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South African
National Wetland
Inventory


Summary of the proceedings of a workshop held at the
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pretoria,
from 4-5 November 1997


Contents


Introduction

Of the range of ecosystems that comprise our biological diversity, wetlands have been identified by the World Conservation Strategy (IUCN 1980) as the third most important life support system on the planet. Wetlands provide humans with a range of services, functions and products that have direct economic, social and cultural value and are integral to the survival and well-being of most communities. These ecosystems have indispensable ecological value as storehouses of biodiversity, by providing the water and primary productivity upon which a range of plant and animal species depend for survival. The role of wetlands as key components of the natural machinery of the planet, especially the hydrological cycle, is well established.

Despite these values, however, wetlands are among the most impacted and degraded of all ecological systems (Ramsar Convention Bureau 1997). Across the world, wetlands are being lost at an ever increasing rate. The magnitude of wetland loss in South Africa is no exception to this global trend (Walmsley 1988). In the Mfolozi catchment, for example, Begg (1988) determined that 58% of the original wetland area has been lost. An arid country such as ours cannot afford any further losses of those landscape components which contribute substantially to the storage, purification and recharge of water resources.

Against this background of global wetland destruction, an intergovernmental treaty, the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention) was established with the aim of promoting the conservation and wise use of all wetland habitats. As a signatory to the Convention, South Africa has undertaken to fulfill a number of obligations in order to ensure the effective conservation and management of its wetlands (Cowan 1995). The initiation of a national wetland inventory is one such obligation and is a task that underlies the capacity to make sound conservation and management decisions relating to South African wetlands.

The need for a national wetland inventory extends far beyond the fulfilment of obligations to the Convention on Wetlands. The Convention on Biological Diversity, which South Africa recently ratified, calls for a catalogue of our biodiversity, including ecosystems and landscapes. A national inventory is widely considered a prerequisite for the successful integration of wetland-related issues into water and land-use planning frameworks, and policy development (Hecker & Tomàs Vives 1995). The recent promulgation of regulations under sections 21, 26 and 28 of the Environmental Conservation Act, which govern activities requiring an environmental impact assessment, has created an urgent need for the authorities empowered by this legislation to have sufficient information at their disposal to be able to make sound decisions.

As the authority responsible for implementing the Convention on Wetlands in South Africa, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has been identified as the agent to be coordinating and leading the process of inventory development (Walmsley & Boomker 1988). One of the stages in this process was the convening of a national workshop in order to discuss various aspects of the inventory and to plan the way forward. The national workshop aimed to build on the groundwork laid by an earlier workshop, held in 1988 by the Foundation for Research Development, on wetland inventory and classification (see Walmsley & Boomker 1988). This document presents a summary of the discussions that took place at the national workshop between the major stakeholders in the inventory, outlines the decisions taken and presents the way forward for the inventory.

Objectives of the workshop

The workshop aimed to achieve the following objectives:

Presentations

 Objectives of the inventory

The MedWet project to inventory Mediterranean wetlands generated a set of objectives that apply broadly to all wetland inventories (Costa et al 1996). With minor modifications, these objectives were adopted for the South African inventory:

A number of short-term objectives were also determined, relating primarily to the establishment of the structure and methodology of the inventory:

Classification system and wetland definition

In order to facilitate the use of South African inventory data in global wetland analyses, the Ramsar Bureau has requested that the Ramsar classification system be used in the inventory. However, this system has several shortcomings within an inventory context. For this reason it was decided to adopt the Cowardin system of wetland classification (Figure 1) for the South African inventory, and use it in parallel with the Ramsar system. The wetland definition developed by Cowardin, which forms an integral component of the Cowardin classification system, will be used as the working definition in order to identify and delineate wetlands. By this system, wetlands are defined as:

lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water.

In order for an area to be classified as a wetland, it must meet at least one of the following criteria:

  1. At least periodically, the land supports predominantly hydrophytes;
  2. The substrate is predominantly undrained hydric soil;
  3. The substrate is nonsoil and is saturated with water or covered by shallow water at some time during the growing season.

Deepwater habitats, which are defined separately by Cowardin, are also considered wetlands under the Ramsar definition, and will be included in the inventory.

Deepwater habitats are permanently flooded lands lying below the deepwater boundary of wetlands. They include environments where surface water is permanent and often deep, so that water, rather than air, is the principal medium within which the dominant organisms live, whether or not they are attached to the substrate.

Changes to the subsystem and class levels of the classification were proposed in order to adapt the Cowardin system to South African conditions. Changes made at subsystem level were:

A working group coordinated by Geoff Cowan and Peter Goodman will examine the classification at Class level in detail and make the necessary modifications for South African conditions. Peter Goodman will make contact with the authors of the Cowardin system.

cowardin system

Figure 1:The Cowardin classification hierarchy of wetlands and deepwater habitats, showing Systems, Subsystems and Classes.



 User requirements - products, services and applications

The following products were identified as being the most appropriate means of disseminating inventory information:

Information in the database can be supplemented by creating overlays with other databases that contain relevant information. Most of the wetlands listed on the inventory will have very little attribute data, but those that have more information will enhance the value of the database. Over an extended period of time, it is expected that more of the attribute fields will be filled as the data is collected. For a wetland to be listed in the database, it will not be necessary for it to have any attribute information beyond its location and classification. By linking the database to a GIS system, spatial analysis and presentation will be allowed.

 Inventory methodology

 Inventory information - custodianship and access

Being a national database, custodianship will lie with the DEAT in order allow it to meet its obligations to international conventions and to perform analyses on a national scale. The end result will be one database, held by the DEAT, containing standardised information generated by multiple sources. While most of the contents of the database will be within the public domain and openly available to anyone requiring inventory information, certain sensitive data, such as the locations of rare species, will be restricted. The possibility of linking provincial authorities to the database by means of a wide area network, in order to facilitate ease of access, will be explored.

 Funding implications and alternatives

International funding will be sought for the inventory. It will be important to ensure that any international expertise or funds acquired in order to assist in setting up the inventory will include components dedicated to building the capacity of South Africans to undertake the inventory.

The DEAT will, in cooperation with each province, conduct the mapping component of the inventory. Inventory projects initiated by individual provinces will however be encouraged in order to accelerate the pace of delivery of inventory data. The DEAT will work with provinces that are planning inventories, in order to provide support and to ensure that these projects are compatible with the national initiative. Any resources committed by provinces to inventories of their wetlands will strengthen applications made by the DEAT for international funding and will catalyse the inventory process. Recognition of the need for the inventory at a political level (national and provincial) will be sought by the DEAT in order to encourage the allocation of resources to inventory work.

The responsibility for collection of wetland attribute data by means of field surveys will rest primarily with the provinces. Variations in capacity and existing wetland attribute information between provinces will mean that data is collected at a faster rate in some provinces than others. However, once the mapping component is completed in a province, there will at least be mapped boundaries of the wetlands in the province, regardless of the amount of attribute data that has been collected.

 Inventory communication network

The establishment of an informal network between the participants of the workshop was seen as important in order to remain informed of developments. Several means currently exist by which this can be done:

A contact person in each of the provinces will be identified. Provisionally, the participants of the workshop will be considered as the contact persons for their organisations.

 The way forward

In summary, the process of inventory development will proceed as follows:

 References

Begg, G.W. 1988. The Wetlands of Natal (Part 2). The distribution, extent and status of wetlands in the Mfolozi catchment. Natal Town and Regional Planning Commission Report No. 71. Pietermaritzburg

Costa, L.T., Farinha, J.C., Hecker, N. & Tomàs Vives, P. 1996. Mediterranean Wetland Inventory: A Reference Manual. MedWet/Instituto da Conservação da Natureza/Wetlands International Publication, Volume I

Cowan, G.I. 1995. South Africa and the Ramsar Convention. In: Cowan, G.I. (ed) Wetlands of South Africa. Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. Pretoria

Cowardin L.M., Carter, V., Golet, F.C. & LaRoe, E.T. 1979. Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater Habitats of the United States. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Services Program, FWS/OBS-79/31. Washington D.C.

Hecker, N. & Tomàs Vives, P. (eds) 1995. The Status of Wetland Inventories in the Mediterranean Region. MedWet/IWRB Publication 38

Ramsar Convention Bureau. 1997. The Ramsar Convention Manual: a Guide to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971). Second Edition. Ramsar Convention Bureau. Gland. Switzerland

Walmsley, R.D. 1988. A description of the Wetlands Research Programme. South African National Scientific Programmes Report 145:1-26. CSIR. Pretoria

Walmsley, R.D. & Boomker, E.A. (eds) 1988. Inventory and Classification of Wetlands in South Africa. Proceedings of a Workshop. Occasional Report No. 34. Ecosystem Programmes, Foundation for Research Development, CSIR. Pretoria

 Appendix 1: Workshop participants

Organisation Name Tel Fax Address E-mail
Northern Cape Nature Conservation Service Mark Anderson 0531 822 143 0531 813 530 P Bag X6102, Kimberley, 8300 mark@natuur.ncape.gov.za
Cape Nature Conservation Dean Impson 021 889 1560 021 889 1523 P Bag X5014, Stellenbosch 7599 impsond@cncjnk.wcape.gov.za
Natal Parks Board Peter Goodman 0331 471 961 - PO Box 662, Pietermaritzburg, 3200 pgoodman@npb.co.za
Curtice Griffin 091 413 545 2640 (USA) 091 413 545 4358 (USA) University of Massachusetts, Holdsworth Hall, Amherst, MA cgriffin@forwild.umass.edu
Eastern Cape Economic Affairs, Environment and Tourism Gladstone Ntsikwe 0471 312 711 0471 24 322 P Bag X5029, Umtata, 5100 -
Free State Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Johan Watson 051 861 1219 051 861 1026 PO Box 264, Bloemfontein, 9300 -
Thandi Gxaba 051 407 1230 051 448 8361 PO Box 264, Bloemfontein, 9300 -
Nacelle Collins 05861 23520 05861 21772 PO Box 24, Harrismith, 9880 -
Gauteng Nature Conservation Candice Haskins 012 303 2041 012 303 2046 P Bag X209, Pretoria, 0001 -
North-West Province Department of Tourism and Environment Pieter van Heerden 083 654 8414 01211 520751 PO Box 391, Schoemansville, 0216 -
Northern Province Department of Agriculture, Land and Environment Mick Angliss 0158 22369 0158 22369 P Bag X573, Giyani, 0826 fish@pixie.co.za
Hiadee von Well 0152 291 1514 0152 291 1833 PO Box 55464, Pietersburg, 0700 bio@cis.co.za
Andrew Turner 0152 291 1276 0152 291 1833 PO Box 55464, Pietersburg, 0700 bio@cis.co.za
Mpumalanga Parks Board Anton Linström 013 235 2889 013 235 2889 PO Box 4442, Lydenburg, 1120 mlinst@mweb.co.za
National Parks Board Rod Randall 04434 31302 04434 32331 PO Box 176, Sedgefield, 6573 rodr@pixie.co.za
Department of Agriculture Philip Swemmer 012 319 7554 012 329 5938 P Bag X120, Pretoria, 0001 -
Institute for Water Quality Studies, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry Michael Silberbauer 012 808 0374 012 808 0338 P Bag X313, Pretoria, 0001 eck@dwaf-hri.pwv.gov.za
Council for Geoscience Piet-Louis Grundling 012 841 1068 012 841 1140 P Bag X112, Pretoria, 0001 pietlouis@geoscience.org.za
Peter Zawada 012 841 1107 012 841 1203 P Bag X112, Pretoria, 0001 pzawada@geoscience.org.za
Rennies Wetlands Project David Lindley 011 486 0938 011 486 3369 PO Box 44189, Linden, 2104 wetfix@icon.co.za
Rand Water Marc de Fontaine 011 682 0548 011 682 0444 PO Box 1127, Johannesburg, 2000 -
Institute of Natural Resources Nevil Quinn 0331 424 328 0331 424 328 P Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209 water@pixie.co.za
Univeristy of Natal Donovan Kotze 0331 260 5707 0331 260 5708 Dept of Range and Forage Resources, UNP, P Bag X01, Scottsville 3209 kotzed@grass.unp.ac.za
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Retha van der Walt 012 310 3514 012 322 6287 P Bag X447, Pretoria, 0001 nat_rvdw@ozone.pwv.gov.za
Geoff Cowan 012 310 3701 nat_geof@ozone.pwv.gov.za
John Dini 012 310 3789 nat_jd@ozone.pwv.gov.za
Centre for Environmental Management Maitland Seaman 051 401 2863 051 448 8711 UOFS, PO Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300 seamanmt@dre.nw.uovs.ac.za
Betty Phillips 051 401 2629 PO Box 339, Bloemfontein, 9300 -
Agricultural Research Council Henk Bouwman 012 808 0952 012 808 1489 P Bag X134, Pretoria, 0001 nipbhb@plant1.agric.za


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