History
The reserve was established in 1952 in cooperation with the Cape Divisional Council (now Cape Metropolitan Council), when the area was still used by locals to graze horses and cattle, for woodcutting and flower picking. Originally it consisted of the vlei and about 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) of land, which was extended in 1963 and 1987 by adding dunes and seasonal wetlands to the south of the vlei to the reserve. To prevent flooding of the built-up areas, which contained then mainly sub-economic housing, a dam at the south-eastern end of the vlei was built to permanently lower the level of Rondevlei. The management of the reserve was taken over by the South Peninsula Municipality in 1997 and it is now part of the City of Cape Town.
Read more about this topic: Rondevlei Nature Reserve
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