Wetlands of International Importance
listed on the Montreux Record
17 March 1998
In July 1996, Blesbokspruit was placed on the Montreux Record in response to contamination by large quantities of polluted water discharged from adjacent Grootvlei Proprietary Mines Limited. The water originated from underground workings and threatened to irretrievably flood the mine. Permission for continued pumping was granted by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry on condition that measures to improve the quality of the water were installed and a permanent solution to the problem, in the form of a desalination plant, was investigated.
Despite these measures, however, the impact of the discharge on the ecological character of the Ramsar site has been severe. The high concentration of dissolved solids and large volumes of water being discharged have impacted on the hydrology and ecology of the wetland to the extent that it no longer fulfills the criteria under which it was designated a Ramsar site in 1986.
The impacts are manifested primarily in two ways. Firstly, water quality has deteriorated, resulting in a decline in the abundance and diversity of aquatic animal species. Secondly, the seasonal fluctuation in water levels in the wetland has been replaced by permanently flooded conditions. Being in a climatic region characterised by summer rainfall, the system originally displayed a natural regime of high summer flows and reduced water levels in winter. This dynamic fluctuation in water levels maintained habitat diversity and ecosystem productivity. The result of high stable water levels, together with large concentrations of nutrients derived from domestic and industrial discharges upstream of the wetland, is a severe reed encroachment problem that has brought about a decline in habitat diversity. This loss of the dynamic habitat mosaic has induced a corresponding decline in diversity of birds and other species depending on the wetland for feeding, roosting and breeding sites.
Since the listing of Blesbokspruit on the Montreux Record, the following developments have taken place:
- Clarifying tanks were constructed by the mine, with government assistance, in order to remove the high levels of iron hydroxides in the water prior to its being discharged. While this has resulted in a visible improvement in the clarity of the water entering the wetland, the high salt loads and large volumes of water continue to impact on the system.
- During 1996 a Joint Venture Committee (JVC) was established, comprising the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) and several other government departments. The JVC produced a cost-benefit analysis of a number of scenarios for handling the mine water discharge, and the future management of the Blesbokspruit. From this analysis a number of recommendations were made to the Cabinet, which subsequently recognised that the construction of a desalination plant was inevitable and that a management committee should be created to co-ordinate the management of the Ramsar site.
- An Interim Management Advisory Committee (IMAC), chaired by the
provincial authority responsible for managing the Ramsar site, has been
established. All major stakeholders are represented on the Committee,
whose mandate is to develop a management plan for the wetland.
Preliminary goals and objectives have been compiled and a
comprehensive management plan will be developed within the next two
years. The vision for the plan is:
to restore, maintain and enhance the ecological characteristics for which the Blesbokspruit was designated to the List of Wetlands of International Importance, and to provide human benefits compatible with the concept of wise use advocated by the Convention on Wetlands.
- The Gauteng Directorate of Nature Conservation has initiated a number of pilot projects aimed at finding a feasible means of controlling reed encroachment.
- Public hearings sanctioned by Cabinet and co-ordinated by the Gauteng Directorate of Environment were held during August 1997, in order to elicit feedback from interested and affected parties on the JVC report and to discuss possible solutions and management options for the wetland. A record of the proceedings of the hearings has been produced and will be submitted to Cabinet.
- The DEAT and provincial authorities are involved in processes to ensure that the Ramsar site is not further impacted by other developments in the Blesbokspruit catchment. Proposed developments include the construction of a regional sewage treatment works upstream of the wetland and the opening of an opencast coal mine on the site's eastern boundary. The DEAT is opposing any further discharges of effluent into the Blesbokspruit upstream of the wetland, on the grounds that these will further disrupt the flow patterns of the system.
- The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has commenced a study on the Blesbokspruit catchment, with the aim of producing a catchment management plan. Together with the management plan for the Ramsar site, this will provide the authorities with a sturdy framework from which to assess the potential impacts of future developments on the wetland.
- Water birds in the Ramsar site are counted twice a year and monitoring of the water quality, both chemically and biologically, is conducted by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and Rand Water. The quality of Grootvlei's discharge is also closely monitored to ensure it complies with the permitted standards.
Conclusion
The issue of the discharge of water by Grootvlei mine has proven to be highly complex, involving social, economic and political elements. The threat of job and revenue losses following the closure of Grootvlei mine, should it no longer be permitted to discharge into the wetland, has been effectively used at a political level to motivate for the continued discharge of water. It is clearly an issue that will not be easily resolved.
With the increase in development in the Blesbokspruit catchment, it is becoming clear that only an integrated approach to the management of the wetland, which takes into account all major stakeholders, will succeed in restoring and maintaining the ecological character of the wetland. The survival of Blesbokspruit Ramsar site will depend on the sound management of its catchment.
Despite the developments listed above, the primary cause of the degradation of the Ramsar site, Grootvlei mine, is continuing to disharge polluted water into the wetland. As a result, there has been no improvement in the ecological character of the site, and there is thus no reason to consider the removal of Blesbokspruit from the Montreux Record at this time.
| Initial discharge of highly polluted water directly to the wetland by Grootvlei mine, December 1995 |
| Current situation. Iron hydroxide-rich water is pumped from underground to a settling facility at the mine |
| Precipitation of iron compounds and suspended solids in clarifying tanks |
| Discharge of partially treated mine water to the wetland |
2. Orange River Mouth
In September 1995, Orange River mouth was placed on the Montreux Record following the collapse of the salt marsh component of the estuary. The rapid degradation of the salt marsh was the result of a combination of impacts, both at and upstream of the wetland. These included adjacent diamond mining activities, flow regulation of the Orange River as a result of dam construction, mosquito control measures and poor management of the mouth.
The result of the collapse of the salt marsh, and the general decline of the mouth in general, has been a significant decrease in the number of waterfowl utilizing the wetland. This is of serious concern as the mouth is regarded as the sixth most important coastal wetland in southern Africa in terms of the number of waterfowl it supports. The impact of the decline in ecological functioning on fish species utilizing the estuary and salt marsh is unknown. It is however suspected that the loss of such an integral component of the wetland system cannot fail to impact on these species.
Since the listing of the Orange River mouth on the Montreux Record, the following developments have taken place:
- The Northern Cape Conservation Service (NCNCS), the provincial authority responsible for managing the site, is currently engaged in efforts to secure statutory protected status for the wetland. The proclamation of the Ramsar site as a nature reserve is essential if the wetland is to be adequately protected and managed. Formal protected status will afford the site the security of a full-time warden. The establishment of the reserve has been made possible by the allocation of funds specifically for the project by the government of the Northern Cape Province.
- NCNCS has, in consultation with various stakeholders, been examining the options for rehabilitation of the site. A rehabilitation plan for the salt marsh has been developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, but has yet to be implemented. This document has been incorporated into the Environmental Management Programme of Alexkor, the state-owned diamond mining company responsible for much of the degradation of the salt marsh. However, it is claimed that financial constraints have prevented Alexkor from implementing this component of their programme.
- The instream flow requirements necessary to sustain the ecological processes and systems at the mouth have been conveyed to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry as part of the input of the Northern Cape Province to the ongoing Orange River Replanning Study. This study seeks to reassess the allocation of the water resources of the river, which are becoming severely limited.
- Alexkor has undertaken to reroute a road embankment that prevented exchange of water between the salt marsh and estuary. This embankment was one of the factors leading to the collapse of the salt marsh. Work has commenced and a breach several hundred metres long has been excavated in the embankment, which is allowing the influx of water to the marsh.
- The Orange River Interim Management Committee (ORMIMC), which had not met since 1995, has been revived by NCNCS, who are responsible for its co-ordination. This committee will be responsible for developing a management plan for the wetland and addressing potential threats to the Ramsar site.
- Several meetings between officials of the Northern Cape and Namibian governments have taken place with the aim of exploring the possibility of creating a transboundary Ramsar site. This is highly feasible as Namibia has designated its portion of the mouth a Ramsar site and plans to expand its boundaries upstream. Drafting of a joint management plan for the transboundary site has already commenced.
Conclusion
The pending proclamation of a protected area at the mouth, towards the end of 1998, will enable NCNCS to begin managing and rehabilitating the wetland. Rehabilitation options for the salt marsh will however be costly and funding for this process has not been allocated by the Northern Cape government. Success in restoring the ecological character of the site will depend on the involvement of the DEAT and NCNCS with management of the river as a whole. While the proclamation of the reserve at the mouth will facilitate the restoration of the wetland, the current ecological character of the site motivates against its removal from the Montreux Record at this point.
| Remaining Sarcocornia salt marsh community |
| Steadily advancing destruction of salt marsh vegetation by, among other agents, windblown sediment |
| Totally degraded salt marsh. Sand dumps such as those in the background are the result of diamond mining activities and have contributed much of the sediment that has smothered the vegetation |
| Looking towards the mouth along the road embankment that was built to provide access to the mouth. The effect of the embankment has been to isolate the bulk of the salt marsh (on left side) from the river |
| If you have any comments on this page, or need more information, please contact John Dini at nat_jd@ozone.pwv.gov.za. |
| This page is maintained by the South African Wetlands Conservation Programme and was last updated on 12 January 1999. |