Who Are We?

The Lower Breede River Conservancy is the officially appointed Management Authority of the Lower Breede River and Estuary. The Breede River is the largest navigable river in the Western Cape and is known for the rich fishing grounds and overall biodiversity, a real gem of the Overberg and Eden area.

Our responsibility is to protect the valuable natural resource that is the Breede River Estuary and its environs and to promote, and ensure adherence to, best practices of nature conservation, both terrestrial and aquatic and, observance of all regulations pertaining to the use of the Estuary and the adjoining land areas.

History of the LBRC

• The LBRC came into being in 1996 following a public meeting held at the DeHoop Nature Reserve.
• When the Conservancy was formalised it was decided that it would replace the Breede River Trust that had existed since 1986.
• In 2003 Swellendam Municipality appointed the LBRC as Managing Authority of the Lower Breede River (West bank) and in November 2009 an agreement was signed with Hessequa municipality in terms of which LBRC also became Managing Authority for the East Bank.