URGENT APPEAL: Help Stop the Illegal Off-Road Race Track Threatening Harkerville's Forest and pristine Bos River.

We, the undersigned Garden Route residents, nature lovers, and concerned citizens, call on the Bitou Municipality and relevant authorities to deny the application to legalise an illegal off-road motorcycle track currently operating in the forests of Harkerville, between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay on South Africa’s Garden Route.

This race track was created without environmental approvals or community consultation, has already caused significant ecological harm, and continues to disrupt the peace, safety, and biodiversity of the region.

The landowner built the tracks illegally, does not have the support of the local community, has ignored cease-and-desist orders and is now seeking retroactive permission to operate this race track.

They have just filed a new application with the Bitou municipality for a 40 motorbike off-road race track with all the associated noise and pollution, attempting to gain retroactive approval for what is already unlawful land use.

Their ongoing activities are a dangerous fire hazard in an area surrounded by highly  flammable alien vegetation and represent a serious violation to the natural environment.

Their illegal operations are threatening one of the Garden Route’s most pristine natural regions that includes indigenous Knysna forest and innumerable animals, birds and other fauna and flora.

We demand:

Immediate enforcement of the existing cease-and-desist order.

Rejection of the landowner’s current application to legalise or extend the race track.

Restoration of affected land and the protection of the Bos River and surrounding wildlife habitats.

Please support us in our efforts to ensure the law is upheld, not only to protect the peace, health, and safety of local residents, but to defend the forests, rivers, and wildlife that make this region so rare and precious. 

The Harkerville forest is a vital, living ecosystem that supports countless species and offers sanctuary to all who dwell in it. What happens here affects all of us. 

When we allow one part of this living system to be damaged and decimated with impunity, we erode the wellbeing of the whole. As custodians of this wild and beautiful place, it is our duty to stand for what is right, fair, legal and sustainable.

We must ensure that short-sighted private interests do not override the delicate balance that sustains all life in this region of extraordinary natural beauty. Allowing this to go ahead sets a dangerous precedent for other illegal initiatives that threaten the environment to also go ahead. 

If your values align with ours, as set out in the statement above, please sign our petition