Why is Cape Town axing trees to prevent drought? – BBC News

Three years ago, Cape Town in South Africa came dangerously close to completely running out of water when a severe and unanticipated drought turned all local reservoirs into dustbowls.

To prevent this happening again, dozens of teams armed with chainsaws are seeking to protect those reservoirs in an unusual manner – by chopping down tens of thousands of trees on the mountains surrounding them.

It seems counter-intuitive – but non-native trees are responsible for using an equivalent of two to three months of Cape Town’s annual water consumption.

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