for long-term success.
If you're short on time to read this article, focus on the first two sections of this article. In our experience, attitude, vision and heart are the foundations upon which everything else is built.
In this article we will be covering:
Attitude
Vision and Heart
Partnerships
Doing Your Homework
Planning
Adaptability and Creativity
Communication and Conflict Resolution
Commitment
Long-Term Vision and Maintenance
1. Attitude: Being Open to New Possibilities
One of the most important ingredients for success is recognising when the current approach isn't solving the problem.
Many landowners face recurring (and sometimes escalating) environmental challenges such as riverbank erosion, flooding, invasive species, or declining water quality and ecosystem health. Often, the same solution is applied year after year, yet the problem persists or even worsens.
For example, in areas such as De Doorns, flood events are frequently followed by extensive earthmoving operations to rebuild channels and berms. While engineering interventions certainly have their place, many landowners are beginning to ask whether there are alternative approaches that can work alongside traditional methods.
At a recent farmers' meeting, where Johann presented on ecological restoration, several farmers showed interest in using indigenous vegetation as part of river management strategies rather than relying exclusively on machinery.
This shift starts with an open mindset.
Unfortunately, labels can sometimes become barriers. Whether someone is called a "farmer," an "engineer," or a "greenie," these categories often prevent productive conversations. In reality, most people working in environmental restoration want to help landowners care for and protect their natural assets.
Restoration ecologists understand that landowners are often expected to invest in environmental improvements without the immediate financial returns associated with crops or livestock. That's why collaboration, trust, and shared goals are so important.
Successful landowners are often willing to:
Listen to different perspectives.
Explore solutions outside their usual toolbox.
Consider approaches that initially feel unfamiliar.
Learn from both scientific knowledge and practical experience.
Sometimes different solutions may even appear to conflict:
Building hard engineering structures versus stabilising banks with vegetation.
Channelising rivers versus creating space for rivers to function naturally.
Short-term control versus long-term resilience.
Being open to these conversations creates opportunities for better outcomes. Considering conflicting solutions is not always easy. People can be convinced that they are doing the right thing, but it may be damaging to other people or the environment. Alternatives may venture into the unknown and bring uncomfortable feelings of anxiety and extra stress that is unwelcome.
Some people are pioneers, while others prefer if someone else take the risk and then see if it works. If it works, then they may consider doing it. Farmers have to take risks, due to the unpredictability of the weather.
Fortunately there are many farmers that have taken the risk of investing in ecological rehabilitation and you can see the result. There are many educational opportunities already exist through farmer associations, LandCare programmes, water user associations, and field days. Intaba has been partnering with LandCare and the Water Users' Associations over at least 5 years to do regular bus tours of rehabilitation sites. Evidence based (visiting established sites) with specialists with over 10+ years of experience in river rehabilitation will help in informed decision making.
Landowner's meeting at the 24 Rivers Irrigation Board, with presentations on river restoration by Rudolph Roscher (LandCare) and Johann van Biljon (Intaba).
2. Vision and Heart: Seeing Nature as an Asset
When landowners begin to see their natural resources as valuable assets rather than liabilities, transformation becomes possible.
One of our favourite examples comes from a farmer near Goudini who strongly disliked taaibos because it was difficult to remove. After a major flood, he noticed that the riverbanks where taaibos occurred remained stable while other sections washed away. Today, he is one of the strongest advocates for using indigenous vegetation in riverbank stabilisation.
We have seen similar shifts many times.
On the Berg River, the landowner of Bosplaas Farm was initially sceptical of a riparian restoration project. Wild olive seedlings spread naturally into his irrigated vineyards, creating additional maintenance work. The idea of removing mature blue gum trees was also difficult for him to accept. However, over time he witnessed the development of a thriving indigenous riverine forest. As birdlife increased and the landscape became more diverse and beautiful, his perspective changed. Today, he actively transplants naturally occurring wild olive seedlings from his vineyards back into the river corridor and even extends irrigation lines to support the expanding forest.
The project became personal.
A Vision is the ability to imagine a better future and then take practical steps towards creating it.
Trees take time to grow, but meaningful change can happen much faster than many people expect.
A semi-retired landowner in Tulbagh once told us that his dream was to walk beneath a shady indigenous forest and listen to birdsong. He doubted he would ever experience that vision during his lifetime due to a fire that burnt most of the vegetation to the ground.
Twelve years later, some of the trees planted during the early stages of the project have formed a canopy more than four metres high. Today, he walks through the forest with his dogs, pruning pathways and enjoying what has become an extended riparian garden of immense ecological and personal value.
This raises an important question:
What kind of landscape do you want to leave behind?
Restoration is not only about solving environmental problems. It is also about creating places that bring beauty, well being, biodiversity, and meaning to future generations.
In many cases, ecological restoration can also create economic opportunities. Indigenous forests, healthy rivers, and beautiful landscapes can support tourism, accommodation, campsites, recreation, and improved property value.
The strongest projects are often those where ecological value and economic sustainability support one another.
3. Partnerships: No One Restores a Landscape Alone
Large restoration projects can feel overwhelming when viewed as a responsibility that rests entirely on one person.
The reality is that most successful restoration depends on partnerships.
No landowner has all the expertise, resources, or capacity required to tackle every challenge alone. By working with the right people and organisations, even ambitious projects become achievable.
Partnerships can provide:
Technical expertise
Access to information
Strategic planning support
Additional workforce capacity
Funding opportunities
Equipment and resources
Valuable professional networks
Over the years, we have partnered with:
Water User Associations
LandCare (Department of Agriculture)
Municipal and Provincial government
SANBI
Freshwater ecologists
Hydrologists
Soil scientists
Engineers
Botanists and Ecologists
Environmental assessment specialists
Academic institutions and students
WWF (World Wildlife Fund)
Cape Nature
Working for Water
Other restoration practitioners and landscapers
Alien clearing contractors
Forums and societies: The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER), South African Wetlands Forum, Fynbos Forum
World Bank
FSC and Reforest Action Partnership (carbon credits)
Training institutions and NPOs: Koue Bokkeveld Opleidingsentrum, Columba Leadership, Greenfingers, !Khwa ttu San Culture and Education Centre
Other consultants: Batem, Who Am I Foundation
Conservancies: Rooiberg, Grootvadersbos, Simonsberg and more.
The most successful projects are rarely the result of one organisation's work. They are usually the result of many people contributing different skills towards a shared vision.
4. Doing your homework
Developing a vision and a management plan are great, but first you need to do your homework.
Understand the background/history of your land. What was it like 20-100 years ago? Who were the people who lived there, what did they do? What was the climate and how has that changed?
In order to understand your problems and how to fix them is it best to understand the full picture and context. In ecosystems nothing works in isolation, it is all interconnected. We need to take this approach as well.
Ecosystem drivers – these are the things that drive change and there are the root causes of degradation.
We worked with a landowner in Stellenbosch that mostly lives overseas. He developed an interest in the farm’s history and asked a historian to compile a historical record of the farm including as much detail as possible. Next he asked us to research the ecological aspect of the farm, this took nearly a year. With this wealth of knowledge he was able to make well informed decisions about his farm and restore it to the best of his ability.
Some sources of info that are worth investigating:
Topography & land use: Look at old aerial photos on Google Earth. Check what lands were developed/ intact. What was the path of the river/ streams and secondary channels.
Vegetation: Plant Z Africa is a great resource to learn more about indigenous plants: https://pza.sanbi.org/ or
iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/ which also includes all living creatures mapped out and observations are posted daily. We did a blog post on how to use this App: https://www.greenintaba.co.za/post/rehabilitation-tools-inaturalist
South Africa has an incredible diversity in plant and vegetation types. This resource is freely available and provides plant lists for each type.
Cape Farm mapper is a useful mapping tool that includes multiple resource layers for your selected location https://gis.elsenburg.com/apps/cfm/ . There is also a blog post about how to use this resource: https://www.greenintaba.co.za/post/rehabilitation-tools-unlocking-local-plants-for-restoration-project-with-cape-farm-mapper
Rainfall and climate data: Cape Farm mapper (see link above)
Historical photos (pre-google Maps) are available free of charge from 'Mowbray Mapping': National Geo-spatial Information (NGI) https://resource.geospatialworld.net We use these records to track where rivers used to flow historically and see any changes that may have occurred over time. Many rivers become channalised and this disrupts the natural flow of the river. Why do certain areas flood and get more damage than other areas? This could be because it historically used to flow there. It is fantastic to discover the reason why things happen in nature. Then you can work with it and not against it.
Historical records of the Cape Farms, settlers, indigenous communities and their hunting/grazing habits (various sources) – Bleek, Lloyd, Thunberg, Burchell are good references. All these historical accounts can be facinating and provide information about vegetation, animals that occurred there and activities that people used to do. This may have an effect on the present day, or at least you can see how much it has changed over time. Was there abundance of palatable grasses 100+ years ago and why are they so few present today?
5. Planning
Planning with regards to a rehabilitation project can involve:
5.1 Meetings:
Inviting the right people into your challenges is key. Authentic people will speak the truth, sometimes that is not always comfortable. But at least you know they are not just in it for the money. Have honest conversations and ask hard or challenging questions. Some experts may not have all the answers you seek, it may be a bit more like a puzzle with different parts contributing to solve the bigger picture. Don't give up if you paid a lot of money to a consultant that didn't solve your problem. Check for evidence, ask your connections and you will find the right person who has a track record you can trust with references.
5.2 Production of working documents:
Environmental Management Plan – which can include all aspects of your farm: climate, geology, vegetation type, fire management, alien clearing, corridors, soil health etc… this can be a document that hold all the research you have done about your farm relating to the environment. Plus recommendations from experts. Spend some time setting out a vision and goals. What do you want to achieve in 1-5yrs or 5yrs plus?
At Intaba we involved a team building constulant (with a track record) to help us develop our vision. We also re-visit our vision from time to time. We involve our staff in team building and communicating that vision.
Rehabilitation plan – this is specifically focusing on the degradation drivers (environmental problems) and actions needed to ‘fix’ them. Usually including a plant species list, remedial actions, timeline, costing and outlining responsibilities between the different parties. This is more of a working document, similar to a work contract or agreement. Costings are more complex than quotations that may need to be modified over time as things progress with the project. A working costing or budget that is shared between the landowner and the contractor is crucial. This costing/budget and tracking of work needs to be updated regularly. Rehabilitation plans could also include alien clearing, soil erosion measures and maintenance plans. It needs to link to the Environmental Management Plan and should work towards the long term plan and vision.
5.3 Budgets and spreadsheets:
Don’t start with what budget you have available. Farmers hardly have any money to spare and I doubt that will change. Start with the bigger picture (long term vision), the ideal situation and then see how you can either achieve it over a few years or see where you can save, get help or draw in more partners. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Just keep the vision in mind, don’t loose hope when you are number crunching or facing challenges.
3. Adaptability
Adaptability is a form of creativity and also known as ‘Boer maak ‘n plan’. Farmers in South Africa are known for ‘boer maak ‘n plan’. However, we don’t always hear about these creative solutions being shared with the wider community.
Working with landowners, we hear of lots of these ‘maak ‘n plan’. Some are successful and some are not…and possibly cause more damage. We have witnessed many of these and share a few stories below.
Successful ‘Maak ‘n plan’
Along the Berg River near Hermon, a farmer decided to transplant wild olive trees that pop up in his orchards as seedlings onto dripper lines along the river. These trees transplant well if you provide irrigation. Many of these trees did survive. But he also experienced irrigation failure in some parts, as he used old dripper lines which didn’t always worked. One just needs to prepare yourself to accept risk.
Farmer near Worcester used to hate taaibos, as it is difficult to get rid of - if it is in the ‘wrong’ location. However over the years he has realised that this plant is very useful in stabilising river banks. He is now buying local indigenous seed for his own projects.
On the 24 Rivers near Saron there is not enough irrigation water available for indigenous plants to be planted, as they are using most of their allocated water on their orchards. We changed our strategy to include high density sowing of seed on disturbed banks. This requires less water and has shown excellent coverage within a few months, in spite of erratic rainfall in 2026.
A landowner can’t afford gabions or other interventions to slow down the speed of the river (and the erosion potential), so under guidance from Intaba they used palmiet cuttings and planted them at the rivers edge in summer time. Most took root and established.
Another species - Pennisetum macrourum (a grass- like plant) that grows easily from divisions is used in river and is excellent in stabilising soil. This is seen below at Bosplaas Farm, Berg River where they made divisions and planted them along the river bank.
Not successful ‘Maak ‘n plan’
A landowner near Tulbagh bought trees on special at a nearby nursery and planted them at the river – they did not know that the trees were invasive plants (Australian bottle brush) and are supposed to be removed by law. They had to take them out in the end.
In Paarl, to save money an organisation transplanted grass clumps along a riverbank and bought seed from a company in another province to stabilise the riverbank. Unfortunately the grasses are invasive and the grass will become a liability going forward, as invasive grasses are difficult to get rid of, as many have developed resistance to herbicides.
Floods have damaged the farmer’s vineyards in De Doorns and they often use large machinery to clear out the river and make it more like a channel with high berms to protect orchards. The loose rocks and berms are washed away almost yearly and this requires yearly maintenance at a high price tag. There is very little topsoil to plant plants in, which makes restoration very challenging.
4. Communication & conflict resolution
Usually an issue arises about a) budget, b) water and c) logistics. However, there are also other challenges that we have faced with landowners. Here we will outline some of the common issues and our possible solutions that we have come up with.
a) Budget
We have noticed people would rather spend money on earth moving than planting plants, although it is not necessarily money well spent. There is a place for earth moving – we undertake earth moving from time to time, when we get permission to correct the river bank’s slope. However, we are not quick to jump into this and would prefer to do Lidar scanning and model different senarios under flooding. Also we look at historical secondary channels. Planting plants seem risky – how can a few bushes slow down the river? But why, year after year the palmiet grow and flourish in the Western Cape rivers in spite of the floods. If you plant plants, they multiply naturally (if they are in the right conditions and habitat). You will be investing into your future protection of your resources.
If you don’t sow or plant after a flood – where there is bare soil, other invasive plants and weeds will colonise. Then you need to spend money removing them. When you sow a mix of indigenous plants, grasses after a flood they should prevent weeds from dominating. You only have a small window to sow before the winter rains come (in the Western Cape).
One needs to consider the risk (and cost) of no- action (not doing something) after an environmental disaster (flood).
b) Water
If you are going to plant plants for rehabilitation, you need to water them for at least a year to get them established. Especially in our dry and unpredictable climate in the Western Cape. We generally suggest a combination of sowing and planting. Some species do not work well with sowing directly into nature, as they need a nursing environment. These are usually the shrub and tree component. These plants are necessary for a functioning ecosystem. Irrigation requirements for these plants can be discussed before the time.
c) Logistics
Have a whatsapp group for all people involved in the rehabilitation project. Especially if it occurs over a few years or is complicated with many people involved. Do not leave any contract teams out of communication. The alien clearing teams may conflict with the planting team and the planting team may conflict with the irrigation team if it is not well co-ordinated. For example, the alien clearing team may spray herbicide on the newly planted plants. Or the irrigation team forget to mention that a pipe burst and the plants did not get water for a week and many of the plants die.
Make sure that collection and delivery of plants runs smoothly with the appropriate transport (truck or trailer?). The farm manager or a three year project (plant over 10Ha of corridors), decided to modify his bakkie/trailer to have racks to optimally transport as many seed trays as possible. Saving on transport costs in the long run.
Quantities need to be checked – planting or seeding densities need to be planned before the time. Intaba has a nursery manager and an online stock taking App (custom built) that creates delivery notes when plants are booked out of the nursery. The system allocates specific plants that have been propagated for each project and traces plants throughout the nursery. This is necessary to keep the projects flowing smoothly and that errors are reduced.
The ground team should know how many plants to plant per m2 or at each dripper point. Which blocks or zones to plant needs to be planned and communicated with managers, supervisors and drivers. Sowing teams should have experience in sowing/planting technique so that the seed is evenly distributed over the site. If not, then guidance should be given in these techniques. This reduced plant mortalities on site.
Mixing seed requires masks to prevent choking on the fine particles. Make sure it is done in a wind free area. Ask the contractor to pre-mix the seeds for you if you are not able to do so. If you are using your own labour team make sure they are trained to plant or sow. The seeds can be a mixture. Some are fine like dust and others slightly larger. So this requires some skill to sow the mixture.
Timelines are also crucial. Planting or seed harvesting season can be limited to specific time frames. If you don’t draw up a rehabilitation plan with a time frame, you may get yourself into trouble. Maybe you want to plant this year, however the time to harvest seeds is past. Which may delay operations. Especially if the project is dependant on external funding. Sometimes the funding cycles are very short and you may miss this opportunity. Seed for rehabilitation that are locally sourced are not easily available. Seed needs to be collected, cleaned and sometimes treated before it can be sown. Work in enough time into your planning for seed harvesting and plant propagation.
d) Miscommunication
Most of the issues from miscommunication happen when a quotation or proposal is sent through and not discussed thoroughly.
Sometimes a written agreement is needed to outline responsibilities especially if it is a join run project. Where some of the farm’s labour and other resources are used together with the practitioner/contract team. For example, who’s responsibility is it to install the irrigation mainline or alien clearing before planting?
Planting plans or quantities of plants/seeds may change, which can have an influence on budgets. Make sure budget updates are done regularly and are shared with relevant people. If anything extra is added to the job, make sure it is communicated in writing (email) and that it is agreed upon.
Terms and conditions needs to be outlined before work commences.
5. Commitment
Watering of plants, even over Christmas.
We have seen over the years that the main time frames when plants die on rehab sites are at the change of seasons – winter to spring and also over the December to late summer. Especially over the Christmas break. If the person who is responsible for opening and closing taps goes on leave and no arrangements have been made. It can take one week of no watering and many plants can die. Connecting the irrigation line to an orchard nearby can work, but just check that taps are open.
Commitment to the vision when it gets tough. Sometimes weeds dominate and it looks like a rehabilitation site is a disaster. There are many unpredictable things that can happen. It seems like a failure, but it may not necessarily be the reality. Weeds are not always long lived. If you have the right mix of indigenous plants (with some shade-producing trees) the weeds should die away, as there is not enough sunlight. Ask for a follow up visit with an expert that knows these cycles and they will guide you in what to do. Poisons to use or strategies forward. Many times we have heard that a site is a failure. We have learnt when to take action and when to be patient and see if the landowner will return to his values and see that there is some success, although it might not be so easily noticeable in this time frame. Plants can surprise you… you plant a knee-high tree and forget about it. In 5 years it may be over your head giving you some shade. This is very rewarding to see.
6. Long term vision & maintenance
Returning to the vision is key. Without vision we often become hopeless and energy dissipates and often the hard work of the past comes into disrepair and ruin. Have a picture in mind what you are aiming at.
Who will take the vision forward?
Ideally we would like our children to carry on with the vision. It is not always possible that the next generation continues with the vision. The reality is that often landowners sell their property, and the vision is not transferred or communicated. Rehabilitation sites are often completely abandoned. But there are some cases where the new landowner continues, but this is vary rare. Writing your conservation land into the title deeds is one way of securing it in perpetuity https://www.capenature.co.za/stewardship . The Overberg Renosterveld Trust has helped many landowners. To read further about their inspiring efforts: https://overbergrenosterveld.org.za/conservation-easements/
Nature is resilient once it is restored to a near natural state. So it should look after itself more and more. We do however need to manage it in a mosaic of farmland. Maintenance plans can include protection from frequent fires and grazing cycles to reduce biomass and allow some form of disturbance. These should be built into your Management Plan and passed onto the next in line.
You are welcome to contact us or leave a comment.
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