Introduction to

Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas

Inaugural Meeting of the

Freshwater Ecosystem Network

16-17 September 2013

Overview

• The NFEPA project

• FEPA maps

– Criteria & map categories

• Other maps

– Strategic Water Source Areas, free-flowing rivers

• Implementation of FEPAs

– National Water Act: Classification of water resources

– Biodiversity Act

– Protected Areas Act

Shared mandate for

freshwater ecosystems

The shared mandate for freshwater biodiversity

Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas designed to support

implementation of both water mandate AND biodiversity mandate

Mandate for

water:

Department of

Water Affairs,

Catchment

Management

Agencies

Mandate for

biodiversity:

Department of

Env Affairs,

provincial

conservation

authorities

NFEPA project

• 3-year partnership project (2009-2011)

• Co-funded by several organisations

• Involved over 100 people

Co-production of knowledge

Collective experience of almost 1000 years!

Collaboration between scientists & managers

NFEPA products include:

1. FEPA maps

2. Implementation manual – how to use the

maps

3. Atlas

4. GIS layers

To support implementation of water policy &

legislation AND biodiversity policy & legislation

FEPA maps

• Which rivers and wetlands should stay in

good ecological condition? *

– To support sustainable use of water resources as

well as conservation goals

* good ecological condition = A or B Present Ecological State

Criteria • Represent river, wetland and

estuary ecosystem types

• Represent free-flowing rivers

• Identify connected systems

• Represent NB migration routes

– Wetland clusters

– Fish corridors

• Maintain water supply areas

– High water yield areas

– High groundwater recharge areas

• Represent threatened fish

• Represent estuary species

Ecosystems

Ecological processes

Ecosystem services

Species

Input data Sub-quaternaries

River types

Wetland

delineations

Wetland clusters Fish sanctuaries

Free-flowing rivers

River condition

Wetland condition

Groundwater recharge

Water yield (MAR)

Wetland

types

Landforms

Estuaries

FEPA maps (one for each WMA)

Area

FEPA map

• Different categories have different

management requirements

• Atlas and implementation manual

describe each category

• Implementation manual focuses

on how to apply in a range of

contexts

FEPA map categories

FEPA map: Upper Breede

Lookup table per sub-quaternary

catchment: 8786 Amandel River

8786 FEPA: Fish sp Barbus amatolicus

8786 FEPA: Fish sp Barbus amatolicus

8786 FEPA: Fish sp Galaxias breede slow (Galaxias sp. 'zebratus cf. Breede')

8786 FEPA: River ecosystem type Permanent/Seasonal - Western Folded Mountains - Mountain stream

8786 FEPA: River ecosystem type Permanent/Seasonal - Western Folded Mountains - Upper foothill

8786 FEPA: Wetland ecosystem type Northwest Sandstone Fynbos_Channelled valley-bottom wetland

8786 FEPA: Wetland ecosystem type Northwest Shale Band Vegetation_Unchannelled valley-bottom wetland

8786 FEPA: Wetland ecosystem type Southwest Alluvium Fynbos_Channelled valley-bottom wetland

8786 FEPA: Wetland ecosystem type Southwest Alluvium Fynbos_Seep

8786 FEPA: Wetland ecosystem type Southwest Alluvium Fynbos_Unchannelled valley-bottom wetland

Other national maps

• High water yield areas

– Now superseded by Strategic Water Source Areas

• Free-flowing rivers

High water yield areas

> 3 x higher than rest of catchment

0 - 2525 - 60

60 - 135135 - 220220 - 420

> 420

Mean Annual Runoff (mm/year)

Langeberg

Outeniqua Tsitsikamma

Groot

Winterhoek

Table

Mountain Boland

mountains

Swartberg Amatole

Eastern

Cape

Drakensber

g

Northern

Drakensberg

Enkangala

Drakensberg

Soutpansber

g

Wolkber

g

Mpumalanga

Drakensberg

Mbaban

e

hills

(10%) (30%)

(50%)

(Red text shows % MAR that

each category contributes

and was calculated as a total

MAR in the category

expressed as a % of the total

MAR of SA, Lesotho and

Swaziland)

Kougaberg

Mfolozi

headwaters

Maloti

Drakensberg

Southern

Drakensberg

Strategic Water Source Areas - 8% of the land delivers 50% of the river flow

- Very little formal protection

- Inappropriate land use and management

Nel et al 2013

Free-flowing rivers – rivers without dams

• Only 62 free-flowing

rivers left in SA

• Water flowing out to

sea is not “wasted” • e.g. important for

healthy estuaries – fish

nurseries

Free-flowing rivers – rivers without dams

• 62 rivers • of which 24 ≥

100 km • 19 FLAGSHIPS

Free-flowing rivers Flagships

Part 2: FEPA map for each water management area

Part 3: National maps e.g. free-flowing rivers, fish sanctuaries

Part 4: Underlying data layers e.g. river and wetland ecosystem types,

river and wetland condition, priority estuaries

Part 1: Introduction

All NFEPA data is available on SANBI’s BGIS website –

making spatial biodiversity info available to the public

http://bgis.sanbi.org

Implementation of FEPAs

• FEPA maps = single, nationally consistent

information source for incorporating freshwater

ecosystems into planning and decision-making

processes in a range of sectors

• Classification of water resources = main mechanism

to give legal effect to FEPAs

• Other key implementation mechanisms

– Biodiversity Act Biodiversity Management Plans for

Ecosystems, bioregional plans

– Protected Areas Act formal protection through e.g.

nature reserves or protected environments, including

contractual biodiversity stewardship agreements with

landowners

List of implementation mechanisms

covered in the Implementation Manual

• Catchment Management Strategies

• Classification of water resources

• Reserve determination

• Resource quality objectives

• Water use authorisations

• Bioregional plans and biodiversity sector plans

• Biodiversity management plans

• Alien and invasive species regulations and aquaculture

• Environmental Impact Assessments

• Environmental Management Frameworks

• Biodiversity offsets, including wetland mitigation banking

• Integrated Development Plans

• Spatial Development Frameworks

• Mining-related implementation mechanisms

• Agriculture-related implementation mechanisms

• Provincial spatial biodiversity plans

• Payments for Ecosystem Services

• Using FEPA maps in monitoring freshwater ecosystems

• River Health Programme

Ecosystem Management

Guidelines

Purpose of guidelines

• Additional detail to supplement the FEPA maps,

focusing on:

– Whether particular land-use practices or activities are

compatible with the overall management objective for FEPAs

– How to minimise the risk of impacting negatively on the

condition of FEPAs when undertaking particular land-use

practices or activities

• Generic guidelines

– Can be used as the foundation for more detailed site specific

assessments

Structure of guidelines

• Link specific land-use practices and activities

to 3 categories of stresses on rivers and

wetlands:

– changes in water quality

– changes in water quantity

– changes in habitat and biota

• This aligns with the approach used for setting

and monitoring resource quality objectives

Managemen

t guidelines

for Wetland

FEPAs

Managemen

t guidelines

for River

FEPAs

Management

guidelines for

sub-quats

associated with

river FEPAs, and

Upstream

Management

Areas

Water

Quality

Water

Quantity

Habitat and

biota

• Drainage

• Obstruction of flow

• Canalisation

• Input of waste water

• Abstraction

• Mining and prospecting

• Afforestation and removal of

indigenous plant species

• Invasive alien plant invasion

• Discharge of waste or waste

water

• Irrigation with treated

wastewater

• Irrigation return flows

• Mining and prospecting

• Cultivation and organic

pollution from livestock

• Increased sedimentation,

erosion and turbidity

• Loss of connectivity

• Modifications to bed and

banks

• Canalisation

• Cultivation

• Grazing

• Invasive alien species

• Afforestation and removal of

indigenous plant species

• Burning of wetlands

LAND USE ACTIVITIES

• Wetland FEPAs or portions thereof

should not be drained or filled in.

• Cut-off drains should be located in

such a way that the zone of influence

(the area affected by the drain – these

drains divert surface and sub-surface

flow in a certain direction, and lead to

drawdown over a wide area) is well

away from any wetland FEPAs. The

area of influence should be determined

by a hydro-geologist.

• No roads should be constructed

through or around more than 20% of

the edge of wetland FEPAs or their

buffers.

• Existing wetland drains should be

plugged (i.e. filled with soil, rocks, etc.)

and natural patterns of water flow

restored.

• No land-user should drain or cultivate

any wetland or area within the flood

zone of any watercourse (including its

buffer), except in terms of a written

permit in terms of the National Water

Act.

• The diversion of natural stormwater

runoff away from wetland FEPAs and

into a stormwater management system

should be avoided wherever possible.

MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES IMPACT

CATEGORIES FEPA

CATEGORIES