The “Kogelberg C.A.R.E” mobile app is a free tool for Coastal Area Reporting and Engagement. It is designed to encourage active citizenship for taking collective care of Kogelberg’s ocean and coastline. This includes simple functionality to report incidences of poaching, pollution, or marine wildlife strandings. Users can also quickly report any sightings of wildfires in the fynbos-heart of the Kogelberg.

The app was designed to be used – and useful – by those who live, work, and play in the Kogelberg area. This includes tourists and residents of the Kogelberg’s coastal towns of Kleinmond, Betty’s Bay, Pringle Bay, and Rooiels, as well as local business owners, scientists, and local authorities.

An important part of these coastal communities is the local small-scale fishers who know this coastline better than most. By using the C.A.R.E app to report any ocean and coast issues, they can be the frontline defenders for the well-being of the sea and its vast array of marine species.

After downloading the app, a quick registration process allows users to start using the concise app. Plus, ocean-loving users of the app will also get local weather information and be alerted to any marine issues such as a case of a red tide and the related need to avoid collecting mussels.

The app’s welcome page greets you with a pair of perky African penguins – a resident species at the Stony Point Nature Reserve in Betty’s Bay. However, these iconic seabirds are endangered. Such an app is a critical aspect of ensuring that any marine issues can be captured – and then addressed – appropriately.

The backend of the app is connected to South Africa’s “C-More” national security cluster which means that any logged incident will be correctly and quickly assigned to the relevant authority. There is a 24/7 Command Centre that monitors all reported incidents.

C-More was developed by the Council for Scientific Research as a closed system to connect various national departments that deal with environmental crimes such as rhino poaching and illegal succulent harvesting. However, C-More has not had a strong marine component. Until now. In connecting the Kogelberg C.A.R.E app to C-More, it will be the first time that a public-facing app will feed into South Africa’s national security cluster. Thus, it is the first time that citizen support will be able to swiftly contribute towards caring for and monitoring our coastal environment.

The Kogelberg C.A.R.E app has a focus that is wider than reporting of environmental crimes. It also aims to provide concerned citizens with a quick way to link to wildfire and sea rescue services.

Says Craig Smith, Senior Manager for WWF South Africa’s Marine Portfolio, “We are very excited to see this coastal app become a reality. We believe that this app will help to tackle some of the ongoing issues from a unique perspective, by empowering members of the public to be our eyes and ears in sharing any concerns that they spot along the coastline and at sea.”

Authorities that are being onboarded include CapeNature, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Overberg, Wildfire Volunteers, Overstrand Local Municipality, and theKogelberg Biosphere Reserve Company. “Heat maps” of incidents are also generated to improve resource planning by authorities for future type incidents. The reporting is intended to promote more effective mobilization of authorities to a particular incident, but the data collected would also be used to provide heat maps of where and when incidents occur so as to assist authorities in resource planning for future incidents.

While Kogelberg is the pilot area for this exciting new app, if it is successfully received and effective, in the future it could be rolled out to other coastal towns with small-scale fishing communities in South Africa.