NEWSLETTER August 2015 - province.sawetlands.org€¦ · NEWSLETTER August 2015 Vision “To ensure a co-operative approach to and the promotion of environmentally sustainable management

NEWSLETTER

August 2015

Vision “To ensure a co-operative approach to and the

promotion of environmentally sustainable management of wetlands in Mpumalanga Province”

Mission “Promoting the wise use, effective management and rehabilitation of wetlands in Mpumalanga Province

through cooperative governance by engaging all public and private sectors to achieve its objectives”

SEPTEMBER IS ARBOR MONTH - PLANT A TREE THIS YEAR!

Congratulations to The Mpumalanga Twin Treasures

Programme!Hein Geldenhuys

Every year, the Mail & Guardian scours the country to find noteworthy and newsworthy environmental projects to profile in its annual Greening the Future Awards.

The efforts of communities, companies, organisations and individuals to create a cleaner

planet without compromising progress are showcased at a p r e s t i g i o u s a w a r d s ceremony and in special reports published by the M&G.

T h e Tw i n T r e a s u r e s Programme was a finalist in the 2015 Mail & Guardian's Greening the Future Awards in the strongly contested

B i o d i v e r s i t y s t e w a r d s h i p c a t e g o r y. Subsequently the Mpumalanga Twin Treasures was declared the runner-up at the award's gala evening.

Read more:ht tp : / /mg.co.za/ar t ic le /2015-07-24-00-treasuring-natural-heritage

picture: Anton Linström

Possible Good News from the VleiJohn Barrow

Editor, Wakkerstroom Bird Club Newsletter (Newsletter # 34 – May 2015)

On May 20 we had a visit (courtesy MTPA) from Hannes Marais, a wetland flora researcher to examine the weed that has spread over the open water area near the bridge.

He has identified it as Potamageton thunbergiior Broad-leaved Pondweed. This he describes as an indigenous, opportunistic species that favours shallow, slow-moving water. It also likes low-ish water quality and

plenty of nutrients. Sound like our vlei?

There are apparently no known effective herbicides; it just d isappears when conditions become unfavourable.

We are looking into the possibility of measuring the quality of the water entering the vlei and, if successful, this should provide an early warning of possible problems. Hannes will give us further confirmation as and when it becomes available.

Road Impact – Verloren ValleiJannie Coetzee,

Regional Ecologist - Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency

The Verloren Vallei Nature Reserve management faces a serious challenge in the

Nederhorst /DeBerg Road running through the Protected Area as it eroded to a level where it threatens the integrity of the PA and more specifically some of the wetlands.

The wetlands on Verloren Valei are of utmost importance on a local, regional as well as an international scale. It supports many unique plants and animals, provides water to downstream users and is recognized as a wetland of international importance.The road negatively impacts on the wetlands as it has eroded to levels l o w e r t h a n t h e surrounding areas. The results of the siltation is a change in the water flow and consequently in the species composition of the wetland flora. It furthermore impedes the function of the wetland as it creates a channel.

This is a public road and t h e r e f o r e t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f maintenance is with the p r o v i n c i a l r o a d s department. They have been requested several times to maintain the r o a d b u t i t i s

unfortunately not high on their priority list due to the low traffic volumes.

A long term solution should be found based on specialist input and the execution of their recommendations.Any suggestions on sources for funding for

the abovementioned will be highly appreciated.

MWF NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2015

2FIRST WEEK OF OCTOBER IS NATIONAL WEEDBUSTER WEEK

Exhibition at Chrissiesmeer Crane Festival

Hein Geldenhuys

The 4th annual Chrissiesmeer Crane Festival took place on Friday 10 – Sunday 12 July 2014 at Chrissiesmeer.

The event is hosted by Chrissiesmeer's Eco-tourism Association, with support from the Endangered Wildlife Trust which, together with land users in the area, are actively working towards the conservation and promotion of this unique Protected Environment. Over 150 people attended the event at the main venue in Chrissiesmeer during Saturday.

A j o i n t M p u m a l a n g a Twin Treasures exhibition (MWF, EWT & Dardlea) was set up as part of the Festival's programme

Mpumalanga Environmental Summit 2015

The 1st Mpumalanga Environmental Summit, organised and presented by Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs, took place in White River on Friday 21st August. This year’s theme was “Moving Forward Together for Sustainability”

The purpose of the event was to discuss the

environmental challenges that Mpumalanga is

currently facing. Gamede put it to the audience to

find sustainable solutions to pollution.

MWF NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2015

35 OCTOBER - WORLD HABITAT DAY

timeslive

Isibonelo Wetland Offset Strategy – Phase 2

Crystal Rowe (Pr. Sci. Nat.)Flora and Wetlands Ecologist, Digby Wells Environmental

Anglo American Coal South Africa (hereafter Anglo) Isibonelo Colliery (previously referred to as Kriel South) is situated in the Upper Olifants River catchment, within the Steenkoolspruit local catchment, in the Mpumalanga Province.

The Mining Right was issued in 2003 and Water Use Authorisation in 2008 for Isibonelo based on the premise that a wetland offset strategy would be compiled. The initial footprint of the mine would have resulted in a loss of 619ha of wetland area (ICS, 2008).

This area was revised and the final layout resulted in unavoidable impacts of 120ha of wetland. Since the wetlands were allocated a rating of 95%, 114ha-equivalents were required to offset (0.95x120=114).

The purpose of the wetland offset strategy would be to identify wetland areas in the Steenkoolspruit catchment for rehabilitation to compensate for the impact of the mine on wetlands. At the time, a formal clear guideline for wetland offsets had not yet been compiled. This was a pilot project, being the first offsite wetland offset strategy in South Africa. The project was divided into two phases: Phase 1 saw the rehabilitation of approximately 43.6ha on the farms Witbank 80IS and Rietkuil 16IS.

In the absence of a standardised approach, some key lessons were learnt, namely:?Security of offsets is imperative, without some

form of legal protection, wetlands assigned as offsets can later be utilised for cultivation or other landuses. This is particularly the case for mining, as wetland offset areas are not exempt from the allocation of a Mining Right;?Rehabilitation interventions need to be

sustainable and should be able to replicate the natural circumstance as much as possible;?The Wetland Offset process should be

standardised and should follow a universal guideline.

African river study fills gap in carbon emissions tally

Speed read:African rivers emit a vast amount of greenhouse gases. As rivers carry organic matter from the land to the oceans, bacteria turn it into greenhouse gases. While previous analyses had quantified emissions of these gases from rivers in Brazil, Europe and North America, the study in the journal Nature Geoscience last week (20 July) largely fills the African gap.

The study found that river channels alone emit about 400 million tonnes of carbon a year, which is equivalent to two-thirds of the net amount previously reported as being captured and stored on the land in Africa.

“There needs to be much more attention [paid] to preserving river basins and wetlands as important providers of fresh water, fisheries, biodiversity, ecotourism” and also to their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. Water management in Africa and other parts of the world seeks to maximise water productivity for drinking, agriculture and industrial use, and environmental concerns are often an afterthought” (Christopher Martius, a scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research)

The full text @:

http://www.scidev.net/global/water/news/african-river-study-fills-gap-carbon-emissions-tally.html

Gamede also told mining companies that it is important for them to rehabilitate the land they are mining on. “I am not here to beg you, I am a policeman. If you have dug up land to mine, that means you must rehabilitate that land,” said Gamede.

ContactsChairperson- André Beetge

[email protected]

Editor - Hein [email protected]

Cell: 0828988192

Publishing - Marina [email protected]

0835662556

MWF NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2015

427 SEPTEMBER - WORLD TOURISM DAY

MWF Banking details

Should anyone wish to make donations orcontributions to the MWF, the Banking details are

as follows:

Account Name: Mpumalanga Wetland ForumBank: Standard Bank

Bank Account No: 33 555 4636Branch: Nelspruit (Brown Street)

Branch Code: 052852

Arbor 2015

The National Theme for Arbor 2015 is “Forests and People - Investing in a sustainable future”.

In South Africa, every Arbor Week celebration highlights two or three specific trees; one common and one or two rare species. For 2015 the following trees are highlighted:

?Common: Combretum krausii ( F o r e s t B u s h w i l l o w , Bosvaderlandswilg)

?Rare or uncommon: Heteromorpha arborescens (Parsley tree, Wildepietersieliebos)

Bird of the Year 2015

Each year a Bird of the Year is chosen by BirdLife South Africa. Bird of the Year is one of BirdLife South Africa’s annual initiatives for creating awareness about birds and bird habitat conservation.

Educating people is one of the key components of BirdLife South Africa’s conservation work. The aim of the project is to choose a bird species and focus education and other activities on it during the coming year and improve public awareness about the species and the need to protect the species (and related species) and its habitat.

Bird of the Year 2015 is the Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus)

http://www.birdlife.org.za/events/bird-of-the-year