Draft Status Quo Report for the Pixley Ka Seme ... - SRK Consulting

SRK Consulting in association with BKS 

Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality EMF – Draft Status Quo Report 

Page i 

Volume 1: 

Draft Status Quo Report for the Pixley Ka 

Seme Local Municipality 

Department of Environmental Affairs 

SRK Consulting 

265 Oxford Road, Illovo 

Johannesburg 2196 

P O Box 55291 

Northlands 2116 

Tel: +27 (0) 11 441 1111 

Fax: +27 (0) 11 880 8086 

Lyn Brown, Nicola Liversage, Margaret Beater & Darryl Kilian 

lbrown@srk.co.za 

nicolal@bks.co.za 

mbeater@srk.co.za 

dkilian@srk.co.za 

www.srk.co.za 

SRK Project Number 404946 

July 2010 

Authors 

Lyn Brown, Nicola Liversage & Margaret Beater 

Reviewed by 

Darryl Kilian 

KILI/BEAT G:\404946_PIXLEY EMF\7REPORTS\Status Quo report\Draft report\Draft status quo report, July 2010.docx July 2010



Page ii 

Table of Contents 

Acronyms and abbreviations ...................................................................................................... vii 

1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 9 

1.1 Scope of work ...................................................................................................................... 9 

1.2 Location of the PKSLM ........................................................................................................ 2 

1.3 Importance of the PKSLM .................................................................................................... 2 

1.4 Legal status of the PKSLM .................................................................................................. 2 

1.4.1 Constitution of South Africa (Act No. 108 of 1996) ................................................................ 2 

1.4.2 National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998) .......................................... 2 

1.4.3 National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (Act No. 10 of 2004) ........................ 3 

1.4.4 National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (Act No. 57 of 2003) ................. 3 

1.4.5 National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (Act No. 39 of 2004) .......................... 3 

1.4.6 National Environmental Management: Waste Management Act (Act No. 59 of 2008) ........... 4 

1.4.7 National Water Act (Act No. 36 of 1998) ............................................................................... 4 

1.4.8 Environment Conservation Act (Act No. 73 of 1989) ............................................................. 5 

1.4.9 National Heritage Resources Act (Act No. 25 of 1999) ......................................................... 5 

1.4.10 Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (Act No. 28 of 2002) ........................... 6 

1.4.11 Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act (Act No. 43 of 1983) ......................................... 6 

1.4.12 National Forest Act, 1998 (Act No. 84 of 1998) ..................................................................... 6 

1.4.13 Water Services Act (Act No. 108 of 1997) ............................................................................. 6 

1.4.14 Development Facilitation Act (Act No. 67 of 1995) ................................................................ 7 

1.4.15 Municipal Structures Act (Act No. 117 of 1998) ..................................................................... 7 

1.4.16 Municipal Systems Act (Act No. 32 of 2000) ......................................................................... 7 

1.4.17 International Agreements ...................................................................................................... 7 

1.4.18 National Policy .................................................................................................................... 11 

1.5 Legal status and nature of the EMF ................................................................................... 12 

1.6 Objectives of this report ..................................................................................................... 13 

2 Approach and methodology ........................................................................................ 14 

2.1 Sustainable development .................................................................................................. 14 

2.2 EMF – a tool for sustainable management ........................................................................ 14 

2.3 Project phasing .................................................................................................................. 14 

2.3.1 Project inception (Phase 1) ................................................................................................. 14 

2.3.2 Status quo assessment (Phase 2) ...................................................................................... 14 

2.3.3 Environmental management framework and plan (Phase 3) ............................................... 15 

2.4 Stakeholder engagement ................................................................................................... 16 

2.4.1 Phase 1: Awareness raising ................................................................................................ 16 

2.4.2 Phase 2: Input ..................................................................................................................... 16 

2.4.3 Phase 3: Feedback ............................................................................................................. 16 

2.5 Assumptions, limitations and uncertainties ........................................................................ 16 




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3 Status quo of the environment ................................................................................... 20 

3.1 Regional locality ................................................................................................................. 20 

3.2 Biophysical ......................................................................................................................... 20 

3.2.1 Climate................................................................................................................................ 20 

3.2.2 Air quality ............................................................................................................................ 21 

3.2.3 Soils .................................................................................................................................... 22 

3.2.4 Topography and geomorphology ........................................................................................ 23 

3.2.5 Geology .............................................................................................................................. 23 

3.2.6 Water resources .................................................................................................................. 24 

3.2.7 Aquatic and wetland ecology .............................................................................................. 27 

3.2.8 Terrestrial ecology .............................................................................................................. 28 

3.3 Infrastructure and services ................................................................................................ 31 

3.3.1 Waste management ............................................................................................................ 31 

3.3.2 Sanitation ............................................................................................................................ 31 

3.3.3 Water .................................................................................................................................. 32 

3.3.4 Energy sources ................................................................................................................... 33 

3.3.5 Transport ............................................................................................................................ 33 

3.3.6 Cemeteries ......................................................................................................................... 34 

3.3.7 Telecommunications ........................................................................................................... 34 

3.4 Spatial planning and land use ............................................................................................ 34 

3.4.1 Population context .............................................................................................................. 34 

3.4.2 Agriculture ........................................................................................................................... 34 

3.4.3 Mining ................................................................................................................................. 36 

3.4.4 Urban settlements ............................................................................................................... 37 

3.4.5 Open space ........................................................................................................................ 39 

3.4.6 Tourism ............................................................................................................................... 39 

3.4.7 Spatial planning .................................................................................................................. 40 

3.5 Socio-economic ................................................................................................................. 42 

3.5.1 Population size and distribution .......................................................................................... 42 

3.5.2 Economics .......................................................................................................................... 43 

3.5.3 Income ................................................................................................................................ 44 

3.5.4 Health and safety ................................................................................................................ 44 

3.5.5 Education ............................................................................................................................ 45 

3.5.6 Cultural resources ............................................................................................................... 45 

3.6 Resource economics ......................................................................................................... 46 

3.6.1 Overall economic trends and land use ................................................................................ 47 

3.6.2 Agriculture ........................................................................................................................... 47 

3.6.3 Tourism and recreation ....................................................................................................... 47 

3.6.4 Mining ................................................................................................................................. 48 

3.6.5 Forestry ............................................................................................................................... 49 




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3.6.6 Economic values associated with the maintenance of natural capital ................................. 49 

3.6.7 Economic costs/externalities associated with resource uses .............................................. 49 

4 Assets, opportunities, constraints and threats ........................................................ 51 

5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 65 

6 References .................................................................................................................... 98 

List of Tables 

Table 3-1: Details of the 14 Quaternary Catchments in the study area ........................................... 24 

Table 3-2: PES categories ............................................................................................................... 28 

Table 3-3: Vegetation types ............................................................................................................. 28 

Table 3-4: PKSLM landfill status ...................................................................................................... 31 

Table 3-5: PKSLM waste quantities ................................................................................................. 31 

Table 3-6: State of roads in PKSLM ................................................................................................ 33 

Table 3-7: Land use in PKSLM ........................................................................................................ 34 

Table 3-8: Average yield for each crop over the last five years ....................................................... 35 

Table 3-9: Grease mass and sales values in PKSLM ...................................................................... 35 

Table 3-10: Proposed housing delivery in PKSLM – 2010 to 2015 ................................................. 38 

Table 3-11: Population size and growth ........................................................................................... 42 

Table 3-12: Number of households and growth ............................................................................... 43 

Table 3-13: Occupations of the economically active ........................................................................ 43 

Table 3-14: Number of industries per sector .................................................................................... 44 

Table 3-15: Employment status ....................................................................................................... 44 

Table 3-16: Income of the economically active ................................................................................ 44 

Table 3-17: Bed numbers and likely accommodation related employment in the study area .......... 48 

Table 3-18: Total tourism related employment in the study area ..................................................... 48 

Table 4-1: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with surface and groundwater52 

Table 4-2: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with aquatic and wetland 

ecology ........................................................................................................................... 55 

Table 4-3: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with terrestrial ecology .......... 56 

Table 4-4: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with land use ......................... 56 

Table 4-5: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with agriculture ...................... 58 

Table 4-6: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with socio-economics ............ 60 

Table 4-7: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with cultural heritage ............. 62 

Table 4-8: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with resource economics ...... 63 

List of Figures 

Figure 2-1: An integrated conceptual model of sustainable development ....................................... 14 

Figure 3-1: Access to refuse removal in PKSLM ............................................................................. 31 




Page v 

Figure 3-2: Sanitation in the PKSLM ................................................................................................ 32 

Figure 3-3: Energy sources used in the PKSLM .............................................................................. 33 

Figure 3-4: Population by age .......................................................................................................... 43 

Figure 3-5: The TEV framework ....................................................................................................... 47 

Figure 3-6: The link between Ecosystem Services and human well-being in the Millennium 

Ecosystem Assessment ................................................................................................. 47 

List of Maps 

Map 1: Regional map of Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ........................................................... 66 

Map 2: Locality of the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ............................................................... 67 

Map 3: Institutional arrangement within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ............................. 68 

Map 4: Catchment basins of South Africa ........................................................................................ 69 

Map 5: Air quality within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ..................................................... 70 

Map 6: Transboundary influences on air quality within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ...... 71 

Map 7: Arability of soils within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ............................................ 72 

Map 8: Topography within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality .................................................. 73 

Map 9: Geology within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ........................................................ 74 

Map 10: Coal borehole distribution within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality .......................... 75 

Map 11: Potential underground and surface mining within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 76 

Map 12: Quaternary catchments and water management areas within the Pixley Ka Seme Local 

Municipality .................................................................................................................... 77 

Map 13: Surface water quality within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ................................. 78 

Map 14: Hydrogeology within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ............................................. 79 

Map 15: Existing land uses within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ...................................... 80 

Map 16: Hydro-morphic units of wetlands within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ................ 81 

Map 17: Present ecological state of wetlands within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality .......... 82 

Map 18: Present ecological state of quinery catchments ................................................................. 83 

Map 19: Aquatic conservation within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality .................................. 84 

Map 20: Aquatic biodiversity within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality .................................... 85 

Map 21: Terrestrial biodiversity within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ................................ 86 

Map 22: Vegetation types within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ........................................ 87 

Map 23: Protected areas within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality .......................................... 88 

Map 24: Identified hotspots within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ...................................... 89 

Map 25: Infrastructure within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality .............................................. 90 

Map 26: Land claims within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ................................................ 91 

Map 27: Tourism sites within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality .............................................. 92 

Map 28: Population density within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ...................................... 93 

Map 29: Health facilities within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ........................................... 94 




Page vi 

Map 30: Cultural-heritage within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ........................................ 95 

Map 31: Land types within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ................................................. 96 

Map 32: Developments applications (since 2005) within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality ... 97 




Acronyms and abbreviations 

Page vii 

ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line 

AMD Acid Mine Drainage 

ANC African National Congress 

AQA National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (Act No. 39 of 2004) 

BID 

Background Information Document 

BKS BKS (Pty) Ltd. 

CCD Convention to Combating Desertification 

CITES Convention on the Illegal Trade in Endangered Species 

CMA Catchment Management Agency 

CO 

Carbon monoxide 

CS 

Community Survey 

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane 

DEA Department of Environmental Affairs 

DEAT Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism 

DFA Development Facilitation Act (Act No. 67 of 1995) 

DMC DMC Coal Mining 

DME Department of Minerals and Energy 

DWA Department of Water Affairs 

DWAF Department of Water Affairs and Forestry 

EC 

Electrical Conductivity 

EIA 

Environmental Impact Assessment 

EMF Environmental Management Framework 

GGP Gross Geographic Product 

GHG Greenhouse Gas 

GIS 

Geographic Information System 

GSDM Gert Sibande District Municipality 

Ha 

Hectare 

HIA 

Heritage Impact Assessment 

HPA Highveld Priority Area 

I&APs Interested and Affected Parties 

ICM Integrated Catchment Management 

IDP 

Integrated Development Plan 

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 

JWC Joint Water Commission 

KZN KwaZulu-Natal 

LRAD Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development 

LUMS Land Use Management Scheme 

MAP Mean Annual Precipitation 

MAR Mean Annual Runoff 

MBCP Mpumalanga Biodiversity Conservation Plan 

MDALA Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture and Land Administration 

MDEDET Mpumalanga Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism 

MEC Member of Executive Council 

MEGA Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency 

MET Monitoring Station Measure Weather Changes 

MoU Memorandum of Understanding 

MPRDA Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (Act No. 28 of 2002) 

MTGS Mpumalanga Tourism Growth Strategy 

MTPA Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency 

NCHM National Cultural History Museum 




Page viii 

NEMA National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998) 

NFA National Forest Act (Act No. 84 of 1998) 

NFSD National Framework for Sustainable Development 

NH3 Uniodised Ammonia 

NHRA National Heritage Resources Act (Act No. 25 of 1999) 

NOx Nitrogen Oxides 

NSDP National Spatial Development Perspective 

NWA National Water Act (Act No. 36 of 1998) 

NWRS National Water Resource Strategy 

O 3 

PA 

PES 

PGDS 

PKSLM 

PM 

PM 10 

POPs 

PSC 

Ramsar 

RDP 

SADC 

SAHRA 

SANBI 

SDF 

SEMP 

SLAG 

SMME 

SOER 

SOx 

SRK 

StatsSA 

TDS 

TEV 

UCG 

UN 

UNEP 

UNFCCC 

VOC 

WMA 

WSDP 

WWTW 

Ozone 

Priority Area 

Present Ecological State 

Provincial Growth and Development Strategy 

Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 

Particulate Matter 

Particulate Matter 10 micrometres or less 

Persistent Organic Pollutants 

Project Steering Committee 

Convention on the Conservation of Wetlands especially as Waterfowl Habitat 

Reconstruction and Development Programme 

Southern African Development Community 

South African Heritage Resources Agency 

South African National Biodiversity Institute 

Spatial Development Framework 

Strategic Environmental Management Plan 

Settlement Land Acquisition Grant 

Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise 

State of the Environment Report 

Sulphur Oxides 

SRK Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd. 

Statistics South Africa 

Total Dissolved Solids 

Total Economic Value 

Underground Coal Gasification 

United Nations 

United Nations Environment Programme 

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 

Volatile Organic Compound 

Water Management Area 

Water Services Development Plan 

Waste Water Treatment Work 


SRK House 

265 Oxford Road, Illovo 

Johannesburg 2196 

P O Box 55291 

Northlands 2116 

South Africa 

e-Mail: johannesburg@srk.co.za 

URL: http://www.srk.co.za 

BKS (Pty) Ltd Group Head office Postal Address Tel | + 27 (0) 12 421‐3500 

Reg no 1966/006628/07 Block D, PO Box 3173 Fax | + 27 (0) 12 421‐3501 

www.bks.co.za Hatfield Gardens Pretoria 0001 E‐mail | group@bks.co.za 

333 Grosvenor Street South Africa E‐mail | bkspta@bks.co.za 

Hatfield, Pretoria, 0083 

Tel: +27 (0) 11 441 1111 

Fax:+27 (0) 11 880 8086 

July 2010 

Report no. 404946 

Status Quo Report for the Pixley Ka Seme Local 

Municipality 

1 Introduction 

In February 2010, the National Department of 

Environmental Affairs (DEA) commissioned the 

development of an Environmental Management 

Framework (EMF) to support decision-making that will 

ensure the sustainable development and management of 

the natural resource of the Pixley Ka Seme Local 

Municipality (PKSLM). SRK Consulting (South Africa) 

(Pty) Ltd. (SRK) in association with BKS (Pty) Ltd. 

(BKS) has been appointed to undertake the EMF. The 

EMF is being developed in terms of Guideline 6 of the 

Integrated Environmental Management Guideline 

Series (Gazette No. 28854 of 19 May 2006) aimed at 

promoting sustainable development, and the new EMF 

Regulations (No. R547) under Sections 24(5) and 44 of 

the National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 

107 of 1998) (NEMA). 

The EMF will serve as a management and decisionmaking 

tool that provides authorities with information 

about the ‘state of the environment’ and the associated 

planning parameters. It will identify and spatially 

represent areas of potential conflict between sensitive 

environments and development proposals thus assisting 

in integrating social, economic and environmental 

factors into planning. The EMF will be incorporated 

into relevant planning documents such as Integrated 

Development Plans (IDPs) and Strategic Development 

Frameworks (SDFs). 

1.1 Scope of work 

The broad objective of the project is to present the 

status quo of the area, to describe the desired state of 

environment based on opportunities and constraints 

identified in the status quo, to prioritize development 

plans, and to develop practical guidelines for land use 

management and informed decision-making. 

More specifically, the EMF process will: 

• Describe the environmental attributes; 

• Assess attributes in terms of their relative 

sensitivity to development, highlighting potential 

opportunities and constraints/threats; 

• Delineate the potential sensitivity; 

• Identify areas (or zones) where environmental 

authorisation will be required for certain activities 

in terms of the NEMA Regulations (2010); and 

• Establish a management framework and plan that 

guides decision-making. 

The approach to, and phasing of, this EMF process is 

presented in some detail in Section 2. 

Partners 

Directors 

Associate 

Partners 

AN Birtles, JCJ Boshoff, AH Bracken, MJ Braune, JM Brown, CD Dalgliesh, JR Dixon, DM Duthe, R Gardiner, T Hart, MJ Hood, 

GC Howell. WC Joughin, PR Labrum, DJ Mahlangu, RRW McNeill, HAC Meintjes, MJ Morris, WA Naismith, GP Nel, VS Reddy, 

PN Rosewarne, PE Schmidt, PJ Shepherd, VM Simposya, AA Smithen, KM Uderstadt, DJ Venter, ML Wertz, A Wood 

AJ Barrett, JR Dixon, DM Duthe, MJ Hood, DJ Mahlangu, VS Reddy, PE Schmidt, PJ Terbrugge 

BM Engelsman, DJD Gibson, M Hinsch, DA Kilian, SA McDonald, M Ristic, MJ Sim, JJ Slabbert, CF Steyn, D Visser, 

MD Wanless 

Consultants AC Burger, BSc (Hons); IS Cameron-Clarke, PrSci Nat, MSc; JAC Cowan, PrSci Nat, BSc (Hons), JH de Beer, PrSci Nat, 

MSc; GA Jones, PrEng, PhD; TR Stacey, PrEng, DSc; OKH Steffen, PrEng, PhD; PJ Terbrugge, PrSci Nat, MSc; DW Warwick, 

PrSci Nat, BSc (Hons) 

Cape Town +27 (0) 21 659 3060 

Durban +27 (0) 31 279 1200 

East London +27 (0) 43 748 6292 

Johannesburg +27 (0) 11 441 1111 

Kimberley +27 (0) 53 861 5798 

Pietermaritzburg +27 (0) 33 345 6311 

Port Elizabeth +27 (0) 41 509 4800 

Pretoria +27 (0) 12 361 9821 

Rustenburg +27 (0) 14 594 1280 

SRK Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd Reg No 1995.012890.07 

Dar-es-Salaam +25 (5) 22 260 1881 

H +263 (4) 49 6182


Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality EMF – Draft Status Quo Report Page 2 

1.2 Location of the PKSLM 

The study area is located in south-eastern Mpumalanga, 

one of the seven local municipalities in the Gert 

Sibande District Municipality (GSDM) (see Map 1 and 

Map 2). The PKSLM covers an area of 522,204 

hectares (ha). Key towns include Volksrust, 

Amersfoort, Daggakraal, Perdekop and Wakkerstroom 

(see Map 3). 

1.3 Importance of the PKSLM 

The PKSLM area is characterised by many wetlands 

and pan systems, and is an important water catchment 

area. Many endemic and threatened grassland species 

occur in the area and of particular significance are the 

areas around Wakkerstroom and Luneburg. Agriculture 

is the major contributor to the gross geographic product 

(GGP) in the municipal area. There is also a high 

potential for additional tourism and agriculture 

development and growth in this area. 

The PKSLM area is also strategically important because 

it contains the sources of three river systems, including 

an important source of water for the Gauteng region 

(see Map 4). 

1.4 Legal status of the PKSLM 

A number of laws guide the protection and management 

of PKSLM. It is important to provide the legal 

framework within which the EMF operates as well as 

other applicable legislation governing environmental 

matters in South Africa. South Africa is also signatory 

to a number of Conventions and treaties that are related 

to environmental management that must also be 

considered. Sections 1.4.1 to 1.4.18 provide a summary 

of the most applicable legislation and agreements. 

1.4.1 Constitution of South Africa (Act 

No. 108 of 1996) 

The Constitution is the over-arching framework of all 

other legislation in South Africa and its primary goal is 

to protect the rights of all citizens of the country. The 

Constitution binds the legislature, the executive and all 

organs of state. 

In terms of the environment, the Constitution states 

that: 

(S24) Everyone has the right - 

• to an environment that is not harmful to their health 

or well-being; and 

• to have the environment protected, for the benefit of 

present and future generation through reasonable 

legislative and other measures that – 

‣ prevent pollution and ecological degradation; 

‣ promote conservation; and 

‣ secure ecologically sustainable development 

and use of natural resources while promoting 

justifiable economic and social development. 

The Constitution aims to promote the integration of 

environmental laws and protection of resources at all 

levels of government and development and ensure 

accountability, transparency and participation. 

1.4.2 National Environmental 

Management Act (Act No. 107 of 

1998) 

The objective of the NEMA is to provide for cooperative 

environmental governance by establishing 

principles for decision making on matters affecting the 

environment, institutions that will provide co-operative 

governance and procedures for coordinating 

environmental functions of relevant organs of state. 

NEMA establishes a number of principles that will 

apply throughout South Africa to all organizations or 

persons conducting activities that may have an impact 

on the environment. These principles provide a general 

framework for environmental planning and guide the 

interpretation, administration and implementation of the 

Act. Chapter 5 relates specifically to integrating 

environmental management into the planning and 

development process and to identifying, predicting and 

evaluating the effects that policies, programmes and 

plans may have on the environment. 

Chapter 6 gives effect to the international agreements to 

which South Africa is signatory to. Section 1.4.17 gives 

more detail on these agreements. 

Environmental Impact Regulations 

The Minister of Environmental Affairs has identified 

and listed certain activities which may have significant 

negative effect on the environment. Any person who 




wants to conduct such an activity is required to 

complete an assessment of potential effects (positive 

and negative) of that activity on the environment and is 

subject to prosecution if he/she does not complete this 

assessment. 

The Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act (Act No. 45 

of 1965) regulates the control of noxious and offensive 

gases emitted by industrial processes, the control of 

smoke and wind borne dust pollution, and emissions 

from diesel vehicles. 

Duty of Care 

Section 28 of the Act states that: 

Every person who causes, has caused or may cause 

significant pollution or degradation of the environment 

must take reasonable measures to prevent such 

pollution or degradation from occurring, continuing or 

recurring, or, in so far as such harm to the environment 

is authorised by law or cannot reasonably be avoided 

or stopped, to minimize and rectify such pollution or 

degradation of the environment. 


Management: Biodiversity Act (Act 

No. 10 of 2004) 

The main objectives of this Act are to provide for the 

management and conservation of biodiversity and the 

sustainable use of natural resources. The Act was 

established under the framework of the NEMA and 

deals with biodiversity planning and monitoring, 

protection of threatened ecosystems and species, 

possible invasive species, bio-prospecting and 

permitting. 


Management: Protected Areas Act 

(Act No. 57 of 2003) 

The purpose of this Act is to provide for the protection 

and conservation of ecologically viable areas which 

represent the biological diversity, natural landscapes 

and seascapes of South Africa. It also provides for the 

establishment of a national register of all protected 

areas, whether national, regional or local, for the 

management of those areas according to national 

standards and for the cooperation between government 

departments and public consultation in matters 

regarding protected areas or matters in connection 

thereto. This Act was also established under NEMA. 


Management: Air Quality Act (Act 

No. 39 of 2004) 

A shift from national air pollution control based on 

source-based controls to decentralised air quality 

management through an effects-based approach is 

supported by the Air Quality Act (AQA), promulgated 

in terms of NEMA. An effects based approach requires 

the setting of ambient air quality standards. Ambient 

standards that define satisfactory air quality to ensure 

human health and welfare, the protection of the natural 

and build environment, and finally the prevention of 

significant decline in the quality of air may be 

established. Such standards provide the objectives for 

air quality management. Multiple levels of standards 

provide the basis for both ‘continued improvements’ in 

air quality and for long term planning in air quality 

management. Although maximum levels of ambient 

concentrations should be set at a national level, more 

stringent ambient standards may be implemented by 

provincial and local authorities. 

Source-based controls, including best practicable means 

and best available technology not entailing excessive 

cost, cannot ensure air quality but rather represents one 

means of achieving and attaining ambient standards. 

Provision is also made for implementation of alternative 

regulatory approaches in programmes aimed at the 

attainment and maintenance of ambient standards. Such 

alternative approaches include proactive controls, 

market incentives and disincentives, self-regulation, 

community-based initiatives and awareness and 

education campaigns. The integration of diverse 

emission reduction approaches is required to ensure 

innovative and flexible policies and plans of action 

tailored to suit local circumstances. 

The control and management of all sources of air 

pollution relative to their contributions to ambient 

concentrations is required to ensure that improvements 

in air quality are secured in the timeliest, evenhanded, 

and cost-effective way. The need to regulate diverse 

source types reinforces the need for varied management 

approaches ranging from command and control 

methods to voluntary measures. 




Public participation in the air quality management 

process and public access to information, including 

information on environmentally harmful practices will 

be a crucial component of future legislation. It is 

recognised that the integration of public participation 

into the decision-making process will be enhanced 

through education and awareness programmes aimed at 

the empowerment of communities. 

Emphasis is to be placed on the integration of air 

quality issues into the transportation, housing and land 

use planning processes in order to ensure that air quality 

issues are addressed in the long term. 

Under the AQA local authorities are held responsible 

for air quality management planning. The 

decentralisation of air quality management has enabled 

management strategies aimed at securing ambient 

standards to be geared towards local environments. 

Decentralised air quality management is also more 

conducive to effective public participation in the 

management process. In decentralised air quality 

management, caution is however needed to ensure a 

basis for effective air quality management, in terms of 

expertise, funds, and the consistent implementation of 

tools. 

Priority areas 

By notice in the government gazette the Minister may 

declare an area a priority area (PA) if the minister or 

member of executive council (MEC) reasonably 

believes that ambient air quality standards are/may be 

exceeded in an area, and specific management actions 

need to be implemented in order to rectify the situation. 

An area may be prioritised if it is considered that it is or 

may be impacting on the air quality of neighbouring 

countries, or if it affects the national interest. The 

MECs of two or more adjoining Provinces may by joint 

action declare an area falling within those Provinces a 

PA. Once an area has been declared a PA, an air quality 

management plan needs to be prepared and submitted to 

the relevant authority within the timeframe specified by 

that authority. Before approval of the plan a 

consultative process needs to be followed. The plan 

must aim to co-ordinate air quality management in the 

area, address issues related to air quality and provide for 

the implementation of the plan by a committee. The 

committee appointed should be representative of the 

relevant role players. 

During the writing of this report only two air quality 

PAs had been declared under the AQA, namely the 

Vaal Triangle and Highveld Priority Area (HPA), with 

PKSLM falling within the HPA. An air quality 

management plan is still under development for this 

area, with monitoring of key pollutants being 

undertaken within GSDM to inform the development of 

intervention strategies aimed at reducing ambient 

pollution levels in the region. 


Management: Waste Management 

Act (Act No. 59 of 2008) 

This Act was established to reform the laws regulating 

waste management in order to protect the health and the 

environment by implementing reasonable measures for 

the prevention of pollution and ecological degradation 

and for ensuring sustainable development. It aims to 

establish national standards for the regulation of waste 

by all levels of government, provide for control of all 

waste management activities and implement 

remediation measures and compliance enforcement for 

land which has been impacted by waste. 

1.4.7 National Water Act (Act No. 36 of 

1998) 

The national importance of water and the provision 

thereof has been acknowledged in the Constitution as a 

basic human right. The aim of the National Water Act 

(Act No. 36 of 1998) (NWA) is to ensure that the water 

resources are protected, used, developed, conserved and 

controlled by all reasonable measures. The NWA deals 

with the development of strategies to facilitate the 

proper management of water resources, provides for the 

protection of water resources, regulation of water use 

and other matters relating thereto. 

Water use is defined to incorporate surface and 

groundwater, and includes the act of taking water from 

a water resource, storing water, impeding or diverting 

the flow of a water course, engaging in stream flow 

reduction activities, discharging water containing waste 

or water that has been heated in an industrial process, 

altering the physical structure or character of a water 

course or removing, discharging or disposing of 

underground water for safety purposes. 




Generally, water use must be licensed under the NWA 

unless: 

• It is an existing water use; 

• It is permissible under a general authorization; 

• It is listed in Schedule 1 of the Act; and 

• A responsible authority has waived the need of a 

license. 

The NWA also takes into account the prevention of 

pollution of water resources and places a responsibility 

on all water users to take all reasonable measures to 

prevent or minimize water pollution. It also provides for 

a framework for the remedying of water resources 

which have been polluted. 

1.4.8 Environment Conservation Act 

(Act No. 73 of 1989) 

The objectives of the Act are to provide effective 

protection of the environment, controlled use of natural 

resources and provision of guidelines to handling 

matters relating to environmental incidents. Most of the 

provisions of this Act have been repealed by the suite of 

legislation promulgated in terms of NEMA. 

‣ Ancestral graves 

‣ Royal graves and graves of traditional leaders 

‣ Graves of victims of conflict 

‣ Graves of individuals designated by the Minister 

by notice in the Gazette 

‣ Historical graves and cemeteries 

‣ Other human remains which are not covered in 

terms of the Human Tissue Act, 1983 (Act No. 

65 of 1983); 

• Sites of significance relating to the history of 

slavery in South Africa; and 

• Movable objects, including: 

‣ Objects recovered from the soil or waters of 

South Africa, including archaeological and 

palaeontological objects and material, meteorites 

and rare geological specimens 

‣ Objects to which oral traditions are attached or 

which are associated with living heritage 

‣ Ethnographic art and objects 

‣ Military objects 

1.4.9 National Heritage Resources Act 

(Act No. 25 of 1999) 

The National Heritage Resources Act (Act No. 25 of 

1999) (NHRA) defines the heritage resources of South 

Africa, which are of cultural significance or other 

special value for the present community and for future 

generations that must be considered part of the national 

estate to include: 

• Places, buildings, structures and equipment of 

cultural significance; 

• Places to which oral traditions are attached or 

which are associated with living heritage; 

• Historical settlements and townscapes; 

• Landscapes and natural features of cultural 

significance; 

• Geological sites of scientific or cultural importance; 

• Archaeological and palaeontological sites; 

• Graves and burial grounds, including: 

‣ Objects of decorative or fine art 

‣ Objects of scientific or technological interest 

‣ Books, records, documents, photographic 

positives and negatives, graphic, film or video 

material or sound recordings, excluding those 

that are public records as defined in section 

1(xiv) of the National Archives of South Africa 

Act, 1996 (Act No. 43 of 1996). 

Section 35(4) of the NHRA states that no person may, 

without a permit issued by the responsible heritage 

resources authority: 

• Destroy, damage, excavate, alter, deface or 

otherwise disturb any archaeological or 

palaeontological site or any meteorite; 

• Destroy, damage, excavate, remove from its 

original position, collect or own any archaeological 

or palaeontological material or object or any 

meteorite; 

• Trade in, sell for private gain, export or attempt to 

export from the Republic any category of 




archaeological or palaeontological material or 

object, or any meteorite; 

• A comparative assessment of the feasible 

alternatives is made; 

• Bring onto or use at an archaeological or 

palaeontological site any excavation equipment or 

any equipment that assists in the detection or 

recovery of metals or archaeological and 

palaeontological material or objects, or use such 

equipment for the recovery of meteorites; or 

• Alter or demolish any structure or part of a 

structure which is older than 60 years as protected. 

1.4.10 Mineral and Petroleum Resources 

Development Act (Act No. 28 of 

2002) 

This Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development 

Act (MPRDA) aims to make provision for equitable 

access to and sustainable development of the nation’s 

mineral and petroleum resources by vesting 

custodianship thereof to the state and not to the 

landowner. In doing so, it wants to expand opportunities 

for previously disadvantage persons, promote economic 

growth and employment and improve social and social 

security conditions of people. 

Schedule II to the Act provides for the treatment of 

prospecting and mining applications, the continuation 

of existing rights, and for the continuation of royalty 

payments in limited circumstances. The MPRDA is 

supported by guiding regulations (R527) that set out the 

requirements for social and environmental processes 

(Part I), social and labour plans (Part II) and mineral 

development, petroleum exploration and production 

(Part III). 

Regulation 50 of the MPRDA outlines the reporting 

requirements of EIAs for mining activities. It specifies 

that the EIA report must ensure, as a minimum, that: 

• The environment likely to be affected by the 

proposed mining operation and alternatives thereto 

is investigated; 

• Potential impacts, including cumulative impacts of 

the proposed operation and alternatives are 

investigated; 

• An assessment of impacts as described above is 

carried out; 

• Mitigatory measures are investigated and described 

for each significant impact; 

• The stakeholder engagement process is described 

with an indication of how issues raised have been 

addressed; 

• Knowledge gaps, adequacy of predictive methods, 

underlying assumptions, and uncertainties 

encountered are reported on; 

• Arrangements for monitoring and management are 

described; and 

• Technical and supporting information are included 

as appendices. 

1.4.11 Conservation of Agricultural 

Resources Act (Act No. 43 of 1983) 

The Act aims to provide for the conservation of the 

natural agricultural resources through maintaining the 

production potential of land, through combating and 

preventing erosion or the weakening / destruction of 

water sources, and through the protection of vegetation 

by combating weeds and invader plants. 

1.4.12 National Forest Act, 1998 (Act No. 

84 of 1998) 

The National Forest Act (NFA) provides for sustainable 

forestry management and the restructuring of the 

forestry sector in South Africa. The NFA promotes the 

sustainable use of forests for environmental, economic, 

educational, recreational, cultural, health and spiritual 

purposes and facilitates greater access to the country’s 

forests. The NFA also recognises the relationships 

between people and the resources provided by forests. 

An important innovation is a provision allowing 

communities that have rights in forest land or border 

State forest land to enter into community forestry 

agreements with the Minister for joint management of 

State forests. 

1.4.13 Water Services Act (Act No. 108 of 

1997) 

This Act has been amended by the Water Services 

Amendment Act (Act No. 30 of 2007). The Act serves 

to provide for the right to basic water and sanitation and 




to establish a regulatory framework for water services 

institutions to establish norms and standards with 

regards to the supply of basic water and sanitation 

services to the citizens of South Africa. Ultimately, 

through monitoring, gathering and reporting the 

relevant information to the minister, it provides the 

services to which citizens are entitled. 

1.4.14 Development Facilitation Act (Act 

No. 67 of 1995) 

The Development Facilitation Act (Act No. 67 of 1995) 

(DFA) introduced extraordinary measures to facilitate 

and speed up the implementation of reconstruction and 

development programs and projects in relation to land. 

In doing so, it laid down principles governing land 

development throughout South Africa and provided for 

the establishment of a Development and Planning 

Commission for the purpose of advising government on 

policy and land development laws at national or 

regional level. It imposes on planning authorities an 

obligation to consider environmental aspects when 

deciding on an application for a change in land use. The 

conditions that may be imposed by the authority 

concerned must be brought in line with the “land 

development objectives which are inter alia to 

encourage the optimal use of natural resources and the 

need for sustainable utilisation of natural resources. The 

DFA gives the provincial tribunal the power to suspend 

the application of any laws (including NEMA) or plans 

in order to facilitate land development. 

and economic enhancement of local communities and 

ensure affordable access to essential services. 

1.4.17 International Agreements 

South Africa is party to a number of multilateral and 

regional environmental agreements that set out 

obligations which are of relevance to the study area and 

its future management. A summary of major 

agreements is presented below. 

Rio declaration on Environment and 

Development, 1992 

The Rio Declaration consisted of 27 principles intended 

to guide future sustainable development around the 

world. 

Agenda 21 

Agenda 21 was established at the Rio Conference and 

provides a policy framework and action plan for 

sustainable development at global, national and regional 

levels. Local Agenda 21 entails the participation and 

co-operation of local authorities to develop their own 

Local Agenda 21 plans and strategies according to the 

region’s specific priorities and resources available. The 

plans need to be submitted by DEA and updated every 

five years. 

Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992 

The Convention on Biological Diversity has three main 

objectives. These are to: 

• Conserve biological diversity; 

1.4.15 Municipal Structures Act (Act No. 

117 of 1998) 

The Municipal Structures Act requires the municipality 

to develop an SDF as part of its IDP, which must 

include the provision of basic guidelines for a land use 

management system in the municipality. The Act also 

makes provision for the appropriate division of powers 

and electoral systems. 

1.4.16 Municipal Systems Act (Act No. 32 

of 2000) 

The Act looks at the legal nature and internal 

relationships of municipalities, municipal powers and 

functions. It aims to provide for core principles, 

mechanisms and processes that are necessary to enable 

municipalities to move progressively towards the social 

• Use biological diversity in a sustainable fashion; 

and 

• Share the benefits of biological diversity fairly and 

equitably. 

The underlying principle of this Convention is that 

states have the sovereign right to exploit their own 

resources, but that activities within a country should not 

cause damage to their environments and those of other 

states. 

Article 8 provides that: Each Contracting Party shall, 

as far as possible and as appropriate: 

(c) Regulate or manage biological resources important 

for the conservation of biological diversity whether 

within or outside protected areas, with a view to 

ensuring their conservation and sustainable use; 




(f) Rehabilitate and restore degraded ecosystems and 

promote the recovery of threatened species, inter alia, 

through the development and implementation of plans 

or other management strategies; and 

(g) Develop or maintain necessary legislation and/or 

regulatory provisions for the protection of threatened 

species or populations. 

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory 

Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention), 

1979 

The Bonn Convention aims to conserve terrestrial, 

marine and avian migratory species throughout their 

range. To avoid the migratory species from becoming 

endangered, the parties must: 

• Conserve or restore the habitats of endangered 

species; 

• Prevent, remove, compensate for or minimise the 

adverse effects of activities or obstacles that impede 

the migration of the species; and 

• Prevent, reduce or control factors (to the extent 

feasible and appropriate) that are endangering or 

are likely to further endanger the species. 

Several Agreements have been concluded to date under 

the auspices of the Convention for specific species or 

groups of wildlife within a particular area such as the 

African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds. In addition, 

several Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) have been 

concluded to date under the Convention such as Marine 

Turtles of the Atlantic Coast of Africa MoU. 

Convention on the Illegal Trade in 

Endangered Species (CITES), 1973 

International trade in wildlife and wildlife products is 

regulated through the Convention on International 

Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 

which accords varying degrees of protection to more 

than 30,000 species of animals and plants to ensure that 

trade does not threaten their survival. South Africa 

ratified CITES in 1975 and is a significant importer and 

exporter of CITES-listed species. 

Basel Convention on the Control of 

Transboundary Movement of Hazardous 

Wastes and their Disposal (1989) 

The Basel Convention was designed to reduce the 

movements of hazardous waste between nations, and 

specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from 

developed to less developed countries. It does not, 

however, address the movement of radioactive waste. 

The Convention is also intended to minimize the 

amount and toxicity of wastes generated, to ensure the 

management of waste occurs as close to the source of 

the waste, and to assist less developed countries in 

managing hazardous and other wastes in an 

environmentally-sound fashion. 

Convention Concerning the Protection of the 

World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) 

The Convention aims to encourage the identification, 

protection, and preservation of earth’s cultural and 

natural heritage. It recognizes that nature and culture 

are complementary and that cultural identity is strongly 

related to the natural environment in which it develops. 

The Convention provides for the protection of those 

cultural and natural 'properties' deemed to be of greatest 

value to humanity globally. 

United Nations Convention to Combat 

Desertification, 1994 

The Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) 

promotes effective action to prevent land degradation 

through innovative local programmes and a network of 

international partnerships. The CCD recognizes that 

efforts to combat desertification should complement 

efforts to protect biodiversity. The CCD advocates 

international co-operation and an integrated approach 

that is consistent with Agenda 21 of the Convention on 

Biological Diversity. Although the CCD addresses the 

specific problem of desertification and drought, it also 

advocates research into the causes of desertification and 

the implementation of action plans. The Convention on 

Biological Diversity, having a wider scope that 

concentrates on habitat and ecosystem conservation, 

works collaboratively with the CCD by recognizing the 

importance of understanding the value of land and 

scarce water resources. 

Convention on the Conservation of Wetlands 

especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar), 

1971 

The Convention provides a framework for national 

action and international cooperation for the 

conservation and wise use of wetlands for the benefit of 

humankind. The ‘wise use’ concept refers to the 

maintenance of the wetlands ecological character which 




can be achieved through the “implementation of 

ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable 

development". 

As appears from its original name, the Ramsar 

Convention's original emphasis was on the conservation 

and wise use of wetlands in their capacity as habitat for 

waterfowl. Over the years, the Convention has 

broadened its scope to cover all aspects of wetland 

conservation and wise use, recognizing wetlands as 

ecosystems that are extremely important for 

biodiversity conservation and for the good of human 

communities. 

A broad definition of the types of wetlands covered in 

the Ramsar mission includes lakes and rivers, swamps 

and marshes, wet grasslands and peatlands, oases, 

estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, near-shore marine areas, 

mangroves and coral reefs, and human-made sites such 

as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and salt pans. 

Although South Africa has designated 17 wetlands for 

the List of Wetlands of International Importance in 

terms of the Convention, none of these are found in 

PKSLM. However, contracting parties to the 

Convention accept general obligations relating to the 

conservation and wise use of all wetlands throughout 

their territory. 

An application has been submitted to Ramsar to obtain 

international recognition for pans and wetlands in the 

area (Lindström, pers. comm.). 

Helsinki Rules 

The Helsinki Rules of 1966 provide general principles 

for reasonable and equitable sharing of water of 

international drainage basins by different states, but do 

not furnish regulations for the management of specific 

resources. These are agreed to on an ad hoc basis by the 

respective states involved in cross-boundary resource 

management. The Helsinki Rules are especially 

pertinent to the PKSLM, which is located in two shared 

river basins: 

• Usutu Basin, shared with Swaziland and 

Mozambique; and 

• Upper Vaal, shared through the Orange-Senqu 

Basin, with Lesotho, Namibia and Botswana. 

United Nations Framework Convention on 

Climate Change (UNFCCC) 

The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994, 

and sets an overall framework for intergovernmental 

efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. 

It recognizes that the climate system is a shared 

resource whose stability can be affected by industrial 

and other emissions of carbon dioxide and other 

greenhouse gases (GHGs). The Convention enjoys near 

universal membership, with 192 countries having 

ratified including South Africa. However, this treaty has 

no compulsory regulations on GHG emissions for 

individual countries and contains no mechanisms of 

enforcement, therefore it is legally non-binding. 

Under the UNFCCC, governments gather and share 

information on GHG emissions, national policies and 

best practices. They also launch national strategies for 

addressing GHG emissions and adapt to expected 

impacts, including the provision of financial and 

technological support to developing countries and 

cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the impacts of 

climate change. 

The treaty provides for updates (protocols) that would 

set mandatory emission limits such as the Kyoto 

Protocol. 

Kyoto Protocol 

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked 

to the UNFCCC. The major feature of the Kyoto 

Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 

industrialized countries and the European community 

for reducing GHG emissions. These amount to an 

average of 5% against 1990 levels over the five-year 

period 2008-2012. 

The Kyoto Protocol is generally seen as an important 

first step towards a truly global emission reduction 

regime that will stabilize GHG emissions, and provides 

the essential architecture for any future international 

agreement on climate change. The Kyoto Protocol was 

adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and 

entered into force on 16 February 2005. One hundred 

and eighty nations including South Africa have ratified 

the treaty to date, in terms of which countries must meet 

their targets primarily through national measures. 

However, the Kyoto Protocol offers them an additional 




means of meeting their targets by way of three marketbased 

mechanisms. The Kyoto mechanisms are: 

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete 

Ozone Layer is a protocol under the Vienna 

Convention. The Protocol controls the production and 

consumption of the most commercially and 

environmentally significant ozone-depleting substances 

– those listed in the Annexes to the Protocol. One 

feature of the Montreal Protocol which makes it unique, 

is Article 6 that requires the control measures to be 

revised at least every four years (starting 1990), based 

on the review and assessment of latest availableinformation 

on scientific, environmental, technical and 

economic aspects of the depletion of the ozone layer. 

• Emissions trading – known as “the carbon market"; 

• The Clean Development Mechanism; and 

• Joint Implementation. 

These mechanisms help stimulate green investment and 

help Parties meet their emission targets in a costeffective 

way. 

The Vienna Convention for the Protection of 

the Ozone Layer 

The ultimate objective of the Convention is to protect 

human health and the environment against adverse 

effects resulting from human activities modifying the 

ozone layer and urges the Parties to take appropriate 

measures in accordance with the provisions in the 

Convention and its Protocols which are in force for that 

Party. To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the 

Parties, within their capabilities, are expected to: 

• Cooperate to better understand and assess the 

effects of human activities on the ozone layer and 

the effects of the modification of the ozone layer; 

• Adopt appropriate measures and cooperate in 

harmonizing appropriate policies to control the 

activities that are causing the modification of the 

ozone layer; 

• Cooperate in the formulation of agreed measures 

for the implementation of this Convention; and 

• Cooperate with competent international bodies to 

effectively implement this Convention and other 

protocols to which they are party. 

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that 

deplete the Ozone Layer 

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent 

Organic Pollutants 

The Stockholm Convention is an international legally 

binding agreement on persistent organic pollutants 

(POPs). In 1995, the Governing Council of the United 

Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) called for 

global action to be taken on POPs, which it defined as 

“chemical substances that persist in the environment, 

bio-accumulate through the food web, and pose a risk of 

causing adverse effects to human health and the 

environment”. 

Following this, the Intergovernmental Forum on 

Chemical Safety and the International Programme for 

Chemical Safety prepared an assessment of the 12 worst 

offenders. Known as the Dirty Dozen, this list includes 

eight organo-chlorine pesticides: aldrin, chlordane, 

dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), dieldrin, 

endrin, heptachlor, mirex and toxaphene; two industrial 

chemicals: hexachlorobenzene and the polychlorinated 

biphenyl group; and two groups of industrial byproducts: 

dioxins and furans. 

The Convention entered into force on 17 th May, 2004 

with ratification by an initial 128 parties and 151 

signatories. Co-signatories agreed to outlaw nine of the 

"dirty dozen" chemicals, limit the use of DDT to 

malaria control, and curtail inadvertent production of 

dioxins and furans. Parties to the Convention have 

agreed to a process by which POPs can be reviewed and 

added to the Convention, if they meet certain criteria for 

persistence and trans boundary threat. Several other 

substances are being considered for inclusion in the 

Convention, and include: hexabromobiphenyl, 

octaBDE, pentaBDE, pentachlorobenzene, shortchained 

chlorinated paraffin’s, lindane, α- and β- 

hexachlorocyclohexane, dicofol, endosulfan, 

chlordecone and PFOS. 

The Convention sets out several objectives including: 

• The elimination from commerce of identified POPs 

and others that may be identified in the future; 

• Encouraging the transition in commerce to safer 

alternatives; 

• Identifying additional POPs; 




• The clean-up of old stockpiles and equipment 

containing POPs; and 

• Encouraging all stakeholders to work towards a 

POP-free environment. 

International concerns around mercury 

There are international initiatives to address mercury 

but to date no international policy has been developed. 

A recent programme backed by the United Nations 

(UN) that aims to reduce the health and environmental 

impacts of mercury includes a two-year period of 

voluntary action to reduce emissions and an evaluation 

to determine whether an international treaty is 

necessary. It aims to develop partnerships between 

government, industry and other key groups to reduce 

emissions. 

SADC Protocol on Shared Waters 

The Southern African Development Community 

(SADC) Protocol on Shared Water Systems was signed 

by thirteen of the fourteen member states in 1995. The 

Protocol was subsequently revised to bring it in line 

with the Convention on the Non-navigational Uses of 

International Watercourses adopted by the UN General 

Assembly in 1997. The Revised Protocol on Shared 

Watercourses was signed by the Heads of State of the 

SADC member States in 2000, and entered into force in 

2003. The objectives of this protocol are to encourage 

closer co-operation between SADC states for judicious, 

sustainable and coordinated management, protection 

and utilization of shared watercourses. 

Swaziland / South Africa joint water 

commission 

In 1992 these two countries signed two treaties with the 

first being the Joint Water Commission (JWC) treaty. 

The JWC was established as a technical forum which 

would advise governments of both countries on water 

resource matters of common interest. 

Swaziland / Mozambique / South Africa 

tripartite agreement 

Based on the framework provided by the revised SADC 

protocol on shared water resources, the Interim 

Agreement for the Inkomati and Maputo river basins 

(the IncoMaputo Agreement) reflects the principle of 

reasonable and equitable sharing of water resources for 

economic and social purposes between the three 

countries whilst still promoting environmental 

protection. The interim IncoMaputo Agreement will 

ensure that all future infrastructure development is 

investigated to protect other basin states against 

significant adverse affects. 

Article 13 of the agreement states that any planned 

water resources development projects and water 

utilisation project shall not commence if they, by 

themselves or by accumulation with the existing ones, 

have the potential of a significant transboundary impact 

on the watercourse. These projects may only commence 

if the provisions of Article 4(1) of the revised SADC 

Protocol, on the procedure of notifying other riparian 

countries of planned measures, have been complied 

with. 

1.4.18 National Policy 

National Water Resource Strategy 

The National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS) 

describes, in accordance with the requirements of the 

policy and law, how the water resources of South Africa 

can be controlled, protected, used, developed, 

conserved and managed. The objective of the Strategy 

is to ensure that water is used to support fair and 

sustainable social and economic transformation and 

development. 

The NWRS also discusses the progressive transfer of 

the responsibility and authority for water resources 

management from the present operator Department of 

Water Affairs (DWA) to catchment management 

agencies (CMAs) and water user associations at a local 

level. This will allow for the effective participation in 

the management of water resources in their areas to 

enable DWA to focus on becoming a sector leader, 

policy maker, regulator and monitor. 

Land redistribution for agricultural 

development program 

In 1994, the newly elected democratic government 

compiled a land reform policy to readdress the past 

restrictions on land possession and access. The policy 

addresses three issues: 

• Land restitution to restore land or provide financial 

compensation for people dispossessed of the land 

after 1913; 

• Land redistribution; and 




• Land tenure reform. 

The Restitution of Land Rights Act 1994 was designed 

to provide for the restitution of rights to land to the 

persons or communities who lost their property as a 

result of Apartheid laws or practices after 1913. During 

1994-1999, land was distributed to the disadvantaged 

and poor for housing and small scale farming activities. 

Two land grants were available for the purposes of 

assisting poor and landless black South Africans to buy 

and develop farm land. The Settlement Land 

Acquisition Grant (SLAG) was a R16,000 cash grant 

available until 2000 after which the Land Redistribution 

for Agricultural Development (LRAD) grant was 

introduced. The LRAD grant differed from the SLAG 

grant in that the beneficiaries did not have to be poor to 

apply for the minimum of R20,000 land grant. 

Medium term strategic framework 

The Medium Term Strategic Framework for 2010-2013 

for South Africa following the economic downturn 

highlights the need for securing jobs and prioritizes 

sectors for achieving objectives. Strategic objectives 

include the consolidation of trade links in Africa and 

the strengthening of links with dynamic economies to 

foster South-South Trade. Support to small, medium 

and micro enterprises (SMMEs) forms a further key 

focus area (Department of Trade and Industry, 2010). 

National Spatial Development Perspective 

The National Spatial Development Perspective (NSDP) 

(2006) is intended to focus government action and 

provide a platform for greater alignment and 

coordination across the three spheres of government. It 

includes the following: 

• A set of principles and mechanisms for guiding 

infrastructure investment and development 

decisions; 

• A shared understanding of the national space 

economy by describing the spatial manifestations of 

the main social, economic and environmental 

trends; and 

• An interpretation of the spatial realities and the 

implications for government intervention. 

Provincial growth and development strategy 

The Provincial Growth and Development Strategy 

(PGDS) is a development framework for the Province 

as a whole. The aim of the PGDS is to drive 

implementation within a Province and play a 

fundamental role in ensuring effectiveness and 

coordinated delivery on the overall development 

objectives. 

The PGDS includes the following: 

• Approach and characteristics set by the NSDP; 

• Direction and scope for Province-wide 

development programmes and projects; 

• Address the past apartheid space economy, provide 

sustainable development and ensure poverty 

reduction and employment; 

• Set a framework for both private and public sector 

investment; and 

• Address implementation issues. 

1.5 Legal status and nature of the 

EMF 

Sections 24(5) and 44 of NEMA embed the legal 

requirement for an EMF. It requires the compilation of 

information and maps that specify the attributes of the 

environment that must be taken into account by every 

competent authority. Chapter 8, part 1 of Government 

National Regulation 385 provides further information 

on the scope and status of an EMF. 

The Draft Guideline 6 dealing with EMFs in support of 

the EIA regulations (Department of Environmental 

Affairs and Tourism (DEAT), 2005) provides further 

detailed information on the nature, status, scope and 

development of an EMF. 

The EMF Regulations (No. R547) specifies that the 

contents of a draft EMF must: 

• Identify by way of a map or otherwise the 

geographical area to which it applies; 

• Specify the attributes of the environment in the 

area, including the sensitivity, extent, 

interrelationship and significance of those 

attributes; 




• Identify any parts in the area to which those 

attributes relate; 

• State the conservation status of the area and in 

those parts; 

• State the environmental management priorities in 

the area; 

• Indicate the kind of developments or land uses that 

would have a significant impact on those attributes 

and those that would not; 

• Indicate the kind of developments or land uses that 

would be undesirable in the area or in specific part 

of the area; 

• Include the parts of the area with specific sociocultural 

values and the nature of those values; 

• Identify information gaps; 

• Indicate a revision schedule for the environmental 

management framework; and 

• Include any other matters that may be specified. 

1.6 Objectives of this report 

This report presents the status quo assessment for the 

PKSLM and provides the following: 

• An outline of the approach and phases of the EMF 

process; 

• The state of the environment of PKSLM, including 

its infrastructural capacity, biophysical assets, 

socioeconomic features and institutional 

arrangements; 

• A spatial representation of the status quo of the 

study area, showing existing land uses; and 

• The opportunities, constraints and threats to assets 

in the study area, featuring points of potential 

conflict between development and sensitive 

biophysical areas. 




2 Approach and 

methodology 

The approach adopted for this EMF is one based on a 

broad conception of sustainable development as 

embodied within South Africa’s Constitution, policy 

and legislative framework, and recently reinforced by 

the National Framework for Sustainable Development 

(NFSD) (DEAT, 2006). This was adopted by Cabinet in 

July 2008. The section that follows defines the concepts 

of sustainable development, focusing on EMFs as a tool 

for promoting sustainable decision-making. It also 

outlines the EMF process indicating where the status 

quo assessment fits into the process. 

2.1 Sustainable development 

NEMA defines sustainable development as “the 

integration of social, economic and environmental 1 

factors into planning, implementation and decisionmaking 

so as to ensure that development serves present 

and future generations”. 

Sustainable development recognises the 

interdependencies between the natural environment, 

economic stability and social well-being. South Africa’s 

draft NFSD (DEAT, 2006a) adopts an embedded model 

of sustainability that sets socio-economic development 

within its environmental resource base, with the 

relationships between the components underpinned and 

regulated by a governance framework (see Figure 2-1). 

Ecosystem 

integrity 

People’s 

well-being 

Society 

Economic 

viability 

2.2 EMF – a tool for sustainable 

management 

A range of environmental tools, including the EMF, 

assist in integrating “social, economic and 

environmental factors into planning and decision 

making in order to ensure that development serves 

present and future generations” (NEMA, 1998). 

The EMF is a management and decision support tool 

that provides authorities with information about the 

‘state of environment’ and the planning parameters. Its 

purpose is to identify and spatially represent areas of 

potential conflict between sensitive environments and 

development proposals thereof. Using a Geographic 

Information System (GIS) platform, the EMF enables 

its application at various scales. The final stage in the 

development of the EMF is the integration of base data 

sets into a single facet coverage depicting and spatially 

delineating the potential environmental sensitivity of 

the area. This in turn forms the basis for a holistic 

environmental development framework that guides 

development and conservation priorities. 

These elements are incorporated in the EMF 

methodology presented in Section 2.3. 

2.3 Project phasing 

Informed by the Guideline Document for EMF (DEAT, 

2005), the process of developing the PKSLM EMF has 

been phased as described below. 

2.3.1 Project inception (Phase 1) 

The inception phase of the project was principally 

involved in setting up a Project Steering Committee 

(PSC), clarifying project scope and communication 

strategy, collecting available and up-to-date literature 

and spatial data, undertaking site visits and 

commissioning specialist investigation. 

Good Governance 

Figure 2-1: An integrated conceptual model of 

sustainable development 

Source: DEAT (2006) 

1 

In this paper, the term ‘environmental’ refers to biophysical 

components. 

2.3.2 Status quo assessment (Phase 2) 

The draft environmental Status Quo report defines and 

spatially represents the current state of the environment 

of the local municipality’s environment, as derived 

from the literature review, specialist studies and 

stakeholder consultation. This will be Volume 1 of the 

EMF process deliverables. As part of the status quo 




assessment for this report, the following desktop studies 

were undertaken: 

• Spatial planning and land use; 

• Socio-economics; 

• Cultural heritage; 

• Surface water; 

• Groundwater; 

• Aquatic and wetland ecology; 

• Terrestrial ecology; 

• Agriculture; and 

• Resource economics. 

In addition to the sourcing and reviewing of available 

literature and data, specialists conducted site visits to 

familiarize themselves with the study area and where 

necessary ‘ground-truth’ information. 

The Status Quo report has been drafted using specialist 

information, supplemented by additional data obtained 

by the study team. The Status Quo report provides the 

basis for stakeholder and public consultation, as 

outlined in the consultation strategy in Section 2.4. 

2.3.3 Environmental management 

framework and plan (Phase 3) 

The third phase involves the development of an EMF 

and strategic environmental management plan (SEMP). 

Scheduled to commence once the Status Quo report has 

been finalised, this process will involve the 

development of a framework comprising: 

• The desired state of environment using the Status 

Quo report to set a vision for the study area and its 

key attributes – this will be Volume 2 of the EMF 

process deliverables; 

• The pressures and trends of key attributes order to 

set management actions in the SEMP required to 

reach the vision; 

• Environmental land use or development guideline 

to facilitate future decision-making on 

environmental requirements and acceptability of 

development applications will be proposed, and 

will be spatially represented; 

• Environmental zoning to facilitate future decisionmaking 

by focusing attention on important areas / 

attributes and to try and streamline the authorisation 

process in less-sensitive areas. These management 

zones will indicate: 

‣ Areas in which specific activities should be 

allowed to take place without further 

investigation 

‣ Areas in which specific activities may be 

allowed subject to an environmental 

authorisation being granted in terms of the 

NEMA EIA Regulations 

‣ Areas in which specific activities should not be 

authorised; 

• An implementation plan, which will comprise of a 

system to evaluate, monitor and report on progress 

made towards improving the state of the 

environment and reaching the vision set for the 

study area, including setting indicators / targets, 

which specify measurable time scales, roles and 

responsibilities of the relevant parties involved, 

financial and human resource requirements, 

awareness raising, monitoring, evaluation and 

reporting systems, and action plans required for the 

successful implementation of the EMF. Included as 

part of the plan is a process for updating and 

refining the EMF as new information becomes 

available. The institutional structure required to 

ensure the EMF is successfully implemented also 

form part of the SEMP; and 

• A set of guidelines provided to assist authorities, 

including DEA, Mpumalanga Department of 

Economic Development, Environment and Tourism 

(MDEDET), GSDM and PKSLM, in makingdecisions 

when evaluating development 

applications in the study area. 

Following a review of the EMF and SEMP by the PSC, 

SRK/BKS will release the EMF report, which will be 

the final deliverable, Volume 3, to stakeholder and the 

public for review. The study team will amend the EMF 

for incorporation into all subsequent spatial plans for 

PKSLM. 




2.4 Stakeholder engagement 

The EMF development process described above is 

reliant on a consultation strategy, as per the DEA EMF 

guidelines. The purpose of the consultation process is 

to: 

• Raise awareness about the EMF development 

process; 

• Provide an opportunity for inputs from interested 

and affected parties (I&APs); and 

• Ensure feedback on the results of the process and 

allow an opportunity for them to respond. 

As such the public participation process has been 

separated into three phases, namely: 

• Phase 1: Awareness raising; 

• Phase 2: Input; and 

• Phase 3: Feedback and response. 

2.4.1 Phase 1: Awareness raising 

The intention of the PKSLM to compile an EMF was 

advertised in newspapers. In addition, all I&APs on the 

stakeholder database were sent personal invitations to 

one of three focus group meetings held on 8 and 9 June 

2010. A database of invited and registered I&APs was 

kept as a record. 

A background information document (BID) was sent to 

all I&APs who registered. The BID provided a brief 

explanation of the EMF process, the full extent of the 

study area and what the EMF aims to achieve. It also 

included details of the public participation process and 

how I&APs could get involved. Contact details of the 

consultants were provided for I&APs to register or to 

enquire further. 

2.4.2 Phase 2: Input 

The input phase involves the presentation of 

information related to the EMF process and the roles 

and responsibilities of the stakeholders. In addition, the 

opportunity will be provided for I&APs to inform the 

baseline data and raise specific concerns/issues that 

would influence the analysis of sensitivities and the 

associated guidelines. The matters raised at the 

meetings will be recorded in proceedings that are 

distributed for review. Attendance registers of all 

meetings held with stakeholders and the general public 

will be kept. 

2.4.3 Phase 3: Feedback 

Once the relative sensitivities of components of the 

environment have been rated and guidelines developed 

in consultation with the PSC, the draft EMF report 

(including the SEMP) will be made available for the 

public to peruse. Phase 3 of the public participation 

process will therefore consist of the review of the 

report, and public and focus group meetings to present, 

explain and discuss the findings with registered I&APs. 

Comments and concerns raised at these meetings and 

noted in the proceedings will form part of the final EMF 

report. Additional comments may also be received by 

fax, e-mail or post. 

2.5 Assumptions, limitations and 

uncertainties 

This section lists the key assumptions, limitations and 

uncertainties identified by the project team and the 

specialists during the course of the status quo 

assessment. 

It must be noted that the status quo assessment does not 

include any primary research or comprehensive groundtruthing. 

Thus the assessment is reliant on the review of 

existing secondary information sources. There is a risk 

that specialist investigations, given their reliance on 

existing sources for data, could be limited by what has 

been produced and the quality of the information 

provided. It was assumed that the data provided was the 

most up-to-date, accurate and adequately 

comprehensive. 

Surface water 

Much of the information presented at quaternary and 

sub-catchment level is desktop information that has 

been extrapolated from a limited number of monitoring 

sites. 

Groundwater 

SRK did not carry out large-scale baseline investigation 

of the groundwater resources and the data used was 

largely sourced from the Mpumalanga Department of 

Agriculture, Rural Development and Land 

Administration, MDEDET, Water Research 

Commission studies, DWA and existing data within 




SRK. Assumptions have been made that the data 

sourced are correct and complete. The SEMP will need 

to provide guidelines which must cover uncertainties 

regarding information. 

It is further assumed that input from key stakeholders 

during the public participation process will fine-tune 

information in the Status Quo report. Information gaps 

include: 

• Very limited data on groundwater quantity, use, 

quality and influences on groundwater quality. 

Gaps in comprehensive groundwater quality and 

quantity data and groundwater monitoring 

programmes for the area are an important limitation 

for decision-making; 

• Location of waste dumps, registered landfill sites, 

cemeteries and other sources of impact on water 

quality; and 

• Sufficient data to carry out modelling of catchment 

management. 

Aquatic and wetland ecology 

• The resolution of the available data enables large 

spatial patterns to be detected, and is suitable for 

strategic planning. Information has been presented 

mainly at a quinary level, and there are 106 of these 

within the study area. The average diameter of the 

quinary catchments is about 6 km, which provides 

some indication of the resolution of the information 

presented. The available database for fish contains 

information for five monitoring sites only within 

the study area. The river health database, together 

with unpublished data obtained from Johan 

Engelbrecht, contains aquatic invertebrate 

biomonitoring data for seven sites only within the 

study area; 

• There were no data available to inform the present 

ecological state of the any of the wetlands within 

the study area. As such, a surrogate measure of 

ecological state was based on the understanding 

that the condition of a wetland is influenced by land 

use in the catchment; 

• The delineation of wetlands for this study was 

conducted at a broad scale only, due largely to 

budgetary constraints and the large size of the study 

area. The wetland boundaries should therefore be 

treated as a coarse guideline of suspected wetland 

areas, and can only be used as an indication of 

where wetland and riparian areas are likely to be 

found. The information is suitable for strategic 

planning purposes only; and 

• The Aquatic and Wetland Ecology specialist report 

focused on the likely biodiversity support values of 

aquatic ecosystems. The assessment did not 

consider other potential functional values of aquatic 

ecosystems, such as water supply, flood 

attenuation, water quality enhancement and the 

like. These values tend to be controversial, and 

differ from wetland to wetland. The scale used in 

this project did not allow for a reliable and 

consistent assessment of these functional values 

across the study area. 

Terrestrial ecology 

• No live trapping was done due to the time- and 

financial-constraints placed on the study; 

• Limited site visits were conducted, limiting the 

field survey to spring and late summer; and 

• No night surveys were done. 

Land use 

• The main limitation was the reliance on secondary 

data, with particular reference to demographic, 

socio-economic and infrastructure provision data, 

some of which was fairly outdated such as the 2001 

Census data. Of the range of recent documentation 

(2006 to 2009) used in the compilation of the Land 

Use specialist report, a number of sources of 

demographic data appear to be used, namely, the 

2001 census, Department of Water Affairs and 

Forestry (DWAF) figures of 2005, the PKSLM 

Water Services Plan of 2006, the IHS Global 

Insight: Regional Explorer 388 (2.2b), and the 2007 

Community Census. For the purposes of clarity, 

statistics were aligned with the PKSLM IDP 2009- 

2010, which has predominantly used the WSDP, 

2006 and Global Insight data, for purposes of 

continuity as the baseline for the demographic data. 

However, where other statistical sources are used it 

is purely to indicate levels of relative magnitude 

rather than precise figures. 




• It should however, be noted that although the 2007 

Community Census information is considered to be 

the baseline for the entire country and has been 

used in the GSDM SDF, completed in 2009, 

concerns have been expressed by statisticians about 

the accuracy of some of the data, and as such this 

report aligns with the local municipality’s IDP as 

indicated above. There was also limited verification 

in terms of extensive site visits or interviews. 

Agriculture 

• The agricultural specialist study only focussed on 

issues relating to agriculture, i.e.: agricultural 

systems, natural resource potential, agro-tourism, 

agricultural institutions, land reform, and 

agricultural production and produce markets. It was 

assumed that other cross-cutting issues also 

intimately linked to agriculture such as the 

environment and water management were covered 

by other specialists. 

• Information such as vulnerable land for soil 

erosion, environmental sensitive areas, availability 

of water resources for agriculture and agricultural 

potential, needed further detailed research and 

assessments since these were not available from 

current information and satellite photos. 

Socio-economics 

Social statistics were primarily taken from the Census 

(2007), the PKSLM (2010) and the Statistics South 

Africa (Stats SA) Community Survey (CS) (2007). 

There are some concerns regarding social data 

integrity for the area, with over- and overestimations in 

some cases. An accurate and up-to-date survey is 

required in order to ensure that adequate and 

appropriate development planning is carried out for 

PKSLM. 

Cultural heritage 

• There is a large gap in information relating to the 

history of this area. The South African Heritage 

Resources Agency (SAHRA) database is 

completely outdated and does not cover the latest 

resources proclaimed as heritage sites. SAHRA is 

in the process of combining maps of cultural 

resources identified through heritage impact 

assessment (HIA) reports, but this is not yet 

available. It also needs to be indicated that this area 

has not been well researched by historians and 

archaeologists in the past; 

• Cultural resources are all non-physical and physical 

man-made occurrences, as well as natural 

occurrences associated with human activity. These 

include all sites, structure and artifacts of 

importance, either individually or in groups, in the 

history, architecture and archaeology of human 

(cultural) development. Graves and cemeteries are 

included in this; 

• The significance of the sites, structures and artifacts 

is determined by means of their historical, social, 

aesthetic, technological and scientific value in 

relation to their uniqueness, condition of 

preservation and research potential. The various 

aspects are not mutually exclusive; 

• The latitude and longitude of any archaeological or 

historical site or feature, is to be treated as sensitive 

information by the developer and should not be 

disclosed to members of the public; 

• All recommendations are made with full 

cognizance of the relevant legislation; and 

• The few sources available are biased and focus 

mostly on the cultural heritage of Europeans in the 

area. The sources were however found to be very 

reliable apart from omitting information. 

Resource economics 

• All technical, financial and other information 

provided by other specialists and official sources is 

assumed to be correct; 

• Comprehensive baseline data on the costs and 

benefits of different land use alternatives was 

generally difficult to access or unavailable. This 

necessitated the use of assumptions and 

professional judgement combined with selected key 

expert inputs generally accessed through telephonic 

interviews; 

• The quantification of economic impacts in order to 

inform the assessment of impacts was not possible, 

nor considered necessary, for all impacts. Where 

possible, quantification focused on impacts 

considered to be most important in the overall 




assessment. Assessments of impacts made without 

quantification (and based on a consideration of the 

likely magnitudes of impacts and/or expert 

judgements) are, however, considered necessary 

and adequate for decision-making purposes; 

• Baseline statistical data on socio-economic 

conditions were sourced primarily from the most 

reliable and verifiable sources such as large sample 

surveys conducted by Statistics SA augmented by 

other sources primarily used in the compilation of 

the municipal IDP and SDF. Care was taken to 

ensure that any uncertainties regarding accurate 

statistics were taken into account when making 

recommendations; 

• A clearer understanding of the quantified 

magnitude of environmental externalities in coal 

mining and other land uses particularly over the 

longer term; 

• Better data on the current economic benefits of 

tourism in the study area as well as its future 

potential. 

• A more clearly quantified estimation of the 

economic benefits associated with the exploitation 

of marginal coal deposits for short term gain versus 

the damages and risks that their exploitation implies 

in environmental sensitive areas. 




3 Status quo of the 

environment 

This chapter presents the current state of environment in 

the PKSLM. 

3.1 Regional locality 

The PKSLM is located in south-eastern Mpumalanga 

within GSDM. The PKSLM covers an area of 522,204 

ha and falls in the grassland biome – one of the most 

threatened biomes in South Africa. The Vaal River 

forms part of the municipality’s northern boundary and 

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Free State form the 

southern boundary. Major roads such as the R23 and 

N11 as well as a national rail link between Gauteng and 

KZN traverse the municipal area (see Map 1). 

PKSLM is predominantly rural in nature, with 

Volksrust being the sole major urban centre. The town 

is located on the border with KZN on the N11 which 

provides road access for freight and the tourist public. 

Volksrust provides administrative and commercial 

services to the surrounding centres and areas within 

PKSLM. Daggakraal is a densely settled area which 

supports approximately 33% of the PKSLM population, 

but is relatively poorly supplied with infrastructure and 

services. Other smaller centres are located at 

Wakkerstroom, Amersfoort/Zamokuhle, Singobile, 

Siyasenzele, Ezamokuhle, Zizameleni, Perdekop and 

Daggakraal (see Map 2). 

(MAP) ranging from 600 to 800 mm in the west 

increasing to 800 to 1,000 mm in the east. The area 

upstream of the Heyshope Dam in the Usutu to 

Mhlatuze WMA receives more than 1,000 mm/ a. 

Summer rainfall is accompanied by severe 

thunderstorms. 

Summer temperatures range up to 40°C during the day, 

down to 10°C in the evening. Temperatures range from 

20°C during the day to 10°C at night during the mild 

winter. Light frost can occur from May to August and is 

expected on less than 30 days per annum. Wind speeds 

range from 1 m/s to just less than 8 m/s. 

Climate change 

Climate change could have a major effect on ecology 

and land use in the PKSLM. Widespread melting of 

snow and ice, and rising sea levels, are among the most 

obvious and undeniable indicators that global air 

temperatures are rising. The increase has been attributed 

to increased emissions of GHGs from various sources, 

mainly the combustion of oil, coal and gas (Bates et al., 

2008). However, the relationship between global 

temperatures and human activities is highly complex, 

and there is little agreement as to how much climate is 

affected by human activities. Likewise, the impact of 

global warming on agriculture is highly uncertain. 

Elevated concentrations of carbon dioxide are predicted 

to have a positive effect on plant growth, but this may 

be offset by increased evaporative demands as 

temperatures rise (Bates et al., 2008). 

The neighbouring local municipalities within the 

GSDM are Lekwa, Msukaligwa and Mkhondo (see Map 

3). The local municipalities of Newcastle, Utrecht and 

Edumbe fall within KZN and border PKSLM to the 

south. Phumelela lies to the south-west of PKSLM and 

is situated in Free State Province. 

3.2 Biophysical 

3.2.1 Climate 

PKSLM is situated in a subtropical climate zone where 

summer rainfall occurs from September to May, 95% 

falling from October to March. Maximum rainfall is 

usually in January or February, while 95% of the 

rainfall is experienced during the summer months. The 

eastern parts of PKSLM experience higher rainfall that 

the western region, with mean annual precipitation 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 

(IPCC) is the leading body for the assessment of 

climate change, established by the UNEP and the World 

Meteorological Organization. In 2007 the IPCC 

reported that some areas of the world are likely to 

become wetter as temperatures rise, while other areas, 

including most of southern Africa, are likely to become 

dryer (Bates et al., 2008). Likewise, climate variability 

is predicted to increase in some areas, and decrease in 

other areas (Bates et al., 2008). Cold days, cold nights 

and frosts are likely to become less frequent over most 

land areas. Aquatic ecosystems are predicted to be 

among the most vulnerable to climate change (Bates et 

al., 2008). In southern Africa, surface water quality is 




anticipated to deteriorate because of the predicted 

decline in rainfall (Bates et al., 2008). 

in the area and need to be carefully managed to ensure 

the health of the environment and people. 

Increases in the distribution and prevalence of diseases, 

have been forecast because of increased temperatures 

and rainfall. The effects of global temperatures are also 

certain to be costly, particularly in developing regions. 

Coal mining is probably the greatest contributor to 

global warming per area followed by agriculture, 

forestry and tourism. The recognition that reduced 

degradation and destruction of natural habitats should 

be an important part of the global response to climate 

change to maintain sequestration levels (mitigation), but 

also as an adaptation strategy to allow for species 

movement in natural areas thereby aiding their survival 

chances and to continue delivering its services. 

It is not clear at this stage how these climate change 

related considerations need to the taken into account at 

a local spatial planning scale. The South African 

National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) certainly see 

planning for biodiversity maintenance as an ever more 

legitimate goal given its probable additional benefits in 

terms of climate change adaptation. Local authorities 

are drawing up climate change mitigation strategies 

with implications for spatial planning (Cape Town for 

example.). 

3.2.2 Air quality 

The HPA was declared by the Minister on 23 

November 2007 under the AQA. A PA is defined as an 

area where ambient air quality standards are being 

exceeded, or may be exceeded. The declaration 

necessitated the development of an Air Quality 

Management Plan for the area. 

The HPA includes Ekurhuleni, Lesedi, Govan Mbeki, 

Dipaleseng, Lekwa, Msukaligwa, PKSLM, Delmas, 

Emalahleni, and Steve Tshwete (see Map 5). 

A range of industrial, mining and agricultural activities 

are carried out in the PA, including power generation, 

commercial forestry and related industries, metal 

processing, petrochemical refining, ceramic processes, 

quarries, mining (primarily of coal), fertiliser and 

chemical production, explosives production, charcoal 

production, and other smaller scale industrial 

operations. These contribute to reduction of air quality 

Priority sources and pollutants 

Priority sources that have been found to be significant 

in terms of their contributions to ambient air pollutant 

concentrations and associated health risks within the 

PKSLM include: 

• Household fuel burning; 

• Vehicle exhaust emissions; 

• Emissions from petrol stations; 

• Diesel fuel combustion emissions along rail lines; 

• Un-rehabilitated mine tailings; 

• Mining operations; 

• Agricultural activities; 

• Industrial and commercial fuel burning; 

• Large industrial activities; 

• Landfills; 

• Sewage works; 

• Biomass burning; and 

• Trans-boundary transport of pollutants into GSDM. 

Household fuel burning, particularly the use of coal 

and, to a lesser extent the use of wood as a combustion 

source, can have a significant impact on ambient air 

quality for some distance from this source. Despite the 

national electrification programme, a large number of 

households in the district continue to burn fuel to meet 

all or a portion of their energy needs. Household fuel 

burning is predicted to be a very significant contributor 

to fine particulate concentrations within densely 

populated areas. Areas of particular concern are where 

informal settlements predominate and where there is no 

electricity provision to households. 

Vehicle exhaust emissions and petrol station 

emissions (petrol and diesel vehicles) can be of 

significant concern with respect to the proximity of 

residents to busy roadways and petrol stations. Road 

traffic is the most significant source of nitrogen oxides 

(NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic 

compound (VOC) emissions and is anticipated to 

contribute significantly to ozone formation. NOx and 




VOCs are both important precursors of photochemical 

products. 

Rail impacts relate to the combustion of diesel fuel by 

rail locomotives while transporting loads across rail 

networks. The main pollutant of concern with respect to 

diesel fuel combustion is diesel particulates, as well as 

NOx and CO emissions released to atmosphere. 

communities if not controlled. The type and extent to 

which these pollutants could impact on local 

communities will vary based on the composition of the 

waste being treated. 

Biomass burning from veld fires occur most frequently 

in September. The pollutants of concern generated by 

these fires include PM, nitrogen dioxide and CO. 

Un-rehabilitated mine tailings impoundments and 

active mining works can be considered significant 

sources of nuisance dust fallout as well as inhalable 

particulate matter (PM). The reclamation of these 

tailings impoundments also has a significant impact on 

ambient particulate impacts. The proximity of 

residential settlements (particularly low income 

households) close to these sources is of concern. 

Agriculture. PKSLM has numerous farms coupled 

with agricultural activities that are responsible for the 

release of large quantities of PM, with animal 

husbandry often being associated with foul odours. 

Industrial and commercial fuel burning, particularly 

uncontrolled coal fired boilers in close proximity to 

residential areas can be of concern. These can be 

associated with schools, light industrial areas and 

hospitals, etc. These sources contribute significantly to 

ambient sulphur dioxide and particulate matter 10 

microns or less (PM 10 ) concentrations. 

Large industries operating in the area could not be 

adequately quantified due to the absence of a 

comprehensive source and emissions inventory for the 

district. Most of these source types release emissions to 

the atmosphere via dedicated stacks, or via building 

fugitives. These emissions may be in both the gaseous 

and particulate form. 

Landfill and incinerator operations are associated 

with toxic and odorous gases as well as fugitive dust 

emissions. Heavy metal and furan emission from waste 

incineration represent a considerable air quality and 

health risk. 

Sewage works often associated with foul odours, have 

little segregation of industrial and domestic waste water 

in South Africa. This often results in chemicals which 

pose human health risks being treated by municipal 

sewage works. The evaporative emissions of these 

chemicals can result in health risks to neighbouring 

Transboundary pollution. Sources of pollution 

situated outside of PKLSM can still impact on the air 

quality in the area. Significant industrial and mining 

related sources located north of PKSLM are of 

particular concern. Map 6 provides an indication of the 

location and extent to which this may be of significance 

to the area. 

Ambient monitoring and overall assessment 

of air quality impacts 

Four privately run monitoring stations located in the 

PKSLM are summarised as follows (DEA, 2010): 

• Amersfoort: A SASOL operated monitoring station 

measuring weather changes (MET). This monitors 

sulphur oxides (SOx), PM and ozone (O 3 ); 

• Verkykop: An ESKOM operated MET station, 

which monitors SOx, PM, O 3 and NOx; and 

• Majuba 1 and 2: An ESKOM operated MET 

station monitoring SOx and PM. 

Results of the Highveld Air Quality Baselines Study 

(DEA, 2010) indicate that PKSLM’s key air quality 

issues include biomass burning, household fuel burning, 

vehicle use and at a localized scale industrial use 

particularly from the Majuba power station. The main 

pollutants of concern in this region are SOx, with 

localized exceedances in the vicinity of Majuba power 

station, NOx and CO from vehicle emissions, and veld 

burning. However, the area generally stays within the 

South African ambient standard noted for these 

pollutants. 

3.2.3 Soils 

The rocks weather in situ to residual soils of various 

composition and depths. These soils are generally 

covered by transported soils such as scree, consisting of 

large rock fragments, and colluvial gravels that are 

found on the higher slopes of the dolerite and sandstone 

hills. Finer colluvium and hillwash materials are found 




lower down the slopes. The western extremity of the 

study area is characterised by soils which are comprised 

of clay. The bulk of PKSLM has loam clay/loamy soils 

while the western section is dominated by sandy 

loam/loam. The far northern portion along the Vaal 

River has sandy alluvial soils. The arability of the soils 

of the study area is depicted in Map 7. High potential 

arable soils are restricted to the north-eastern portion of 

the study area. 

3.2.4 Topography and geomorphology 

The north-western part of PKSLM is characterised by 

undulating landscape of the Highveld Grasslands. These 

areas reach heights of 1,600 to 1,700 m above sea level. 

The south eastern part of the municipal area is more 

rugged and hilly, characterised by low to high 

mountains in the Volksrust and Wakkerstroom areas as 

a result of the presence of the resistant sandstone beds. 

The Langkrans, Versamelberg, and Langberg in the 

vicinity of Volksrust reach over 2,000 m above sea 

level, while those near Wakkerstroom reach above 

2,200 m. Dolerite sills give rise to characteristic flattopped 

hills. Topography of the study area is depicted in 

Map 8. 

3.2.5 Geology 

The study area is situated entirely on rocks of the Karoo 

Supergroup. Dolerite sills are intruded along bedding 

planes of sedimentary rocks, or as dykes intruded at 

right angles to the bedding. The intrusion of the dolerite 

results in resistance to weathering and gives rise to hills 

and ridges (see Map 8 and Map 9). Dolerite weathers to 

clayey soils, which are expansive and problematic to 

building foundations. 

Coal resources 

Coal mining activity is limited in the PKSLM, with the 

Savmore Coal Mine on the eastern extent being the only 

operational mine. There are small as well as defunct 

coal mining operations outside the study area near its 

eastern border, as well as to the north in the Ermelo 

district (SRK, 2010). Small-scale coal mining is 

occurring in the east where seams are close enough to 

the surface to support this level of exploitation. 

East of Amersfoort there are prospecting rights for coal. 

There are also prospecting rights well to the south-east 

of Wakkerstroom. There has been a recent application 

(July 2010) for prospecting rights on a farm in the 

Utrecht magisterial area of KZN. This farm is within 

the Enkangala Grassland Project domain, and about 3-4 

km outside of Wakkerstroom (Angus Burns, pers. 

comm.) 

The coal seams are generally flat-lying to gently 

undulating with a regional dip to the southwest. 

Faulting and associated dolerite intrusions are 

common throughout the coalfield, but increase to the 

south where they impact on mining potential. 

The coal resource forms part of the Ermelo Coalfield, 

with five coal seams denoted from A to E starting at the 

surface located in Vryheid Formation. The B and C 

seams are most widely developed to mineable 

thicknesses. 

The beds of the Vryheid Formation outcrop over the 

eastern portion of PKSLM providing some potential for 

open-cast coal mining. The highly weathered seams are 

not generally amenable to good coal recovery, and 

activities are likely to be restricted to small-scale 

recovery by entrepreneurs using low-cost mining 

methods. Their marginal nature is likely to present a 

challenge to compliance with environmental 

management programmes and financial provision for 

rehabilitation. 

The distribution of existing coal boreholes is shown in 

Map 10, while Map 11 shows the extent of potential 

underground and surface mining for PKSLM. 

Underground mining would be required to access coal 

reserves to the west where they are overlain by shales 

and siltstones of the Volksrust Formation. There also 

appears to be potential for underground coal mining in 

the remainder of the study area where the coal resource 

is more than 50 m deep and the coal seam is at least 1 m 

wide (see Map 11). 

Since the Majuba Coal Mine was decommissioned, the 

Majuba power station south of Amersfoort has been 

supplied by coal trucked from as far afield as Witbank. 

Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) technology 

converting unmined local coal seams into combustible 

gas is being piloted to supply the power station 

(Engineering News, 2007). Should the pilot project 

prove successful, it could give rise to similar projects 

utilizing the deep-lying coal resources. 




Other mining 

The geological materials present in PKSLM are not 

considered to be that favourable for exploitation as 

construction materials. However there is some sand and 

aggregate mining in the northern and north eastern parts 

of the study area, and rock quarrying in the central parts 

(see Map 32). 

3.2.6 Water resources 

Surface water quantity 

The PKSLM is situated in the headwaters of three 

major rivers and Water Management Areas (WMAs), 

namely the Upper Vaal, Thukela and Usutu to Mhlatuze 

(see Map 12 for WMAs and major surface water 

sources, and Section 3.2.7 for information on the 

numerous wetlands in PKSLM). The bulk of the study 

area falls in the Upper Vaal WMA, while the eastern 

portion falls in Usutu to Mhlatuze WMA and the southeastern 

portion lies in the Thukela WMA (in Van 

Niekerk et al., 2010). 

PKSLM totally and/or partially contains 14 quaternary 

catchments (see Table 3-1). The portion of the Upper 

Vaal WMA that falls within the PKSLM comprises 

tertiary catchments C11 and C13. The C11 catchment is 

upstream of Grootdraai Dam and C13 comprises the 

Klip River that joins the Vaal River downstream of 

Grootdraai Dam. The Usutu WMA comprises the 

Assegaai and Hlelelo Rivers as well as the Heyshope 

Dam in the tertiary catchment W51. The portion of the 

PKSLM which falls within the Thukela WMA, includes 

the towns Wakkerstroom and Volksrust in tertiary 

catchment V31 upstream of Zaaihoek Dam in the Slang 

River, a tributary of the Buffalo River. 

Quaternary 

Catchment 

Table 3-1: Details of the 14 Quaternary 

Catchments in the study area 

Combined 

Catchment area Forestry Alien veg. Irrigated minor dams MAE MAP 

Gross Net area area area area volume 

(km 2 ) (km 2 ) (km 2 ) (km 2 ) (km 2 ) (km 2 ) (mcm) (mm) (mm) 

C11B 536 536 0.00 0.00 0.83 0.49 1.61 1,400 705 

C11C 450 450 0.00 0.00 0.71 0.10 0.38 1,400 765 

C11D 373 373 0.00 0.00 0.59 0.69 1.54 1,400 702 

C11E 1,157 1,157 0.00 0.00 1.78 0.81 1.31 1,400 697 

C11J 1,002 1,002 0.00 0.00 1.54 0.19 0.29 1,450 658 

C11L 948 948 0.00 0.00 1.48 0.61 1.63 1,450 675 

C13A 595 595 0.00 0.00 0.57 0.09 0.20 1,400 779 

C13B 616 616 0.00 0.00 0.71 0.00 0.00 1,400 683 

C13D 896 896 0.00 0.00 0.99 0.00 0.00 1,400 698 

V31A 622 622 0.00 1.70 4.42 0.02 0.30 1,400 916 

V31B 505 505 20.40 21.80 5.18 0.51 2.10 1,400 856 

W42C 377 377 10.40 1.10 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,400 1,017 

Source: WRC (2008) 

The accumulated stream flow varies greatly from a high 

264 mm in the east upstream of Heyshope Dam to a low 

57 mm in the west. 

The Upper Usutu to Mhlatuze WMA in PKSLM 

including the Zaaihoek Dam is already highly 

developed and cannot sustain additional water use. 

Water transfers to the Upper Vaal and Olifants WMA, 

and afforestation account for the bulk of available 

water. 

The Upper Vaal WMA receives the bulk of available 

water by relatively high quality water transfers from the 

Upper Usutu to Mhlatuze. There is a large projected 

growth in demand in the WMA as a whole, but also for 

additional requirements in its upper reaches for petrochemical 

industries and power generation. 

The Thukela WMA is the source of water for the 

Thukela-Vaal Transfer Scheme which, inter alia, 

transfers water from the Thukela River catchment to the 

Sterkfontein Dam in the Vaal River system. 

International obligations govern the supply of water to 

neighbouring countries of Namibia, Swaziland and 

Mozambique situated downstream of the three WMAs 

whose headwaters fall in the study area. 

Surface water quality 

The overall quality of the rivers in the region is 

acceptable. Besides mining activities in the PKSLM, 

discharge from the various Waste Water Treatment 

Works (WWTW) pose a potential threat to the water 

quality in the rivers (see Section 3.3.2). Surface water 

quality in the PKSLM is indicated in Map 13, and can 

generally be described as follows (in Van Niekerk et 

al., 2010): 

• Water resources in the vicinity of major centres 

have poorer water quality than outlying areas 

mainly due to effluent outflow from WWTW 

battling with under-capacity and maintenance; 

• Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) concentrations are 

below 270 mg/l or 30 mS/m, and are thus 

acceptable for drinking water; 

• Calcium sulphate salts are dominant in the rivers, 

indicating water quality influences from acid mine 

wastes and many other industrial processes such as 

tanneries, textile mills and processes using 

sulphuric acid or sulphates. Atmospheric sulphur 




dioxide, released on combustion of fossil fuels, can 

give rise to sulphuric acid in rainwater (acid-rain) 

and as such, this results in the return of sulphate to 

surface waters in the environment. Calcium 

sulphate is naturally released from the weathering 

of rocks such as Gypsum; 

• The concentration of heavy metals is generally low, 

with the exception of manganese identified at the 

monitoring station adjacent to Maquasa West Mine; 

• Nutrient levels are slightly elevated in the 

Skulpspruit, while the stream next to Maquasa 

West Mine, the Klip River and the Rietspruit at 

N11 Tapfontein bridge between Ermelo and 

Amersfoort can be classified as eutrophic, 

indicating high nutrient loads from pollutants. The 

final effluent discharge from Amersfoort WWTW, 

Volksrust Sewage Treatment Works and Volksrust- 

Vukuzakhe WWTW to the Mahawane Buffels 

River, is considered hypertrophic. 

Electrical conductivity 

Monitoring stations at WWTWs at Amersfoort, 

Volksrust canal and Vukuzakhe have electrical 

conductivity (EC) values exceeding the guideline value 

for domestic use. The high variability of the water 

quality data at the WWTW indicates highly variability 

in the quality of the inflowing water. Stations not 

associated with urban areas have an EC value within the 

target range for domestic use. EC concentrations 

between 70-150 mS/m results in water having a salty 

taste, but no health effects are likely. 

Groundwater quantity 

Aquifer lithologies 

The regional hydrogeological zones in PKSLM are 

broadly defined by the underlying geology in the area 

comprising sedimentary rocks of the Karoo Sequence 

intruded by dolerite sills and dykes. 

The groundwater potential of the Karoo formations is 

generally limited in their pristine state due to low 

permeability and storage capacity. Secondary processes, 

alteration due to contact metamorphism with the 

intrusive dolerite, are recognised to enhance the 

groundwater potential of these lithological units (SRK, 

2010). Aquifer zones identified within these lithologies 

generally include: 

• Intergranular upper weathered aquifer within in the 

weathering zone (5-12 m) below surface which is 

typically low yielding (1-10 m 3 /d) due to the 

shallow thickness and usually provides storage to 

the underlying fractured rock aquifers. 

Groundwater flow is generally along the fractured 

transition zone between weathered and fresh 

bedrock contact. The aquifers are likely to be semiconfined 

with a low to medium development 

potential as permeability, transmissivity and storage 

capacity may be limited especially in the shales, 

sandstones and siltstones of the Karoo formations; 

• Fractured rock aquifers of variable yield and 

occurrence with yields varying from 0.1-2.0 L/s. 

Fractured fault zones (such as in the southern area), 

especially if related to tensional stresses, are 

potentially rich targets for groundwater 

development; 

• Saline deep-seated aquifers occurring below the 

coal seams. Contacts between different rock 

lithologies, including coal seams, and bedding 

planes within the sediments, coal and adjacent 

strata (no fissures) have lower hydraulic 

conductivities of



Map 14 (after GRAII: Department of Water Affairs and 

Forestry (DWAF), 2005) and Vegter, 1995) represents 

the regional hydrogeology, which comprises: 

• The Estcourt Formation (Karoo Supergroup), 

extending from the south western to the western 

boundary of PKSLM (including the towns of 

Perdekop and Volksrust). This is characterised by 

arenaceous rocks made of mudstone subordinate 

sandstone and is locally intruded by dolerite dykes 

and sills. Yields vary from 0.5-2 L/s with a 

generally lower occurrence (0.0-0.1 L/s) in the area 

of Volksrust; 

• The Volksrust Formation (Karoo Supergroup) 

underlying the centre of PKSLM consists of 

mudstones and shale subordinate silstones. Dolerite 

sills and dykes intrude the area. Yields vary from 

0.1 to 0.5 L/s increasing in the southern area to 

between 0.5 – 2.0 L/s; and 

• The Vryheid Formation mainly on the eastern side 

of the PKSLM and comprises sandstone, shale with 

coal seams and intrusions of dolerite dykes and 

sills. Those rocks are characterised by massive, low 

porosity rocks with a few widely spaced joints and 

the yields vary between 0.5-2.0 L/s. The sandstone 

has very little storage capacity for water and 

transmits water slowly, mostly through fractures 

and faults. 

Groundwater recharge 

mbgl, and increases from west to east across the study 

area. Surface water and groundwater interaction occurs 

along the river and stream courses, where groundwater 

levels are likely to be not more than a few meters below 

surface. 

Fountains (springs or seeps) have been mapped 

(regionally) along the contacts of the Karoo Vryheid 

Formation sediments and intrusive dolerite sills. 

Aquifer classification 

The aquifer is classified as a minor aquifer on a regional 

scale. The aquifer is neither classified as a sole source 

aquifer nor a special aquifer (South African Aquifer 

System Management Classification of South Africa, R. 

Parsons, 1995). 

Groundwater supply and use 

At a provincial scale, 65% of water resources available 

in Mpumalanga come from surface water resources. 

Water transfers into the Province provide 19% of total 

water availability, while groundwater accounts for 6% 

of available water (Mpumalanga State of Environment 

Report (SOER), 2003). 

Data for groundwater supply and use are limited and 

according to DWA WARMs database, there is one 

registered water supply borehole located in the northern 

part of the PKSLM, with a yield of 0.041 million m 3 /a. 

No other boreholes were listed and it is therefore 

difficult to determine the current groundwater use. 

The upper weathered aquifer is recharged by rainfall 

with the annual groundwater recharge expected to be in 

the order of 22 to 180 mm/a (GRAII, 2006), and 

increases from west to east across PKSLM. The mean 

annual groundwater recharge is presented, after Vegter 

(1995) and GRAII (2006), in Map 8. 

The recharge rate in weathered sediments could be 

highly variable depending on the hydraulic conductivity 

of the overlying soils (clays would for example limit the 

ingress of rainwater) and variable surface topography. 

Groundwater flow 

Groundwater levels would be expected to mimic 

surface topography in the catchment due the semiconfined 

nature of the aquifers. According to the GRAII 

database, the depth to groundwater ranges between 6-16 

The groundwater potential of the Karoo formations 

located in the study area is limited in their pristine state 

due to low permeability and storage capacity. 

Secondary processes, alteration due to contact 

metamorphism with the intrusive dolerite, are 

recognised to enhance the groundwater potential of 

these lithological units. Minor faults are localised in the 

southern area and may increase the groundwater 

occurrence. 

The annual groundwater recharge is expected to be of 

the order of 22 to > 180 mm/a, and increases from west 

to east across PKSLM (Vegter, 1995 and GRAII, 2005). 

Groundwater levels would be expected to mimic 

surface topography in the catchment due the semiconfined 

nature of the aquifers. According to the GRAII 

database (DWAF, 2005), the depth to groundwater 




ranges between 6-16 mbgl. Surface water and 

groundwater interaction occurs along the river and 

stream courses, where groundwater levels are likely to 

be not more than a few meters below surface. 

Groundwater quality 

Limited information is available regarding PKSLM 

groundwater quality. Indications are that the 

hydrochemistry associated with the sediments is 

variable, with groundwater salinity associated with the 

formations in the study area having an EC of



Map 18 and Map 19). Map 20 provides an overview of 

the aquatic biodiversity of PKSLM. 

Table 3-2: PES categories 

Category Description Rating System used for Wetlands 

A 

B 

C 

Unmodified, natural 

Largely natural, with 

few Modifications 

Moderately Modified 

Not within 100 m of any of the 

above land use types 

Within 100 m of both urban areas 

and mines 

Within 100 m of either cultivated 

areas or degraded areas 

The most important environmental factors that 

influence the distribution of the plant communities are 

terrain morphology and soil wetness. The vegetation 

types are depicted in Table 3-3 and Map 22. 

Table 3-3: Vegetation types 

Specialist classification Mucina and Rutherford (2006) 

Western Plains Grassland 

Central Plains Grassland 

Soweto Highveld Grassland 

Frankfort Highveld Grassland 

Amersfoort Highveld Clay 

Grassland 

D 

Largely Modified 

Within 100 m of urban areas, mines 

and commercial plantations 

Wakkerstroom Plains 

Grassland 

Wakkerstroom Montane 

Grassland 

E Extensively Modified 

F Critically Modified 

Source: DWAF (1999) 

Eastern Plains Grassland 

Escarpment Grassland 

Mountain Grassland 

Eastern Highveld Grassland 

Paulpietersburg Moist Grassland 

Low Escarpment Moist Grassland 

Wakkerstroom Montane 

Grassland 

3.2.8 Terrestrial ecology 

Bredenkamp (2010) provides an overview of the 

Terrestrial Ecology of the PKSLM. Terrestrial 

biodiversity is represented in Map 21. 

Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation in the 

Mpumalanga Province have placed floral and faunal 

species under severe pressure. Factors that have 

contributed to this include (Mpumalanga SOER, 2003): 

• Agricultural development and inappropriate 

practices; 

• Commercial afforestation; 

• Human overpopulation; 

• Neglect of conservation of grasslands and wetlands; 

• Alien vegetation; 

• Overgrazing; 

• Inappropriate burning regimes; and 

• Modification of aquatic ecosystems e.g. rivers and 

wetlands. 

Areas within the PKSLM that are rated as Protected or 

Irreplaceable for terrestrial ecosystem are the high lying 

areas on the eastern side of the study area, including the 

Paardeplaats Nature Reserve, Wakkerstroom vlei, 

Kastrol Nek and surrounding areas. 

Flora 

Forest 

Wetlands 

Western Plains Grassland 

Northern Afromontane Forest 

Eastern Temperate Freshwater 

Wetlands 

This vegetation type is restricted to the western portion 

of the PKSLM, and is largely transformed (25%). Large 

areas are already developed for agricultural purposes, 

which has led to the destruction of vast tracts of this 

grassland. Western Plains Grassland is extremely 

poorly conserved, with none of the vegetation type 

currently statutorily protected, though a small part is 

protected in the Bloukop and Reitvaal Conservancies 

situated within the PKSLM. This grassland is 

endangered mainly due to agriculture. 

Central Plains Grassland 

This type of grassland covers a large part of the study 

area (41%), and 27% is transformed, mainly by 

agriculture. This is also poorly conserved with a small 

part protected within the area of the Reitvaal 

Conservancy and partly in the proposed Baltrasna 

Conservency in the PKSLM. 

Wakkerstroom Plains Grassland 

This grassland community occurs in the north-eastern 

parts of the study area, and is likewise transformed by 

agriculture, comprising 17% of the area. The proposed 




Baltrasna Conservancy is the only area under 

protection. 

Eastern Plains Grassland 

This vegetation type covers a small area within the 

PKSLM comprising a gently undulating plain and some 

low hills in the west. Many shallow drainage lines and 

vlei-like wetland areas occur in the valley bottoms, 

draining towards the Heyshope Dam. As some of the 

land had been ploughed for agriculture in the central 

areas and forestry in the southern and eastern areas, and 

with mining becoming more and more conspicuous, the 

remaining natural grassland in this area should be 

regarded as endangered and therefore sensitive. 


Within PKSLM, this vegetation type occurs as a narrow 

belt in the southern and eastern areas. Many kloofs with 

streams and bushy vegetation or forests dissect the area. 

Most of the area is still natural grassland in a good 

condition. Small areas are transformed by forestry, and 

due to the mountainous terrain, little agriculture is 

practised. Natural grassland covers the steeper slopes 

and occurs close to the streams or local wetlands. 

Escarpment grassland is only 2% transformed and is in 

good condition, rich in forb species and with some 

scattered shrubs and bush on the rocky outcrops. 

Forests are often present in the moister kloofs. 


This is a grassland type that is restricted to the 

mountainous area north of Wakkerstroom. The terrain is 

a continuation of the escarpment, and is composed of 

low mountains and undulating plains. Part of this area is 

protected within the proposed Baltrasna Conservancy. 

The Wakkerstroom Wetland is located within this 

vegetation type. This type of habitat is quite pristine, 

with only 6% transformed. Mountain grassland is very 

rich in species and therefore has a high conservation 

status and sensitivity. Parts north of Wakkerstroom are 

considered as Least Concern, due to inaccessibility, 

though some areas are considered as Important or even 

Irreplaceable by the Mpumalanga Biodiversity 

Conservation Plan (MBCP). This grassland has a high 

conservation status and sensitivity. 

Forests 

Small patches of forests occur in the Escarpment 

Grassland and Mountain Grassland areas. These forests 

occur in the proposed Mhlangampisi Conservancy and 

are not under threat. 

Conservation 

The National Grasslands Programme is an initiative of 

the SANBI which aims to sustain and secure the rich 

biodiversity and ecosystem services of the grassland 

biome for current and future generations. One of the 

key targets of the Grasslands Programme is to secure 

22.3% of vegetation types within natural areas in the 

grassland biome. Participating stakeholders include 

government roleplayers, as well as the private sector 

and civil society. One of the partnering organizations is 

World Wide Fund for Nature. 

SANBI also runs the Working for Wetlands Programme 

which champions the rehabilitation and sustainable use 

of wetlands through co-operative governance and 

partnerships. The Mondi Wetlands Project is another 

organisation which works in the area for the protection 

and rehabilitation of wetlands. Further institutions 

working in the area on the conservation of biodiversity 

include Birdlife South Africa, which delineated an 

important birding area in the vicinity of Wakkerstroom 

and have set up a bird tourism route in the area, as well 

as the Endangered Wildlife Trust which runs the Crane 

working Group concerned with the protection of crane 

species. The Escarpment Environment Projection 

Group, the Botanical Society of South Africa and 

Mpumalanga Wetland Forum are other organisations 

also working in the area. 

Only a small part of the area is under formal or semiformal 

protection (see Map 23). Only a single 

provincial nature reserve, Paardeplaats Nature Reserve, 

occurs in the area. The Wakkerstroom Wetland Reserve 

is a municipal protected area. Conservancies include the 

Bloukop and Reitvaal Conservancies, and the newly 

proposed Mhlangampisi and Baltrasna Conservancies. 

The Western Plains Grassland, Central Plains Grassland 

and Wakkerstroom Plains Grassland are important 

agricultural areas, already highly transformed. Due to 

the little remaining natural grassland, these areas are 

considered as Endangered or Vulnerable. However, the 

remaining natural grasslands are isolated patches, 

mostly close to wetlands. These patches are often 




intensively grazed. There is a medium-level need to 

protect smaller localised patches of grassland associated 

with wetlands. 

The Eastern Plains Grassland is considered to be 

Endangered / Vulnerable, due to extensive potential 

forestry and mining. Only a small part of this vegetation 

type occurs within the study area. There are currently 

applications for more mining in this vegetation type, 

within the study area. Consequently, the need for 

protection is high. 

The mountainous, steeper and rocky areas of the 

Escarpment Grassland and Mountain Grassland, as well 

as the Forests, are not really threatened due to less 

development on these mountains. Due to the 

ruggedness, these areas are also best protected against 

development and habitation and the conservation status 

is therefore Least Threatened. Although the threats are 

relatively small, the exceptional biodiversity and scenic 

beauty imply a high need for statuary protection. 

Threatened and endangered plant species 

The south-eastern parts of the study area are the most 

important as a hotspot area for Red Data taxa (see Map 

24). This area mainly includes Mountain Grassland and 

Escarpment Grassland as well as the Wakkerstroom 

Wetland area. 

Alien plants 

Alien vegetation, mainly black wattle, is prevalent in 

the southern and eastern portions of the PKSLM. Alien 

invasive vegetation in the upper Buffalo River 

Catchment, and upper Vaal Catchment, are estimated to 

reduce the mean annual runoff (MAR) by 3.9 and 3.8 % 

respectively (Versveld et al., 1998). Alien vegetation 

also displaces indigenous species, and leads to a 

reduction in biodiversity. Furthermore, rooting systems 

of many alien plant species, such as black wattle, tend 

to be shallow and this makes stream banks that are 

colonised by such plants vulnerable to erosion. 

Fauna 

Mammals 

Threatened and endangered mammal species 

distribution was obtained from the Mpumalanga 

Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA). The PKSLM area 

contains 76 species of mammals, which excludes 

animals found in the nature reserves or game farms. 

Red Data listed mammal species include 12 species. 

These include species such as Ourebia oribi (Oribi) and 

possibly Poecilogale albinucha (African Weasel), Lutra 

maculicollis (Spotted-necked Otter) as well as shrew 

species of the genera Crocidura and Myosorex. 

Birds 

According to the MTPA database 17 Red Data listed 

bird species have been recorded from the study area. 

Some of these species are rare and protection of 

grasslands and wetlands is critical for their survival. 

Important Birding Areas are found almost throughout 

the entire municipality (see Map 27). 

Fish 

A number of fish species that are sensitive to water 

quality deterioration are expected to occur within the 

PKSLM. These are located mainly in the Usutu 

Catchment, and less so in the Thukela River Catchment. 

There are no highly sensitive fish species in the upper 

Vaal River Catchment. 

Alien fish species identified in the study area include 

trout, bass, grass carp and common carp, all of which 

tend to have a negative impact on indigenous fish 

species diversity. Grass carp were introduced into 

Heyshope Dam, so there is a possibility that they may 

move into the tributaries upstream of the dam 

(Engelbrecht and Roux, 2008). 

Reptiles 

Sixty species of reptiles (snakes, lizards, geckos, 

tortoises) have been recorded in the study area, eight of 

these being possible Red Data species. 

Amphibians 

Twenty-two frog species occur in the PKSLM. 

Although the MTPA data indicates Heleophryne 

natalensis (=Hadromophryne natalensis) and 

Vandijkophrynus gariepensis as Red Data listed frog 

species, neither are currently listed as Threatened. 

Invertebrates 

Data on threatened and endangered invertebrate species 

distribution was obtained from MTPA. A number of 

butterfly species were recorded from the study site; 

however, most of them are widespread and not 




considered to be threatened. The only Red Data listed 

species from the area, with a doubtful distribution 

record (Henning et al., 2009), is Lepidochrysops 

swanepoeli. 

The Lepidopteran order (butterflies of the superfamily 

Papilionoidea) is plentiful in the PKSLM and is often 

used to describe the ecological habitat integrity of a 

system. 

Approximately 10,518 formal households receive waste 

collection services and only 2,061 informal households 

receive the services. There is a causal link between this 

and the fact that the majority of the population resides 

in the semi urban and urban areas. 

There are four waste sites in the PKSLM jurisdiction 

listed in Table 3-4, with only Volksrust being a licensed 

landfill site. 

3.3 Infrastructure and services 

This section presents the status quo of the current 

services and infrastructure within the study area, which 

is located within the context of provincial and national 

trends. 

As is the case for many municipalities, the PKSLM has 

major challenges with regard to service delivery. Recent 

protests by residents in the GSDM over service delivery 

is evidence that much still needs to be done to provide 

sustainable services to all residents within the district 

including PKSLM. 

Addressing the backlogs in service delivery within the 

PKSLM, especially for the provision of waste removal, 

water and sanitation is a major challenge due to the 

largely rural nature of the municipality. 

3.3.1 Waste management 

Waste collection on a weekly basis in the PKSLM is 

approximately 57% of households according to Stats 

SA (2007) (see Figure 3-1). 

Removed by local 

authority (at least 

once a week) 

Removed by local 

authority (less often) 

Communal refuse 

dump 

Own refuse dump 

Figure 3-1: Access to refuse removal in PKSLM 

The PKSLM IDP (2009/2010) reports that some 78% of 

informal and formal households receive waste removal 

services in the area, most of these on a weekly basis. 

Town 

Table 3-4: PKSLM landfill status 

Mass (tons) 

in 2006 

Mass (tons) 

in 2026 

Air space 

Wakkerstroom 1,044 3,396 88,921 

Amersfoort 1,536 4,992 118,503 

Perdekop 744 2,412 71,111 

Volksrust 10,356 33,600 474,056 

Source: GSDM (2005) 

The waste quantities reflect waste collected by the 

municipal waste removal services which covers the 

main urban areas and includes predominantly domestic 

and garden waste (Table 3-5). 

Table 3-5: PKSLM waste quantities 

Waste quantities per month in PKSLM 

Domestic 1,001 

Building rubble 35 

Garden 99 

Hazardous 0 

Industrial 5 

Total waste produced 1,140 

Total waste per annum 13,680 

Source: GSDM (2005) 

According to the waste management plan (GSDM, 

2005) the Amersfoort, Wakkerstroom and Perdekop 

waste sites have no leachate control and none of the 

landfill sites regularly cap the waste. This has 

potentially major impacts for groundwater quality and 

air quality in the area. 

3.3.2 Sanitation 

According to Stats SA (2007), 45% of households have 

access to flush toilets connected to the sewage system 

(see Figure 3-2). According to the PKSLM IDP 

(2009/2010) the municipality still has approximately



6,318 households below reconstruction and 

development programme (RDP) sanitation standards. 

However, significant progress has been made as the 

number of households below RDP standards of 

sanitation was 28,153 households in 2005. 

Flush toilet 

sewer 

Flsh toil tank 

Chemical toilet 

3.3.3 Water 

According to the PKSLM SDF, some 70% of 

households (urban and peri-urban) receive purified 

water via the bulk water supply system. The bulk of 

households receive their water supply via back yard 

connections (PKSLM, 2009a). The remainder of the 

population residing in rural areas are reliant on borehole 

water and rivers for potable water. 

The SDF indicates that bulk water supply in the area is 

sourced as follows: 

Figure 3-2: Sanitation in the PKSLM 

The WWTWs that fall in the PKSLM jurisdiction are as 

follows (BKS, 2010) (see Map 25): 

• Volksrust Sewer Plant; 

• Vukuzakhe Sewage Treatment Plant; 

• Wakkerstroom Sewage Treatment Plant; 

• Amersfoort Sewage Treatment Plant; and 

• Perdekop Sewage Treatment Plant. 

Pit latrine 

W/vent 

Pit lat WO/vent 

The Wakkerstroom WWTW has a design capacity of 

2.5 Ml/day, but is currently running far in excess of this 

amount at an estimated 4.5 Ml/day (BKS, 2010). This 

results in significant negative impacts on the surface 

water quality in the Usuthu-Mhlatuze WMA. All the 

other WWTW in PKSLM have not yet reached their 

maximum capacity. However treatment processes do 

not address salinity issues and all works exhibit 

elevated concentrations of TDS (Van Niekerk et al., 

2010). 

None of the works conform to the phosphate standard 

of 1mg/l, but of greater concern is the concentration of 

uniodised ammonia (NH 3 ) in the effluent from 

Volksrust WWTW. At 1 mg/l this effluent is potentially 

toxic to the receiving river as a function of temperature 

and pH. The other works also discharge water with high 

concentrations of NH 3 . Similarly, the concentration of 

nitrate in the effluent is also high. 

• Wakkerstroom and eSizameleni obtain water from 

Martins Dam; 

• Perdekop, Amersfoort and Siyazenzela obtain water 

via a bulk pipeline from the Amersfoort purification 

plant situated outside Amersfoort; 

• Volksrust and surrounding areas obtains bulk water 

from Schuilhoek, Mahawane and Balfour Dams 

and, additionally has backup pipelines from the 

Slang River to Mahawane Dam; and 

• Daggakraal’s bulk water is pumped from 

Amersfoort. 

The large Zaaihoek Dam with a capacity of 185 million 

m 3 is, inter alia, the supplementary source of water to 

Greater Volksrust Area and potentially to the other 

towns in PKSLM. It is likely that as the future water 

requirements of PKSLM increase, the supply area’s 

dependence on Zaaihoek Dam will increase. The 

primary demands on water from the Zaaihoek Dam are 

for power generation at Majuba power station and water 

and supplementation of Grootdraai Dam, supplying 

water to other power stations in the Highveld area. 

Map 25 indicates the water treatment works which are 

situated at Volksrust, Vukuzahke, Wakkerstroom and 

Amersfoort (also supplying Perdekop and Daggakraal). 

The PKSLM is committed to attaining the Millennium 

Development Targets by ensuring access to water for all 

by 2014 (PKSLM, 2009a). This will be possible 

through partnerships with the private sector and all 

spheres of government. The municipality is also 

participating in the Water for All Flagship Project 

(PKSLM, 2009a).



3.3.4 Energy sources 

According to the PKSLM IDP, 99% of urban areas and 

about 1% of farm workers have access to electricity 

(PKSLM, 2009a). Eskom and the municipality share the 

mandate in supplying the area with power. The 

municipality still has approximately 7,567 electricity 

supply backlogs. 

Mpumalanga Province contributes 70% to the 

generation of power within South Africa. The Majuba 

power station is situated within PKSLM, with several 

other power stations situated to the north of the 

municipality. These power stations have an impact on 

the ambient air quality (see Section 3.2.2). 

In the PKSLM energy is mainly consumed for lighting, 

heating and cooking purposes. Approximately 81% of 

households in the PKSLM use electricity for lighting 

purposes (see Figure 3-3). The second most utilized 

energy source for lighting is candles, used for the most 

part by residents in informal settlements and rural areas. 

Approximately 50% of households still use coal for 

heating while only 30% use electricity. This can 

partially be attributed by access to cheaper coal. With 

regards to cooking, electricity is used as often as coal 

within the municipality. Stats SA CS in 2007 does not 

have any records of solar energy for lighting, cooking 

or heating use. 

90 

80 

70 

60 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Electricity 

Gas 

Paraffin 

Candles 

Wood 

Coal 

Animal dung 

Solar 

Other 

Source: Stats SA (2007) 

Lighting 

Heating 

Cooking 

Figure 3-3: Energy sources used in the PKSLM 

3.3.5 Transport 

The N11 national road traverses the municipality, 

linking it to KZN and the Msukaligwa Local 

Municipality north east of the PKSLM (see Map 25). 

There are three main provincial roads within the 

municipality, namely the R543, R35 and R23. Most of 

the roads are in a bad state due to high volumes of coal 

trucks that transport coal to the power stations. The 

municipality is responsible for the provision and 

maintenance of all local roads. Table 3-6 outlines the 

current state of roads in PKSLM. The main roads are 

tarred but most of the local roads are still gravel. 

Airports 

Table 3-6: State of roads in PKSLM 

Total (km) 

PKSLM roads 

Improvements per km from 2000 

122 km 

42,1 km 

Budget spent since 2000 R7 760 

Informal areas (km) 

Gravel roads (km) 

Tarred roads (km) 

Source: PKSLM (2009a) 

2km 

30km 

90km 

According to the SDF, there is an airfield near 

Volksrust (PKSLM, 2009b) (see Map 25). The majority 

of the small towns have landing strips for small planes 

(Jordaan and Jordaan, 2010). The Oliver Tambo 

International Airport situated in Gauteng Province is 

used for the export of produce such as agricultural 

products to Europe and other parts of the globe. 

Public transport 

Taxis constitute the majority of all commuter 

transportation in the Province. Their importance is 

estimated at roughly 95% of all public transport. The 

IDP highlights a programme for the development of an 

integrated public transport plan falling under the 

auspices of the Mpumalanga Department of Roads and 

Transport (PKSLM, 2009a). 

Rail 

There are two railway lines that pass through the 

PKSLM, the one is the main Johannesburg-Durban rail 

link, which follows the R23 from Standerton to 

Volksrust (PKSLM, 2009b) (see Map 25). The link is 

used for both freight and passenger transportation. The 

other line is a north-south alignment from Bethal 

passing through Amersfoort, Wakkerstroom and 




Volksrust, which is used exclusively for freight 

transportation. 

3.3.6 Cemeteries 

According to the GSDM SDF (2009), the district 

municipality is having difficulties maintaining its 94 

cemeteries, many of which are reaching full capacity. 

Within the PKSLM the district has prioritised seven 

new cemeteries in Daggakraal, which suggests a severe 

shortage in the area. Without adequate management 

measures, this could give rise to surface and 

groundwater quality issues. The IDP indicates that 

PKSLM has budgeted R3.5 million for the 

establishment of new cemetery sites (PKSLM, 2009a). 

3.3.7 Telecommunications 

Forty-five % of households in PKSLM are dependent 

upon public telephones for communication, while 23% 

of households have access to cell phones (PKSLM, 

2009b). The telecommunication network is generally 

good with nearly the whole area covered with network 

coverage for cell phones. Coverage is limited in small 

areas between the mountains. Asymmetric Digital 

Subscriber Line (ADSL) connections are available for 

internet usage, although broadband connectivity is not 

yet in place (Jordaan and Jordaan, 2010). 

3.4 Spatial planning and land use 

To promote continuity with the IDP, the Land Use 

specialist report for PKSLM (Klug, 2010) is aligned 

with the PKSLM IDP 2009-2010, which draws on the 

IHS Global Insight (2008) data. The IDP has 

predominantly used the Water Services Development 

Plan (WSDP) (2006) and Global Insight (2008) data. 

On the other hand, the Stats SA (2007) community 

census information (considered to be the baseline for 

the entire country) has been used in the GSDM SDF 

completed in 2009. It is critical that the contradictions 

in data sets are addressed as there are significant 

opposing implications on both housing and land. 

PKSLM has moved from fourth place in terms of level 

of urbanisation in the district in 1997 to second place at 

68.6%, well above the national and provincial averages 

(IHS Global Insight, 2008). The 20% increase in 

households over this period is not reflected in the 

number of heads per household which has declined 

from 4.5 people per household in 2001 to 3.1 per 

household in 2007. Demographic processes contributing 

to these statistics are likely to be in-migration into the 

area and increased urbanisation tempered by the impact 

of HIV/AIDS, as well as the population breaking into 

smaller households (Klug, 2010) (see Section 3.5). 

PKSLM comprises a number of different land uses, as 

shown in Map 15. The main land use in the 

municipality is unimproved natural grassland (see Table 

3-7). The second biggest land use is cultivated land 

followed by thicket bushlands. Significantly, the fourth 

largest land use type is water bodies and wetlands. 

While urban/built up areas of commercial, industrial 

and residential uses make up only 0.4%, mining and 

quarries only constitutes as little 0.04%. 

Table 3-7: Land use in PKSLM 

Class 

% Area 

Unimproved grassland 86.1 

Cultivated 9.8 

Thicket and bushland 1.9 

Degraded unimproved grassland 0.6 

Wetlands 0.4 

Urban / built-up land: residential 0.3 

Degraded thicket and bushland 0.2 

Forest natural 0.2 

Forest plantations 0.2 

Urban / built-up land: industrial / transport 0.1 

Waterbodies 0.1 

Bare rock and soil erosion 0.04 

Mines & quarries 0.04 

Improved grassland 0.01 

Urban / built-up land: commercial 0.01 

3.4.1 Population context 

Unlike the Stats SA (2007) data which indicates a 

decrease in population, the PKSLM IDP 2009-2010 

indicates an absolute increase in population from 

80,737 in 2001 to 91,091 in 2008, an annual increase of 

some 2% per annum. This links to the finding that 

3.4.2 Agriculture 

Jordaan and Jordaan (2010) provide an overview of the 

agricultural activities of the PKSLM. Agriculture is the 

second largest sector in the PKSLM. According to the 




PKSLM SDF, the main types of agriculture are dry land 

cultivation and some animal farming (PKSLM, 2009b). 

Subsistence farming 

The majority of the land in the area is classified as 

unimproved grassland, which is suitable for the stock 

grazing industry for subsistence farmers. A large 

proportion of rural households depend on subsistence 

farming, which is a vital source of food for these 

communities. 

Subsistence farming is primarily dependent on beef 

production on unfenced communal land. Challenges 

faced include overgrazing, inadequate breeding 

practices disease management and stock theft. There is 

some subsistence farming of vegetables and other 

intensive crops on a small scale. 

Agricultural infrastructure 

Infrastructure to support the agricultural sector is welldeveloped 

with an extensive network of roads linking 

farms to towns and major markets. However, damage 

caused to roads by coal trucks is an ongoing problem. A 

good rail network is in place, but due to high costs use 

of this system to transport produce is limited. Silos 

owned by AFGRI (Pty) Ltd, a leading supplier of 

agricultural services, as well as smaller silos owned by 

farmers provide abundant storage capacity for grains. 

Storage and packaging facilities for seeds, fertilizers, 

chemicals and other products are also available. Internet 

coverage is important for ensuring business 

development for the farming community. Although 

there is good cellphone coverage, lack of broadband 

connectivity is a limitation. 

Commercial farming 

PKSLM lends itself to commercial mixed farming with 

crop production occurring on higher potential soils, 

supplemented by beef and sheep farming. Irrigation of 

crops, fodder production and limited horticulture of 

apples, chickens and egg production contribute to the 

mix of farming activities. 

The commercial agricultural sector is well-organised in 

PKSLM, with structures and organisations in place to 

represent the interests of the farming community. There 

are also sufficient banking institutions and input 

suppliers in the area. However, coordination between 

the commercial agricultural sector and the municipal 

forums and committees remains a challenge. 

Organisation of the emerging farmers requires 

improvement, with inadequate representation on 

organisations serving their interests. 

The land reform process, crime levels, and global 

competitiveness are major challenges facing the 

agricultural community of PKSLM. 

Agricultural production 

The major crops produced in PKSLM are white and 

yellow maize, grain sorghum sunflower, dry beans and 

soya beans. Table 3-8 shows the average crop yield per 

ha for the region. Grain production plays an important 

role in the local economy. The value of grains delivered 

to Platrand (one of several silos in the district) during 

the 2009 season totalled approximately R145 million. 

Wool production in PKSLM is also a relatively large 

contributor to the local economy, both in terms of 

production and sales (see Table 3-9). 

Table 3-8: Average yield for each crop over the 

last five years 

KILI/BEAT G:\404946_PIXLEY EMF\7REPORTS\Status Quo report\Draft report\Draft status quo report, July 2010.docx July 2010 

Crop 

Tons per hectare 

White maize 3-3.8 

Yellow maize 3-3.5 

Grain sorghum 3-3.2 

Sunflower 0.8-1.2 

Soya beans 1-1.3 

Table 3-9: Grease mass and sales values in 

PKSLM 

Crop Grease mass (kg) Sales value (R) 

Amersfoort 114,221 4,136,454 

Volksrust 156,510 6,493,826 

Wakkerstroom 298,740 13,785,480 

Total Pixley 569,471 24,415,760 

Total Mpumalanga 2,082,058 80,110,289 

Source: Cape Wools 

Dry land crop production is relatively high risk 

contributed to by market volatility. Irrigation, and crop 

diversification and alternative activities such as tourism 

assist with management of the risk. Animal farming is a 

key stabilizing sector and although margins are lower, 

significantly reduces the risk compared to crop farming.



Agriculture generates downstream and upstream 

employment, including through processing and 

transport of produce. 

PKSLM is located near South Africa’s major markets 

with Gauteng the largest market, being less than 300 km 

away. Maize is the most traded product, with prices 

being fixed by SAFEX. AFGRI is one of the largest 

buyers although many farmers use a portion of their 

crop for animal feed. 

Agricultural potential 

Land capability throughout the study area is relatively 

high. This is contributed to by quite high average 

rainfall (710 mm) which increases from the west to 

eastern pasts of PKSLM. The moderate slope class for 

most of the region is conducive to agriculture, although 

in the east and southeast the steep topography results in 

extreme cold and frost during winter. 

The three WMAs provide opportunity for irrigation, and 

numerous farms in PKSLM produce crops under pivot 

irrigation. The wetlands (see Sections 3.2.7 and 3.2.7 

and 3.6) contribute to agriculture including through 

provision of drinking water and supporting sustainable 

livelihoods. Wetlands also perform functions such as 

reducing and preventing erosion through control of 

stormwater and flooding. 

Much of the district has high potential soils (see Map 

7). To the east and north-east of PKSLM soil is mainly 

sandy or loam-sand, but clay content increases in the 

west and north-west to form loam and clay soils. To the 

north and north-west the soils are of the most optimal 

depth for cultivation. Shallow soils and steep 

topography in the remainder of the study area impact on 

the arability of the soils. Lower quality soils are 

associated with grazing and grasslands while optimal 

soils are often put under dry land crop production. 

Land reform and land claims 

Land reform is still taking place at a slow rate in the 

GSDM. Commercial farmers claim that land reform 

projects are a failure because they do not operate at the 

same productivity levels as before transfer. The success 

of these projects has not been evaluated for this study. 

The PKSLM has eleven land claims, five of which have 

been dismissed, three of which are dormant, two are 

still under research, and one has been gazetted (see Map 

26). 

3.4.3 Mining 

Mining is an important sector in Mpumalanga, 

providing jobs and contributing to over one fifth of 

Mpumalanga’s GGP (Mpumalanga Department of 

Agriculture, Conservation and Environmental Affairs, 

2003). Mining employs approximately 12,000 people in 

the GSDM, although there are relatively low numbers 

in PKSLM itself (see Section 3.6). 

Mpumalanga together with KZN and the North West 

Province contributed almost 85% of South Africa’s 

total processed mineral sales revenue in 2007. These 

three Provinces also dominated the export sales revenue 

in 2007 (South Africa’s Mineral Industry, 2008). 

Mines in operation are scattered around the PKSLM 

and include sand, dolerite and coal mining. PKSLM is 

underlain by coal, although coal mining is very limited 

in extent. Small-scale open cast coal mining is being 

undertaken to the east of Wakkerstroom and there is a 

coal mine adjoining the Majuba power station south 

west of Amersfoort. 

Coal mining 

Due to its large coal deposits, Mpumalanga 

accommodates most of the power stations in South 

Africa. Eight of the eleven operational coal-fired power 

stations in South Africa are situated in Mpumalanga and 

contribute roughly 70% of the total electricity generated 

in South Africa (Mpumalanga Department of 

Agriculture and Land Administration (MDALA), 

2003). Emissions from coal-fired power stations are a 

serious concern for Mpumalanga as they cause impaired 

air quality. 

The total sales value of all minerals mined in 

Mpumalanga in 1996 amounted to R13.4 billion, of 

which coal represented 85% (Mpumalanga Investment 

Initiative, 2003). 

In 2008 the Department of Mineral Resources granted 

mining exploration rights to DMC Coal Mining (DMC), 

the largest holder of torbanite mineral rights in South 

Africa, to prospect in the PKSLM area, about 25 km 

east of Wakkerstroom, where a portion of the 

prospecting area was being used for maize cultivation. 

Local farmers as well as local and international wildlife 

organisations challenged the prospecting permits. In 

April 2010, DMC withdrew its mining prospecting 

plans in response to this pressure from the local 




stakeholders. This incident demonstrates the power of 

the community in the area against mining activities in 

the municipality. 

The PKSLM SDF (2009) expresses concern over the 

spread of coal mining into the Wakkerstroom area due 

to the extensive wetlands and high conservation value. 

Mining would seriously threaten the integrity of the 

wetlands and other habitats. Open cast coal mining also 

has an impact on surface water and groundwater 

resources as a result of AMD and higher turbidity 

levels. 

Future mineral potential 

Further exploration and potential development of 

precious metal/mineral production, including the reexamination 

of existing deposits, is likely to take place. 

The coal output is expected to grow for Mpumalanga 

over the short-term in response to both local and export 

markets (MDALA, 2003). A considerable amount of 

exploration for coal has taken place in recent years in 

the Mpumalanga coalfield. The potential for UCG of 

deep-lying coal deposits could further increase coal 

mining activity. However, the long-term water quality 

impacts and other environmental implications form 

UCG have yet to be determined. 

Given the low quality and limited thickness of much of 

the resource in the area, coal is likely to be mined using 

opencast methods. Generally, coal seams that occur 

close to the surface are highly weathered and not 

amenable to good coal recovery. The considerable 

overburden and poor quality of the coal may also 

contribute to making such ventures unviable. Opencast 

mining further has a significant impact on the water 

resources and sensitive ecology. The proper 

implementation of the mine’s environmental 

management programme including the final 

rehabilitation of the mine and disturbed areas could, 

however, prove to be severe challenges for the 

operators. 

Future quarries are also likely to be developed for 

construction materials where a market for such 

materials is identified close to materials sources – such 

materials would include builders sand and road 

aggregates. 

Environmental impacts due to mining 

AMD can arise from coal mining operations, either 

from overburden and waste piles or from underground 

or opencast mines. Most mines will fill up with 

groundwater with time after closure and seepage or 

decanting of groundwater away from the filled mine 

will then occur. This is likely to result in the decanting 

of the potentially contaminated water into surface water 

resources or other groundwater aquifers. Mines would 

need to determine the conditions of this decanting 

including a prediction of the water quality with time, as 

part of their environmental studies and monitoring, but 

certainly as part of their application for closure 

certificates. 

The extent of the potential development of AMD at 

each mine is dependent on how successfully the mine 

manages its water, from within the mine itself, or as 

seepage or runoff. This can usually only be managed 

with considerable technical skill and financial input. 

The extent and severity of actual occurrence of AMD at 

any mine can only be determined through detailed 

hydrogeological studies that would include borehole 

drilling, modelling and laboratory analyses. 

Pretorius (2008) notes that the examination of maps 

showing the distribution of mines in the Highveld coal 

region reveals that there are only a small fraction of the 

mines that are closed and currently decanting at full 

capacity. Therefore a new wave of decanting is 

imminent in the next 10-15 years as additional mines 

start decanting contaminated water unless the method of 

prevention of AMD is not improved. 

3.4.4 Urban settlements 

The following urban areas occur in the PKSLM, 

namely: 

• Volksrust/Vukuzakhe; 

• Amersfoort/eZamokuhle; 

• Wakkerstroom/eSizameleni; 

• Daggakraal; and 

• Perdekop/Siyazenzela. 

Volksrust / Vukuzakhe 

Volksrust is the largest (in terms of economic activities) 

urban centre in PKSLM, and is located on the N11 and 




on the Mpumalanga / KZN border. The N11 is an 

important transport route for tourists and freight and 

has, in part, led to the diversified development of 

Volksrust. It is the central point of an area where maize, 

wool, sorghum, sunflower seed, beef and dairy are all 

farmed and produced. The establishment of Eskom’s 

Majuba power station on the outskirts of Volksrust 

along with the associated industry and commerce has 

led to increased economic development, which has 

improved the quality of life for the residents. The town 

is well served with engineering and social services and 

hence supports itself as well as the surrounding 

hinterland. In 2001, it was estimated to have a 

population of 20,471 (Census, 2001), which was 

approximately 25% of the local municipality’s 

population. 

Amersfoort / eZamokuhle 

Amersfoort is situated north of Daggakraal on the 

intersection of the N11 and R35 from Bethal. It is a 

small urban centre with limited retail facilities, with 

only a few tertiary services. It has a railway station, 

grain silos, a police station and municipal offices. The 

town has basic infrastructure and services rendering it a 

minor urban settlement. 

Housing delivery 

Despite the apparent increasing population within the 

municipality according to the IDP, the proposed amount 

of additional housing appears to be too high in certain 

areas (Table 3-10). Of particular concern is that 37% of 

these houses are to be built in Daggakraal, an area of 

low economic potential and inadequate sanitation and 

solid waste infrastructure. Should there not be economic 

diversification within the area within the next five years 

this may lead to disused houses which at least, 

constitutes visual pollution and at most inefficient use 

of potential agricultural land (Klug 2010). 

Table 3-10: Proposed housing delivery in PKSLM 

– 2010 to 2015 

Wakkerstroom / eSizameleni 

Wakkerstroom is the second oldest town in 

Mpumalanga established in 1859 and is located along 

the R543 east of Volksrust, on a north facing slope. It is 

a small urban area but comprises a police station, 

library, schools and some retail sites. Its economy is 

gradually growing as the area is starting to transform 

from a mere agricultural support centre to a tourist 

destination given the wide variety of bird species to be 

found in the area. 

While the town’s economic diversification is seen as a 

positive aspect, it poses certain threats. These include 

an increase in holiday accommodation and weekend 

houses. Given the nature of the underlying soils and the 

slope, the town is located on significant areas within the 

demarcated town and are subject to flooding in the 

rainy season. Furthermore, given that the town is on a 

soak-pit sanitation system this could pose a threat to the 

groundwater in the area. 

Source: PKSLM Housing Chapter (2009) 

Daggakraal 

Daggakraal and the nearby Vlakplaats are relatively 

unique settlements in South Africa as they were bought 

by black farmers in 1912, and have been held in free 

hold tenure by black farmers since then. During the 

apartheid years there was a population influx due to the 

displacement of other communities. In the early 1980's 

staunch resistance by the people prevented the 

government from relocating the community. 

The community now holds title to the neighbouring 

farm of Sommershoek, designated by Land Affairs 

Minister Derek Hanekom in 1997, who bought the land 

for R3.7 million out of a R5.8 million grant provided by 

government. R2.1 million was also used to build a 

piggery, which in 2000 was marketing 80 pigs a week. 




A chicken farm, a dairy herd and a technical high 

school were also planned at Daggakraal as part of this 

grant (African National Congress (ANC), 1997). 

Today, Daggakraal including Vlakplaats constitutes the 

largest urban centre in the municipality in terms of land 

coverage and possibly population numbers. Classified 

as a misclassified town in a StatsSA (Statistics South 

Africa) report of 2003, the area was incorrectly 

classified as rural in the 1996 census but corrected to 

urban in the 2001 census. In terms of the population of 

Daggakraal there appear to be vastly differing 

population estimates. The StatsSA report of 2003 

indicates that Daggakraal had a population of 17,357 in 

2001. According to the PKSLM SDF (2009) 

Daggakraal accommodated an estimated 33% of the 

PKSLM’s population in 2001, which according to their 

overall figures used would be in the region of 28,000. In 

an ANC daily news briefing of 1997 the area was 

estimated to have 80,000 people. Despite the statistical 

anomalies, the maps of the area indicate a vast low 

density urban area (Klug, 2010). 

Perdekop / Siyazenzela 

Perdekop, although situated on the prominent R23 

between Volksrust and Standerton, is a very small 

urban area which is in a state of decline according to the 

GSDM SDF (2009). 

3.4.5 Open space 

There is very limited state owned land within the 

PKSLM, which suggests that the vast bulk of the land is 

in private ownership. This further suggests that the state 

is going to need to work in partnership with private land 

owners to ensure the protection of the important 

wetland and grassland biospheres in the municipality. 

The Wakkerstroom wetland is a very important 

ecological wetland as a vital catchment for the Vaal, 

Usuthu and Thukela Rivers, and its rich diversity of 

plant and animal life. The wetland systems are home to 

all three of the crane species occurring in South Africa 

namely the Blue, Crowned and Wattled Cranes, as well 

as other protected bird, frog and plant species. There are 

also a number of Natural Heritage sites within the 

municipality. According to the data sources available, 

these areas are located around Wakkerstroom 

(Tafelkop, Boskop, Wakkerstroom and Kombewaira), 

as well as a large area near Warburton called 

Theespruit. Large portions of grassland near the 

Wakkerstroom region remain in near-pristine condition 

because this region has not been considered well-suited 

for the cultivation of timber or crops and the grazing 

animals. The areas important for bird conservation are 

located primarily in a broad north south axis from 

Wakkerstroom to Carolina. In addition, the central 

portion of the municipality has also been identified as a 

bird conservation hotspot. 

The Wakkerstroom Wetlands are host to one of the 

largest international wetland – and waterbird – 

conservation initiatives in the African-Eurasian region, 

Wings over Wetland, and is listed as an Important Bird 

Area. It is also home to the National Grasslands 

Programme's agricultural demonstration project and its 

grasslands have been assessed as "critically important" 

in terms of Mpumalanga's biodiversity plan. This 

programme falls under the auspices of the South 

African National Biodiversity Institute (PKSLM, 2009). 

3.4.6 Tourism 

Tourism in PKSLM including agro-tourism has great 

potential but is currently under-developed 

(Mpumalanga Tourism Growth Agency (MEGA), 

2010). The 2009-2012 IDP highlights the need for 

promotion of local tourism resources including 

historical sites, museums as well as local arts and 

culture. Public-private partnerships are seen as the 

means for building skills and resources for developing 

tourism. 

Of concern is that a 2009 presentation by the MTPA 

made no mention of the Wakkerstroom area in terms of 

tourism product to be developed. 

The Wakkerstroom Wetland Conservation area is a 

primary tourism focus and occupies 650 ha. It is 

recognized as a national asset and the town of 

Wakkerstroom is internationally known as a haven for 

birdwatchers and ecotourists. Special species occurring 

in the area include Rudd’s Lark, Botha’s Lark, Yellowbreasted 

Pipit, Blue Korhaan and Southern Bald Ibis. 

There are over 800 species of wildflowers, including 54 

species of orchid. An initiative is also underway to 

establish an internationally recognised grassland 

biosphere reserve (MEGA, 2010). There is a further 

drive for the declaration of a Ramsar site. The 

Paardeplaas Nature Reserve is the only formal 




conservation area within PKSLM, but a further area 

which is receiving development support from 

authorities, is the Uthaka Game, Bird and Nature Park. 

Sites of cultural and historical importance include the 

San (Stone Age) paintings situated at the foot of the 

Amajuba Mountain, and the Mahatma Ghandi museum. 

PKSLM also has some of the key battle sites of South 

Africa, including Majuba Hill near Volkrust where the 

Transvaal won independence from the British. 

Memorials in the town commemorate the Anglo-Boer 

wars in honour of concentration camp victims and those 

in active service (MEGA, 2010). 

Besides birding, outdoor recreation is based on 

resources including the Mahawane Waterfall, the 

Amersfoort and Martins Dams. A well-known 

paragliding venue is situated at the Tamatiesberg to the 

north of Volksrust (PKSLM, 2009). Fly-fishing is a 

further popular outdoor pursuit in PKSLM. The southeastern 

portion of PKSLM is mountainous and probably 

attracts ecotourism activities such as hiking and 

climbing. 

Tourism resources in PKSLM are depicted in Map 27. 

3.4.7 Spatial planning 

An outline of how legislation guides spatial planning is 

provided below. Key legislation with relevance for land 

use development within PKSLM, is the NEMA, DFA, 

Municipal Systems Act (Act No. 32 of 2000) and 

Town-planning and Townships Ordinance, 1986 

(Ordinance No. 15 of 1986) (Transvaal) (also see 

Section 1.4). 

NEMA and the DFA deal with the pace and impact of 

development. NEMA effectively sets out the provisions 

for EIA authorisation for all listed activities. The DFA 

was promulgated to establish appropriate integrated 

development principles as well as to expedite 

development of low income housing developments. 

However, the legislation has been used for a wide range 

of developments. If an application for a land 

development in the GSDM is made to the development 

tribunal for Mpumalanga, in theory, that tribunal may 

suspend the application of any laws and plans in order 

to facilitate that land development. 

The majority of Land Use Management Schemes 

(LUMSs) around the country are being legally enabled 

using the old provincial ordinances in the absence of the 

Land Use Management Bill being enacted. In the case 

of PKSLM it would be the Town-planning and 

Townships Ordinance, 1986 (Ordinance No. 15 of 

1986) (Transvaal). In the case of a conflict arising 

between a designated land use in the LUMS and the 

EMF, these would have to be viewed together by legal 

specialists to come up with an amicable solution. The 

enactment of the Land Use Management Act in the 

future may alter this situation. 

At present however, it should also be noted that a recent 

Constitutional Court decision on the DFA declared 

chapters V and VI of the DFA non-Constitutional,. 

Chapter V consists of sections 30 to 47. It defines the 

process that must be followed in submitting 

applications to a development tribunal and outlines 

some of the powers and functions of the tribunals. 

Chapter VI consists of sections 48 to 60 and governs 

applications for development relating to small-scale 

farming. In so doing the court affirmed that the function 

of granting the change in land usage and for 

establishing townships is that of the local municipality 

and not that of the Province, in terms of the 

Constitution. However, given the lack of alternative 

legislation the court has suspended the ruling for two 

years to enable the government to amend and enact the 

Land Use Management Bill within this period. 

The implications for the PKSLM is that there is 

renewed pressure on national government to enact the 

Land Use Management Act and therefore the proposed 

LUMS for the municipality needs to be prepared in 

accordance with the new Act to be amended. 

Furthermore, any proposed major land developments 

that conflict with the future EMF, that are applied for 

via a DFA tribunal process should possibly be deferred 

until the National Land Use Management Act is enacted 

to avoid any future legal conflicts. 

The Municipal Systems Act (Act No. 32 of 2000) was 

enacted to empower local government to fulfil its 

Constitutional obligations. Section 26(e) of the Act 

requires municipalities to produce ‘a SDF which must 

include the provision of basic guidelines for a land use 

management system for the municipality'. In terms of 

Chapter 5 of the Municipal Systems Act, local authority 

in South Africa is required to compile an IDP for its 

area of jurisdiction, which according to Section 26 




includes an SDF. The main focus of the IDP as the 

master plan of a municipality, is to direct and prioritise 

municipal activities, ensuring that co-operative 

governance and sound municipal management is 

promoted and to maximize community and stakeholder 

participation on issues affecting community 

development and service delivery. 

The content of this spatial framework is further spelled 

out in the Local Government: Municipal Planning and 

Performance Management Regulations, 2001 

(Government Notice 22605, 24 August 2001), which 

state that an SDF in a municipality's IDP must: 

• Give effect to the Chapter 1 principles of the DFA; 

• Ensure the sustainable use of land and other 

resources; 

• Ensure the channelling of resources to areas 

displaying both economic potential and 

development need; 

• Functionally link the main growth centres / areas of 

greatest economic activity; 

• Unlock the development potential of existing 

towns; and 

• Mitigate existing and potential future land use 

conflict(s) between urban development, mining / 

industry, agriculture, forestry and tourism. 

• Set out objectives that reflect the desired spatial 

form of the municipality; 

• Contain strategies and policies regarding the 

manner in which to achieve the objectives; 

• Set out basic guidelines for a land use management 

system; 

• Contain a strategic assessment of the environmental 

impact of the SDF; 

• Identify programmes and projects for the 

development of land within the municipality; and 

• Provide a visual representation of the desired 

spatial form of the municipality, including 

identification of where public and private land 

development and infrastructure investment should 

take place. 

Gert Sibande District Municipality 

Spatial planning in the district is guided by GSDM SDF 

(2009) which forms part of the Revised IDP (2008/09). 

The SDF responds to new policy directives presented 

by documents such as the NSDP, the Mpumalanga 

PGDS, the National Integrated Sustainable Rural 

Development Strategy, and the Mpumalanga Rural 

Development Programme. In essence, the GSDF SDF 

strives to: 

• Create a more consolidated settlement structure, so 

as to allow for the cost-effective and sustainable 

provision of modern-day engineering and 

community services and infrastructure; 

While acknowledging the need to balance economic 

growth with environmental conservation the GSDM 

SDF does not provide a clear land use strategy for the 

district, i.e. a strategy to balance these two opposing 

land use demands. This is acknowledged in the GSDM 

IDP where it states that, “the current economic 

development strategies and planning are not aligned to 

the SDF plan.” This situation is compounded by the 

“challenge of uncoordinated planning between the 

department of local government and the local 

municipalities” (GSDM, 2007). Furthermore, the IDP 

goes on to state that: “Most of the current plans in the 

municipalities are reactive to development proposals. 

They lack integrated planning alignment to the 

conditions and advantages of spatial location and local 

economic conditions and advantages”. 

In term of actual land use management, it appears from 

data in the GSDM IDP that there are as yet no 

consolidated land use schemes in place within the local 

municipalities. 

Future spatial and land use plans applicable to the 

PKSLM area include (GSDM 2009): 

• Establishment of two mobility corridors N11 and 

R23 as strategic roads; 

• Establishment of an ecological corridor from 

Wakkerstroom arching around the eastern portion 

of the municipality to the Vaal River conservation 

areas in the north; 

• Establishment of a hierarchy of settlements for 

service provision, with Volksrust being a 2nd Order 

service centre; and 




• The demarcation of the eastern portion of the 

municipality as a service upgrading priority area, 

including the settlements of Wakkerstroom and 

Daggakraal. 

Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 

The PKSLM IDP (2009-2012) aims for “comprehensive 

integrated planning and economic development”. 

According to the IDP, the municipality will focus on 

addressing the community needs, improve service 

deliver and creating jobs, meeting the millennium goals, 

improving communication and community 

participation. Strategies developed to give effect to the 

IDP intend to, amongst others: 

• “Move faster and further in providing the better life 

for all; 

• Halve unemployment and poverty by 2014; 

• Provide the skills required by the district for 

economic development and growth; 

• Working with our National and Provincial 

Governments to improve service delivery and 

access to basic services; 

• Ensure participation of the people to allow citizens 

to identify the problems that their community face 

and partner in providing solutions to deal with these 

problems and improve public service; 

• Speed up the delivery of free basic services; 

• Build sustainable human settlements and viable 

communities; 

• Provide infrastructure that will create an 

environment that is conducive to economic growth 

and development that facilitate and increase 

capacity to provide basic services, which will 

contribute to a safe and healthy environment; and 

• Create job opportunities and fight poverty through 

infrastructure development and service delivery, 

procurement and support for SMME’s and Broad 

Based Black Economic Development.” 

community participation, trained and motivated 

staff, rapid economic development and a 

tourism friendly environment”. 

3.5 Socio-economic 

The Socio-economic specialist report for the PKSLM 

(BKS, 2010) provides an overview of the study area, 

key aspects of which are summarized below. Statistics 

in this report were primarily taken from the StatsSA 

Community Survey conducted in 2007. It needs to be 

highlighted that population figures in the various 

reports studied varied greatly from a net decrease in 

population to a net increase in population. For 

consistency purposes, the Stats SA Community Survey 

(CS) data (Stats SA, 2007) covers all statistics required 

for this study, therefore was used throughout the report. 

With all statistical data there is a level of uncertainty 

and unlike the other available datasets the StatsSA 

(2007) CS data has documented possible 

irregularities and inconsistencies which have been 

summarised in the Socio-economic specialist report 

(Van Niekerk et al., 2010). 

3.5.1 Population size and distribution 

The Province is home to approximately 3.1 million 

people (see Table 3-11). This figure translates to a 

10.3% increase from approximately 2.8 million people 

in 1996. The current situation, according to Stats SA 

(2007), estimates the population to be at 3.6 million 

people (see Table 3-12). This translates to a 16.6% 

increase from 2001, approximately 3.3% per year over a 

period of five years. 

Table 3-11: Population size and growth 

Census 

2001 

CS 2007 

% 

Increase/ 

decrease 

% GSDM 

population 

(2007) 

MP 3,122,990 3,643,435 16.6 100.0 

GS DM 900,011 890,700 -1.0 24.4 

PKSLM 80,737 65,932 -18.3 18.0 

Source: StatsSA, (2001 & 2007) 

• The PKSLM SDF 2009 which provides for the 

spatial context for the IDP, aims for “cost 

effective and efficient service delivery which 

must be underpinned by good planning and a 

proper integrated plan … achieved through 




Table 3-12: Number of households and growth 

Census 

2001 

CS 2007 

% 

Increase 

% GSDM 

households 

(2007) 

MP 733,129 940,402 22.0 100.0 

GS DM 211,619 247,516 14.5 26.3 

PKSLM 18,002 21,605 16.3 2.3 

Source: StatsSA, (2001 & 2007) 

Figure 3-4 shows the age distribution in PKSLM. The 

highest number of individuals in the population falls in 

the age group of 0-19. This indicates that there are a 

high number of individuals who are not able to work 

and contribute to the economy of the municipality, and 

rely on those few individuals who are able to work. 

Gert Sibande DM 

Pixley ka Seme LM 

Just over a quarter of the people living in Mpumalanga 

(29%), live in the GSDM (StatsSA, 2001). Compared to 

the Stats SA (2007) CS, GSDM’s population figure 

decreased by 1% since 2001. This might be as a result 

of the HIV/AIDS endemic, more favourable job 

opportunities in other district municipalities, and/or 

incorrect statistical information. The number of 

households, however, increased by 14.5% (see Table 3- 

9). The implication is that members of households leave 

their house of origin to start their own household, 

resulting in an average household size of 3.4 people per 

household. 

StatsSA 2001 Census reported approximately 80,737 

people were living in the PKSLM at the time of the 

census. The PKSLM IDP 2009-2010 indicates an 

absolute increase in population since 2001 to 91,091 in 

2008, an annual increase of some 2% (IHS Global 

Insight, 2008). However, StatsSA 2007 CS expects a 

decrease in the population figures estimating 65,932 

people now reside in the PKSLM. This equates to 

approximately 13 people per km 2 (Map 28). This would 

indicate that PKSLM still has one of the lowest 

densities within the district and Province of 

approximately. However, according to IHS Global 

Insight (2008), this density has increased to 18.1 people 

per km 2 . 

As indicated elsewhere in this Status Quo report, the 

current discrepancy in population figures between the 

SA Stats CS of 2007 and those from other studies needs 

to be resolved. The degree of possibilities between the 

two extremes in the data would have significant 

opposing implications on the socio-economic 

environment specifically service delivery, housing and 

employment needs, which cannot be left unresolved 

(Klug, 2010). 

Age Group 

75+ 

55‐74 

35‐54 

20‐34 

0‐19 

0 10 20 30 40 50 

Source: StatsSA, 2001 

Figure 3-4: Population by age 

Females make up approximately 53% of the entire 

population. There are more females than males in each 

age group. 

3.5.2 Economics 

In terms of individual earnings, people in PKSLM earn 

on average about R600 per month, well below the 

GSDM‘s average of R1,475 per month (Census, 2007). 

This is also reflected in the low employment figure of 

29.3% in the area (Census, 2007). 

Table 3-13 and Table 3-14 indicate that employment 

comes mainly from other employment sectors, 

elementary occupation and professional industries 

(StatsSA, 2007). 

Table 3-13: Occupations of the economically 

active 

Occupation 

Percentage 

Total 

Senior officials 81 

Professionals 179 

Technician / associate professors 63 

Clerks 0 

Service workers 124 

Skilled agricultural workers 0 

Other 9772 

Elementary occupation 462 

Plant operators 28 




Source: StatsSA (2007) 

Table 3-14: Number of industries per sector 

Industry 

Total 

Agriculture related 0 

Mining quarrying 0 

Manufacturing 0 

Utilities (electricity, gas, water) 58 

Construction 257 

Wholesale / retail 126 

Transport 0 

Business services 0 

Community services 58 


Persons not economically active make up 38% of the 

municipality, while of the remaining 62%, only 47% are 

employed (see Table 3-15). 

Table 3-15: Employment status 

Status 

Employed 10771 

Unemployed 12053 

Not Economically Active 13939 


3.5.3 Income 

Total 

Table 3-16 indicates that 43% of those persons who earn 

an income earn less than R3,200 per month (StatsSA, 

2007). 

Table 3-16: Income of the economically active 

Income 

Total number of individuals 

No Income 18,815 

R1 – R400 3,183 

R401 – R800 4,721 

R801 – R1600 6,467 

R1601 – R3200 1,420 

R3201 – R6400 957 

R6401 – R12800 611 

R12801 – R25600 500 

R25601 - R51200 39 

R51201 – R102400 63 

R102401 – R204800 0 

R204801 + 0 


3.5.4 Health and safety 

There is a poor distribution of health facilities (public 

hospitals, mobile clinics and primary health care 

clinics) within the PKSLM. In particular, there is a 

severe shortage in the eastern half of the municipality. 

The PKSLM IDP (2009-2010) reports that only 14 

health facilities exist in the municipality, with no 

private hospital (see Map 29). Amersfoort is supplied 

with two hospitals and a clinic, while Daggakraal, the 

largest settlement, only has a community health facility. 

HIV/AIDS statistics for Mpumalanga show a high 

prevalence, with 13% of the population infected. Forty 

thousand new cases of HIV/AIDS with approximately 

38,000 deaths, were reported during 2008. Other 

prevalent diseases in Mpumalanga are malaria and 

tuberculosis. 

According to the 2008 Crime Statistics, crime has 

drastically declined in the GSDM (PKSLM, 2009). The 

PKSLM IDP identifies the following key issues 

pertaining to safety and security: 

• Poorly designed human settlements; 

• Houses in particular RDP component constructed 

with minimal or zero consideration of safety and 

security aspects for the inhabitants or their 

belongings; 

• Congested vehicle parking systems in most central 

business districts which complicate security 

measures; 

• High number of liquor stores often situated close to 

other community amenities. Additional licenses are 

also still awaiting approval; 

• Poor planning of taxi ranks across the district with 

particular emphasis on location of local taxi ranks 

as compared to the long distance ones; 

• Poor lighting in some of the areas coupled with 

conditions of roads particularly in rural areas; 

• Lack or insufficient support by communities to 

community safety programs; 

• Insufficient or lack of support by communities to 

provide evidence, report crime or information on 

crime; and 




• Lack of duty of care by same communities or 

taking precautions to prevent crime. 

3.5.5 Education 

According to PKSLM IDP (2009/2010) there are 44 

primary and secondary schools in the municipality. 

PKSLM does not have any tertiary institutions. The 

majority of the population has a basic education, but 

only 4% has received higher education (attending a 

college, technicon or university). Sixteen % of the 

population has received no education. 

Esterhuysen and Smith, 2006). The database of the 

SAHRA and the Archaeological Data Recording Centre 

at the National Cultural History Museum (NCHM) also 

do not list any Stone Age sites in PKSLM. This 

evidence may only indicate the lack of research in 

PKSLM as it is likely there are rock art sites in the high 

mountains close to Wakkerstroom. This is corroborated 

by Hofmeyr and Smith (2009) who indicate that rock 

art has been identified on the farms Rietvlei, 

Driefontein and Doornhoek and that San people settled 

close to Wakkerstroom during the 1500’s. 

3.5.6 Cultural resources 

The legal context for conservation of cultural resources 

is provided mainly by the National Heritage Resources 

Act (NHRA) and NEMA. All cultural resources older 

than 60 years are potentially regarded as heritage and 

detailed studies would be required in order to determine 

whether these indeed have cultural significance. Factors 

to be considered include aesthetic, scientific, cultural 

and religious value of such resources. Map 30 

represents those heritage sites considered significant in 

terms of Section 3(3) of the NHRA. 

The PKSLM has been inhabited by humans since Early 

Stone Age times. The relatively flat landscape with few 

trees would have meant that Stone Age people would 

probably not have settled here, although the good 

grazing may have encouraged hunting in the area. 

Cattle outposts are likely to have been situated in 

PKSLM during the Iron Age. During historical times, 

white farmers would also have settled in PKSLM due to 

good grazing available for their cattle (Van 

Vollenhoven, 2010). 

Stone Age 

The division for the Stone Age according to Korsman 

and Meyer (1999) is as follows: 

• Early Stone Age (2 million – 150,000 years ago); 

• Middle Stone Age (150,000 – 30,000 years ago); 

and 

• Late Stone Age (40,000 years ago – 1850 – A.D.). 

No important sites from the Early or Late Stone Age 

have been recorded in the study area (Inskeep, 1978; 

Willcocks, 1984; Phillipson, 1985; Mitchell, 2002; 

Iron Age 

Huffman (2007) divides the Iron Age as follows: 

• Early Iron Age (250 – 900 A.D.); 

• Middle Iron Age (900 – 1300 A.D.); and 

• Late Iron Age (1300 – 1840 A.D.). 

While no Early or Middle Iron Age sites have been 

identified in PKSLM, there are a large number of Late 

Iron Ages sites (Mitchell, 2006; Bergh, 1999; 

Phillipson, 1984; Inskeep, 1978, SAHRA database; 

NCHM database). Late Iron Age sites are the easiest of 

archaeological sites to identify as they usually contain a 

variety of stone walls and are situated against the slopes 

or on top of hills and mountains. In a band stretching 

from Wakkerstroom in the east to far within the 

boundaries of the Free State Province (including 

Volksrust) 823 sites have been identified. Map 30 

provides approximate location of Late Iron Age sites. 

Remains of archaeo-metallurgy are not included in the 

finds, although iron ore was mined by prehistoric 

people in the PKSLM area (Inskeep, 1978). 

Late Iron Age people moved into the Highveld areas of 

Mpumalanga by the 12 th century (Esterhuysen and 

Smith, 2006). Huffman (2007) indicates that Iron Age 

people from the Maguga facies of the Kalundu tradition 

inhabited this area as early as 1100 A.D. During a 

recent survey in the Volksrust area some Late Iron Age 

stone walled sites were identified (A. Pelser, pers. 

comm.). 

Around 1,760 Swazi people settled at 

kwaMadlangampisi at the start of the Tshabalala 

dynasty (Hofmeyr and Smith, 2009). Today the Swazi’s 

remain the most dominant group in the area. 




The people that inhabited the southern parts of 

Mpumalanga before the 19 th century were the Bakgatla, 

Barolong, Bantwane, Bakone, Bakopa and Southern 

Ndebele communities (Makhura, 2006). The Eastern- 

Sotho, in this case consisting of the BaPai, inhabited an 

area close to modern day Swaziland during the 17 th 

century (Makhura, 2006). 

Historic period 

Due to factors such as population growth and a decrease 

in mortality rates, there have been more inhabitants 

during the recent historical past, and far more cultural 

heritage resources from this era remain on the 

landscape. 

None of the early trade routes in the interior of South 

Africa are known to have traversed the area of study 

(Bergh, 1999), although it is possible that secondary 

routes did pass through the south-east of Mpumalanga. 

It was therefore mainly the Swazi who inhabited the 

PKSLM area the beginning of the 19 th century 

(Makhura, 2006; and Mitchell, 2006). In 1800 

Dingiswayo fled to Hlubi close to Wakkerstroom. He 

died in 1818 and his empire was taken over and 

strengthened by Shaka (Hofmeyr and Smith, 2009). 

During the Difaquane (1820-1837) the Ndebele of 

Mzilikazi moved through this landscape and some even 

settled here. The Phuthing fled to the south, while the 

Swazi moved to the north and west, therefore inhabiting 

the area (Bergh, 1999; and Bergh and Bergh, 1984). 

Remains of settlements of all three of these groups 

should be expected, although the Ndebele usually didn’t 

develop their own settlements but reused those of the 

people they conquered. 

White farmers only moved into south-eastern 

Mpumalanga after 1853 when the government of the 

South African Republic traded land from the Swazi. 

Wakkerstroom became a town and district shortly 

thereafter (Bergh, 1999). The town mainly served as 

market for local farmers (Hofmeyr and Smith, 2009). 

Volksrust was established in 1889 and Amersfoort in 

1890. 

Missionaries also came to this part of the country 

during the 19 th century. The Dutch Reformed Church 

and the Hermannsburg Missionaries established mission 

stations at Volksrust and Wakkerstroom during this 

time (Bergh, 1999). 

During the Anglo-Transvaal War (1880-1881) the 

PKSLM area was the focus point of battles between the 

British and the Boers. The British had a camp in 

Wakkerstroom and were beleaguered by the Boers. 

Important battles fought during 1881 were at 

Laingsnek, Schuinshoogte and Amajuba in the 

Volksrust vicinity. Wakkerstroom cemetery has a 

commemorative stone for some of the British soldiers 

who died during this war as well as the Anglo-Boer 

War. 

The PKSLM also experienced action during the Anglo- 

Boer War (1899-1902). During the British offensive in 

1900, Volksrust and Amersfoort were occupied. A 

battle occurred to the north of Volksrust as well as a 

skirmish at Kastrolsnek near Wakkerstroom (Hofmeyr 

and Smith, 2009). During this war, a concentration 

camp for the Boer woman and children was established 

in Volksrust by the British (Bergh, 1999). Monuments 

were erected at the town hall commemorating the 

women, children and soldiers who died during the 

Anglo-Boer War. 

3.6 Resource economics 

The Resource Economics specialist report (Van Zyl, 

2010) presents the key issues and findings related to 

this topic for PKSLM. Resource economics focuses on 

the use of environmental resources and trade-offs 

arising between different resource uses. It generally 

attempts to quantify uses and trade-offs in monetary 

terms as far as is possible and sensible. With regard to 

the existing state of the environment, resource 

economics commonly disaggregates the Total 

Economic Value (TEV) of a given environment into 

different types of values in order to better understand 

how the environment creates values and contributes to 

economic development (see Figure 3-5). 




DIRECT USE 

- Consumptive 

e.g.food, timber 

- Non-consumptive 

e.g. tourism 

TOTAL 

ECONOMIC 

VALUE 

USE VALUE OPTION VALUE NON-USE VALUE 

INDIRECT USE 

- Regulating 

services e.g. 

carbon 

sequestration 

QUASI-OPTION 

VALUE 

Future use or 

delaying decisions 

until optimal 

decision may be 

reached 

BEQUEST VALUE 

-Payments for 

future generations 

Figure 3-5: The TEV framework 

EXISTENCE 

VALUE 

- Knowledge that a 

resource exists 

natural environment. The water environment is 

important given the area’s importance for a number of 

major catchments. Services associated with natural 

terrestrial environments and the biodiversity that they 

support are also prominent and help to maintain land 

productivity. The link between ecosystem services and 

continued sustainable production are clear. Option 

values and future use values are key to the EMF, 

particularly for areas that are growing rapidly. These 

values and their implications are therefore assessed for 

all major resource uses (Van Zyl, 2010). 

The interrelatedness of the environment, human welfare 

and economic development is shown in Figure 3-6. 

Figure 3-6: The link between Ecosystem Services 

and human well-being in the Millennium 

Ecosystem Assessment 

Key direct (consumptive and non-consumptive) 

resource uses identified for the study are: 

• Agriculture; 

• Tourism (focused on eco-tourism and heritage 

tourism) and recreation; 

• Mining (primarily coal); 

• Forestry; 

• Harvesting of resources from the natural 

environment; and 

• Aesthetic and cultural values not captured in 

tourism and recreational value. 

Key indirect uses or ecosystem services in the area are 

those associated with a healthy and sustainably utilised 

3.6.1 Overall economic trends and land 

use 

Economic development in PKSLM is primarily driven 

by the agriculture, forestry, mining and tourism sectors. 

Growth of the economy has approximately matched that 

of the national economy (Van Zyl, 2010). 

3.6.2 Agriculture 

The robust commercial agricultural sector, as well as 

the subsistence sector, are central to the economy of 

both PKSLM and the region. Agriculture is the 

Province’s largest employer, especially for low-skilled 

workers. It is likely that between 2,700 and 2,725 direct 

agricultural jobs are currently supported in the study 

area (Van Zyl, 2010). 

Additional water availability for irrigation agriculture is 

limited and further access would most likely involve 

costly transfers. Thus significant expansion of irrigated 

agriculture would most probably require increased 

water efficiency. Opportunities for agricultural 

expansion can be found through, for example, the 

development of niche markets and products, the 

development of a strong agro-processing industry and 

agro-eco tourism development. Institutional constraints 

also play a key role in the development of agriculture 

(Jordaan and Jordaan, 2010). 

3.6.3 Tourism and recreation 

The national tourism industry has exceeded the growth 

of virtually all other sectors in the post-apartheid era. 

With indirect spending taken into account, tourism 

contribution to gross domestic product is about 8.3% 

(Van Schalkwyk, 2009). The Mpumalanga Tourism 

Growth Strategy (MTGS) notes that direct employment 




represents just under 2% of formal employment in the 

Province, underestimating the wider tourism sector 

contribution. 

At a regional level, the municipal areas fall within the 

Grass and Wetlands tourism region or ‘route’. Its 

attractions include a varied mixture of natural and 

heritage attractions (PKSLM, 2008). Visitor numbers to 

the municipality are probably between 150,000 and 

300,000 per year (Van Zyl, 2010). Table 3-17 provides a 

summary of the number of beds available in PKSLM. 

Table 3-17: Bed numbers and likely 

accommodation related employment in the study 

area 

Municipality/town 

No of beds - 

Low 

Income 

No of beds - 

Middle 

Income 

No of beds - 

High 

Income 

Total 

Wakkerstroom and surrounds 64 192 64 320 

Volksrust and surrounds 160 480 160 800 

Other parts of Pixley ka Seme 20 60 20 100 

Total beds in study area 244 732 244 1220 

Ave jobs per bed 0.2 0.35 0.5 

Total jobs in accom 49 256 122 427 

Data on accommodation and other tourist-focused 

commercial activities in the study area indicates an 

estimate of between 636 and 776 total direct tourism 

jobs at present (see Table 4-5). 

Table 3-18: Total tourism related employment in 

the study area 

Estimated employees in the 

municipal area 

Low Medium High 

Accommodation 385 427 470 

Restaurants 108 120 132 

Tourist products and shops 72 80 88 

Other tourist services and activities 71 78 86 

Total 636 705 776 

There has been a highly impressive localised increase in 

tourism. Anecdotal evidence and interviews with 

stakeholders indicates that there has been around 7 to 

10 times growth in the Wakkerstroom area over the last 

6-7 years based largely on birdwatching. This has been 

a major contributor to employment growth in the area 

(Van Zyl, 2010). Even with this level of growth, 

tourism is still relatively small both in absolute terms 

and relative to the rich tourism assets offered by 

Wakkerstroom and the wider region. It is thus likely 

that growth should remain high for some time 

particularly if the area is marketed well and appropriate 

steps are taken to ensure the protection of tourism assets 

(Van Zyl, 2010). 

Despite its growth, the tourism sector remains 

underdeveloped in the Province and certainly in the 

study area and GSDM as a whole. Besides the 

Important Birding Area status of Wakkerstroom, the 

Volksrust area has significant potential for high levels 

of cultural tourism. Farm and game farm tourism 

focused on the eastern PKSLM has had increased 

interest and growth. 

The MTGS emphasizes that much more can be done to 

translate the Province’s natural, historical and cultural 

resource base into a significant tourism industry. 

Wakkerstoom is highlighted in the MTGS both as one 

of ten tourism development nodes in Mpumalanga, and 

as a key place of interest out of 15 such places 

identified throughout Mpumalanga. 

3.6.4 Mining 

Mining in the study area is dominated by relatively 

small scale coal production, with some sand and 

dolerite mining. The economic benefits associated with 

coal mining are not particularly significant in the local 

area, although there most likely has been expansion 

since 2001. Employment is estimated between 100 and 

200 persons (Van Zyl, 2010). 

Current levels of mining activity in the area are 

particularly low considering the large extent of coal 

underlying PKSLM. The sizable deposits are at deeper 

levels and therefore often uneconomical at present 

prices. Small-scale coal mining is occurring in the east 

of the municipal where seams are close enough to the 

surface to support this level of exploitation. Over the 

longer term demand for coal is likely to remain 

relatively high which may result in currently 

uneconomical deposits being mined. The use of UCG 

technology shows high levels of promise and may drive 

demand for deep-lying coal deposits. UCG allows 

access to otherwise non-viable deep coal deposits by 

gasifying the coal underground and pumping it out as 

gas. Environmental benefits of the UCG include 15- 

25% less carbon emission per megawatt generated due 

to greater efficiencies and lower particulate sulphur 

dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions (in Van Zyl, 

2010). 




Coal mining involves the extraction of a non-renewable 

resource and benefits need to be compared with 

industries such as agriculture, forestry and tourism that 

involve renewable resource uses (Van Zyl, 2010). 

3.6.5 Forestry 

The forestry industry in PKSLM is small compared to 

GSDM as a whole and consists of plantations covering 

roughly 1,077 ha (or 0.21% of the total PKSLM land 

area). It is probable that roughly 25 to 40 direct jobs are 

supported by the sector based on provincial averages for 

employment per ha of plantation. 

Demand for timber is unlikely to increase beyond 

normal growth levels. Water availability and the 

availability of suitable land play are further factors 

limiting expansion potential. In particular, the majority 

of the study area coincides with areas of stress or water 

deficit (DWAF 2004, 2004a and 2004b). 

3.6.6 Economic values associated with 

the maintenance of natural capital 

The high value of properly functioning ecosystems 

particularly in terms of water services provides an 

economic justification for their protection and 

restoration. PKSLM boasts grasslands that are generally 

in significantly better condition than those in the 

Maloti-Drakensberg and care needs to be taken to avoid 

degradation. Improvements can be made in pockets of 

land that have become degraded. 

One of the key regulating ecosystem services provided 

by grasslands are associated with the water environment 

given the areas importance at the headwater of three 

major catchments/WMAs. Numerous wetlands are 

present in the area including the Wakkerstroom wetland 

which is of national prominence (Palmer, 2010). The 

Wakkerstroom wetland complex is one of few peatland 

wetlands in South Africa. They are centres of 

biodiversity, act as carbon sinks and are key to the 

hydrological functioning of drainage systems (PKSLM, 

2008). The services provide water security for the area 

and also play a critical role as a ‘water factory’ area 

with national importance for water security (Van Zyl, 

2010). 

Thus far the waste sink function and other regulating 

functions of the aquatic and terrestrial environment 

appears to be working relatively well in most parts of 

PKSLM. Future planning and management will have to 

be exercised with care if ecological infrastructure in the 

study area is to keep delivering. Intensively developed 

catchments nearby such as the Olifants River provide 

lessons regarding to the economic risks associated with 

the degradation of the water environment and natural 

capital (Van Zyl, 2010). 

3.6.7 Economic costs/externalities 

associated with resource uses 

Key resources uses (agriculture, tourism and recreation, 

mining, forestry and harvesting) have the potential to 

clash with each other and destroy/degrade natural 

capital or ecological infrastructure from terrestrial and 

aquatic natural areas. 

Mining primarily impacts on water quantity and quality, 

land degradation, air quality and biodiversity. It further 

and exacerbates impacts through high volumes of truck 

traffic. Water pollution may impact downstream of the 

pollution source with potential international 

implications. 

The available evidence and observation of the situation 

in other mining areas indicates a high risk of significant 

unmitigated cumulative impacts from intensive mining. 

Despite numerous EIAs and seemingly well funded 

Environmental Management Plans, significant damage 

is occurring in mining areas. Potentially unacceptable 

residual impacts appear to be a reality of coal mining, 

particularly where a number of mines operate in 

sensitive areas. Adequate mitigation does not equate 

with observable reality at this point and strongly 

suggests that the precautionary principle needs to be 

applied to the approval of mining in the first instance in 

sensitive areas (Van Zyl, 2010). 

The often parlous state of roads in Mpumalanga can act 

as a significant constraint to tourism development in 

remote areas such as PKSLM reliant on road access. 

Forestry has a marked impact on the natural 

environment and affects biodiversity, water and soil 

resources as well as air quality. Extensive forestry also 

has the ability to reduce available water substantially. In 

the Usutu River, for example, it is estimated that 

70 000 ha of pine plantations reduce water yield by 

about 50%. In addition, elevated sediment loads and 

pollution can be detrimental to water quality and the 

availability of aquatic habitats. 




The potential impacts associated with agriculture are 

similar to those associated with forestry. Impacts 

include disturbance caused by the clearing of land, 

deterioration of soil quality, water quality impacts from 

siltation and agricultural wastes; as well as 

contamination of surface and groundwater from 

fertilizer and pesticide run-off. 

Currently environmental impacts associated with 

tourism in the study area are minor. Limited impacts are 

associated with low visitor numbers and unobtrusive 

developments as currently managed. As tourism 

expands it will need to go hand in hand with increased 

management effort if impacts are to be kept at 

acceptable levels. Particular attention will be needed for 

sensitive ecological areas as well as heritage sites. 

The consideration of land use changes ideally needs to 

take climate change implications into account given the 

importance of the ecosystem services that natural 

habitats provide in both mitigating and adapting to the 

impacts of climate change. In essence, natural 

vegetation is the optimum from a GHG emissions 

perspective followed by forestry (which has potentially 

negative biodiversity and water use implications), 

agriculture (which can result in relative low emissions if 

well managed), and mining (which essentially extracts 

concentrated carbon in the form of coal from the earth 

for burning and release into the atmosphere while also 

releasing methane gas embedded in the coal seam 

which has a global warming potential that is roughly 20 

times greater than that of carbon dioxide per volume). 

In addition, while management practices have a 

significant potential to reduce emissions for agriculture, 

their potential in the case of coal mining is low given 

current technologies. 




4 Assets, opportunities, 

constraints and 

threats 

This first phase of the EMF process (i.e. the status quo 

assessment) provides a description of the existing 

environmental and social baseline conditions in the 

PSKLM. During the next phase, the desired state of 

environment will be defined. The main objective of the 

status quo assessment is to identify the environmental 

and social assets that have importance or value, and the 

associated constraints and/or threats on these assets. 

These assets in turn assist in developing the desired 

state. The following definitions apply: 

Assets are characteristics or features in the study area 

that have importance or value. These include 

biophysical as well as socio-economic aspects. These 

assets induce a management response – normally 

protection or sustainable use. Assets may present 

constraints and/or opportunities for the 

project/environment and may or may not be spatially 

defined. 

Constraints are limitations or restrictions placed on the 

project/environment by the asset. 

Development activities could threaten the asset. 

There are various types of constraints and threats. These 

are defined as follows: 

Physical constraints/threats are physical limitations or 

restrictions placed on the environment by the asset 

(constraints) OR threats posed by the physical 

development activity on the asset (threat). 

Policy constraints/threats are policy-level limitations 

or restrictions placed on the environment by the asset 

(constraints) OR threats posed by policy weaknesses on 

the asset (threat). 

Institutional constraints/threats are institutional 

limitations or restrictions placed on the environment by 

the asset (constraints) OR threats posed by institutional 

weaknesses on the asset (threat). 

Developmental constraints/threats are developmental 

limitations or restrictions placed on the environment by 

the asset (constraints) OR threats posed by 

developmental weaknesses on the 1asset (threat). 

The assets and constraints/threats within the study area 

are described in this section. This was done by 

synthesising and interpreting the baseline data and 

information of the study area. Assets that are spatial in 

nature are depicted on maps. Tables 4-1 to 4-8 depict 

each asset with corresponding opportunities and 

constraints/threats. 




Table 4-1: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with surface and 

groundwater 

Asset Opportunity Constraint / Threat 

The strong legislative and 

framework is a powerful asset 

for the sustainable 

management of the water 

resource in the PKSLM 

Civil society individuals and 

groupings eager for sound 

management of the water 

resource 

Acceptable water quality from 

the three WMAs of the 

PKSLM. This water is of high 

strategic importance (both 

quantity and quality) for power 

generation, irrigation and 

other economic uses beyond 

the WMAs both in South 

The legislative framework sets in place the 

opportunity for effective catchment 

management structures including the 

development of CMA and catchment 

management strategy for the WMA. A 

strong CMA will provide direction and focus 

for towards Integrated Catchment 

Management (ICM). 

CMAs bring a catchment perspective to the 

IDP spatial planning process coordinated by 

Department of Planning and Local 

Government in IDP forums and undertaken 

by municipalities; align the licensing 

process with the EIA process from a 

catchment management perspective; work 

with provincial government to draft an 

Environmental Implementation Plan, as a 

NEMA requirement. 

There are numerous instruments for water 

quality management, covering regulatory, 

market-based, self-regulatory and civil 

management approaches. 

Non-compliance with authorisations and the 

legislative framework can result in 

successful prosecution, including through 

the involvement of ‘Green & Blue 

Scorpions’ where necessary. Use of the toll 

free hotline – 0800 205 005 with supporting 

information should be encouraged. 

The surface- and groundwater monitoring 

programme run by DWA, River Health and 

Local Authorities are a critical component 

for the management of the water resource 

of the PKSLM, and can assist with the 

identification of non-compliance. 

Partnerships between government and 

stakeholders who have an interest in a well 

managed water resource, such as Rand 

Water ecotourism initiatives, irrigation 

boards and Water Use Areas, ESKOM, and 

conservation groupings can be 

strengthened. 

Building of knowledge of the legislative 

framework amongst local stakeholders, and 

the channels through which they can 

‘whistle-blow’ suspected transgressions can 

assist authorities with taking action. 

Active monitoring of the area will bring 

about proactive identification of existing and 

potential water pollution sources, the 

implementation of pollution prevention, 

effective containment, and treatment at 

source. 

The Usutu to Mhlatuze WMA is a net 

exporter of water via transfer schemes. In 

terms of the DWA raw water pricing policy, 

this will provide the CMAs with the facility to 

gain additional income for catchment 

management. 

Opportunities for the sustainable 

Poor implementation of the legislative 

framework, such as exceedances of 

authorisations, poses a threat to achieving 

and maintaining good water quality in the 

PKSLM. 

Impetus to implement and effectively run 

CMAs. 

There is insufficient on-the-ground law 

enforcement capacity. 

Insufficient coordination between local 

municipalities, district municipality, 

provincial authorities and national 

authorities can hamper effective 

management of the water environment. 

Lack of active catchment/river forums in the 

PKSLM. 

Responsibility to neighbouring countries 

and requirement to comply with associated 

international obligations to ensure that they 

receive water supply of sufficiently good 

water quality and quantity. 

Availability of water for activities including 

forestry, agriculture and coal mining is a 





Africa and internationally 

Water resources include: 

• Relatively high rainfall in 

the mountainous area 

providing inter alia, 

forestry and agricultural 

potential 

• Groundwater and springs 

• Dams 

• Natural resources include 

that associated with the 

wetlands and pans. 

Wetlands in the PKSLM 

perform essential 

ecosystem functions 

including flood 

attenuation, ‘polishing’ of 

water (cleaning) and 

habitat for aquatic 

ecosystems. They also 

act as ‘sponges’, and play 

a key role in the 

sustaining of year-round 

water flow (Palmer, 2010) 

Mining (particularly coal) is an 

economically and strategically 

important activity in the GSDM 

with high potential for 

expansion in the PKSLM 

Productive agricultural land 

(rough grazing and cultivation) 

and forestry are economically 

important in the PKSLM 

High tourism/ecotourism 

potential (including pans a 

wetlands and other ecological 

assets, geological features, 

scenic beauty, heritage and 

agriculture 

management of the PKSLM water resource 

are presented by: 

• Prevention of stormwater ingress into 

the mines and other routes into the 

mining void, as well as fixing and 

upgrade of leaking water supply 

pipelines could reduce the AMD 

• A comprehensive strategy to deal with 

water quantity and quality issues facing 

the PKSLM and catchments beyond 

due to mine closures needs to be 

implemented 

• Strengthening of sustainability 

underpinning the IDPs when these 

come up for periodic review 

• Improved inter-departmental 

coordination for EIA and SEMP 

authorisations and water use licences. 

The opportunity is there for proactive 

protection of the valuable water resources 

of the PKSLM, such as through the water 

sensitivity map. 

Agricultural production facilities and water 

treatment works can consider the 

construction of artificial wetlands as one 

part of their strategy to treat effluent before 

it reaches surface and ground water 

(although this cannot be the primary 

treatment means). 

Appropriate management of water quality 

and quantity impacts from agriculture and 

afforestation in particular away from the 

wetlands. 

limiting factor to development due to high 

demands for water use. Alien vegetation 

infestation further poses a risk to water 

availability. 

Over allocation of water resources poses a 

risk to the aquatic ecosystems which play a 

key role in the maintenance of water quality 

and quantity. 

Problems associated with afforestation and 

agriculture include: 

• Agricultural production and 

afforestation contribute nutrient loads 

and other contaminants to surface and 

groundwater 

• Stream flow reduction (particularly by 

afforestation) poses a risk to water 

availability for ecological systems and 

other water uses. 

Problems associated with coal-mining 

include: 

• A large proportion of the collieries will 

eventually decant water onto the 

surface following closure. Pollution 

from AMD poses a threat to the 

surface-and groundwater quality of the 

PKSLM and beyond, the fitness- foruse 

of the water and ecosystem 

functioning. Prevention of decant of 

AMD. 

• A large contribution to AMD originates 

from stormwater ingress, also possibly 

contributed to by leaking water mains. 

• Difficulty of removal of pollution 

associated with AMD, with remediation 

technology such as reverse osmosis 

being very costly. 

• There are health risks to public reliant 

on AMD contaminated surface- and 

groundwater. 

Not all of the operational mines have 

approved Environmental Management 

Programmes. 

Degradation of the PKSLM could place the 

RAMSAR site at risk. 

There appears to be a lack of a clear 

strategy on how to deal with the mine 

decant between government departments, 

as well as other stakeholders. 

Shallow-lying coal deposits may be mined 

by small-scale miners. Problems associated 

with small-scale mining in southern Africa 

include: 

• Higher TDS levels in the rivers 

• Increased erosion and degradation of 

the rivers 

• Water quality impacts from AMD. 

Wetland system in the 

Wakkerstroom area and 

surrounds 

Avoidance of development in the wetlands 

and riverine systems. 

The development of tourism needs to be 

done to maximise opportunities for local 

people without significantly impacting the 

Wetlands and riverine systems beyond 

pose a physical limitation on the 

development potential of the area: 

• Development near the rivers should be 





water resources. 

avoided 

• Development in the catchments of the 

pans with no outlets should be avoided 

• Development of coal should be 

managed to minimise pollution of 

natural waterways 

• Forestry should be managed to 

minimise their impacts of natural 

waterways. 

Extensive network of streams 

and rivers in the PKSLM 

Wastewater treatment 

networks, solid waste disposal 

and stormwater infrastructure 

in the PKSLM are subject to 

overloading 

Relatively active research 

community, including 

individuals in the area 

Large community of learners, 

landowners, developers and 

interest groups in the PKSLM 

and downstream environment 

Synergistic impetus for 

potential education 

programme provided by the 

coexistence of cultural 

heritage, biodiversity 

importance and ground water 

resource and tourism interest 

in the area 

International significance of 

being situated on the water 

divides, with the study area 

supplying neighbouring 

countries 

Development of riverine habitat should not 

be disturbed. 

New developments in PKSLM must meet 

regulatory requirements in respect of 

stormwater management and also be 

required to implement on-site attenuation 

and related sustainable stormwater 

management methods. 

Individual owners of existing developments 

in the study area can be encouraged to 

implement retrofitting, including rainwater 

collection and installation of permeable 

paving. 

Appropriate budgeting to ensure 

maintenance of existing infrastructure and 

the necessary upgrades to infrastructure 

can be motivated based on the current noncompliance 

of some infrastructure. 

Regular monitoring and reporting on water 

quantity and quality of municipal point 

source discharges should be carried out to 

stakeholder groupings, such as river 

forums. 

The GSDM waste management strategy 

must be reviewed where necessary and 

implemented. 

The municipality needs to absorb skilled 

people in the fields of hydrology and water 

resources management to ensure efficient 

protection and utilization of water recourses 

with sustainability in the area. 

Opportunities for awareness raising and 

building capacity for sustainable 

management of the water resource of the 

PKSLM include: 

• Research needs publicized to 

universities and research institutions 

• A well-publicised central repository of 

information on the PKSLM, to include 

research, community environmental 

projects, water monitoring data, 

suggestions for community based 

projects, and key lessons from the 

PKSLM or equivalent projects can be 

posted on the central information 

‘portal’ 

• The PKSLM presents an excellent 

opportunity to showcase sustainable 

catchment management through an 

ICM education programme focussed on 

The frequent occurrence of storm events in 

the Highveld presents a high risk of 

flooding. 

Impervious developments (roads, roofing 

and canalization) in the upstream 

catchment cause increased flooding risks 

within the PKSLM, increase erosion, 

riverine habitat degradation, as well as loss 

of property and life. 

Capacity of the WWTW has not kept pace 

with increased demand, resulting in 

discharge of excessively contaminated 

water, and basic maintenance in some 

instances is insufficient. 

Further, inappropriate sewage disposal. 

Informal settlements and rural areas not 

supplied with adequate sanitation cause 

health risks through bacteriological 

contamination of water, including drinking 

water sources. 

Use of toilet technologies such as 

soakaways in areas surrounding wetlands 

is likely to result in contamination of the 

water resource. 

Polluting and runoff-generating activities 

including mining, agriculture, stormwater, 

sewage treatment discharge. AMD in 

particular has potential to threaten 

economic activities such as aquaculture, 

crop production and diversity, as well as 

human health and the ecological 

environment. 

High staff turnover in government 

departments hampers continuity and 

decision-making for the PKSLM and buffer. 

The implementation of the legislative 

framework for sustainable water 

management is threatened by gaps in 

information flow between various spheres of 

government. 

Roles and responsibilities of institutional 

structures relating to water management 

and governance are not always clearly 

defined. 





the PKSLM and the downstream 

context 

• Opportunity for curriculum-based 

education programme to ‘piggy-back’ 

on existing initiatives 

• A high profile project which can be 

carried out in collaboration with 

national, provincial and local 

government, funders and other key 

role-players (such as water boards). 

Source: Adapted from SRK (2010) and Van Niekerk et al. (2010) 

Table 4-2: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with aquatic and wetland 

ecology 


Abundant supply of water 

Strategic location 

Unique aquatic habitats 

Pristine state 

Threatened species 

Sensitive fish 

Relevant ecological 

programmes 

Source: Palmer (2010) 

The study area is located within an area of 

high rainfall that is provided at a 

comparatively high level of assurance. 

The area is strategically important because 

of its location in the upper reaches of three 

primary catchments. 

The study area is characterised by an 

abundance of floodplains and unchannelled 

valley bottom wetlands, providing ideal 

habitat for high biodiversity, particularly for 

bird species. 

The area is currently in comparatively good 

ecological condition. This is attributed to a 

combination of high altitudes, low 

temperatures and moderate rainfall. The 

area thus has a high conservation status as 

well as high ecotourism potential. 

Key faunal species include red data species 

of birds, species of fish and frog that are of 

conservation concern. These areas thus 

have a high conservation status and 

ecotourism potential particularly from bird 

watchers hoping to see these rare species. 

The presence of a number of sensitive fish 

species indicates the water quality in that 

area is of good quality. 

There are a number of programmes in the 

area aimed at enhancing ecological 

integrity through, for e.g. reducing the 

effects of alien plant species on water 

sources (Working for Water). This 

programme contributes to increased water 

availability to a variety of users, as well as 

job creation. Others programmes include 

Working for Wetlands and Working on Fire. 

Water use by agriculture and forestry 

activities pose a threat to water supply. 

Because of the area’s strategic location, the 

demands for power plant cooling, and 

domestic and industrial demands in 

Gauteng need to be met putting pressure 

on water quality and quantity restricting 

activities in the area. 

Mining license issued for an open cast coal 

mine near the Wakkerstroom wetland 

reserve but have since been withdrawn 

(April 2010). 

Cultivation often converts wetland areas 

due to the high water supply required. 

The ecological condition needs to be 

protected through conservation activities 

and sustainable development. 

The ecosystems in which these species are 

found will need to be conserved, which will 

restrict agricultural and mining 

development. 

A number of fish species that are sensitive 

to water quality deterioration occur within 

the area. The survival of these fish species 

depends on the quality of the water in the 

area. 

The effectiveness of these programmes can 

be constrained due to a lack of capacity and 

monitoring. 




Table 4-3: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with terrestrial ecology 


Western and Eastern Plains 

Grassland, Central Plains 

Grassland and Wakkerstroom 

Plains Grassland 



Southern Mountain Grassland 

Sour Bushveld 

Wetlands 

Forests in conserved area 

Serpentine Vegetation 

Fauna 

These areas have a high conservation 

status. 

This area is known to contain high plant 

species diversity and special endemic 

fauna species; thus the conservation value 

is high. 

As this area is well protected, it is important 

for local biodiversity conservation. 

This area is situated in low mountains and 

is mostly pristine, with a high conservation 

status. 

This area is mostly pristine and has a 

medium conservation status. 

The wetlands in the southern parts of the 

PKSLM are very important biological areas. 

The areas have very high biodiversity and 

are therefore of particular interest for the 

eco-tourism industry. 

Forests in the protected areas are 

important for local biodiversity 

conservation. 

This vegetation contains endemic flora and 

thus is an important area for conservation 

of biodiversity. 

Many red data species are found with high 

conservation status – this adds to the 

ecological value of the study area. 

Important agricultural and mining areas. 

Within the PKSLM the South-western and 

Central grasslands are transformed by 

agriculture and mining and is under 

extreme pressure. These vegetation 

types/ecosystems need to be conserved, 

which will restrict agricultural and mining 

development. 

Forestry and rural residential areas threaten 

this grassland. The eastern portion is a 

major forestry area and has contributed to 

the transformation of large areas of the 

Eastern Undulating Grassland. 

The far north-eastern mountain area has 

very high plant and fauna diversity, and 

these are well protected in statutory 

conservation areas. This area includes the 

very limited natural Forests and also the 

very limited Serpentine Vegetation with its 

endemic plant species. There may 

therefore be building and development 

constraints. 

Development may impact on the aesthetic 

value of the study area, thus development 

should be controlled. 

Development may impact on the aesthetic 

value of the study area, thus rural 

residential areas and development should 

be restricted to low density and limited 

tourism facilities. 

Contradictory interests between mining, 

agriculture and conservation are of major 

concern. 

These are found in conserved areas where 

development restricted; thus this could 

place constraints on development. 

Rural residential areas and development 

should be restricted to low density and 

limited tourism facilities. 

To protect fauna, especially red data 

species, the habitat in which it occurs 

needs to be protected. Thus the mountain 

areas and grasslands need to be protected 

from new agricultural and mining 

development. Special attention needs to be 

given to aquatic fauna due to pressures on 

water quality. 

Source: Adapted from Bredenkamp (2010) 

Table 4-4: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with land use 


Political support 

Ensures the continued and enhanced 

protection of sensitive environments. 

Low income and high level of poverty. 

State pushed to prioritise short term 

political gains. 





State is not able to consider longer term 

and slower development options. 

Political support for energy as a result of 

the energy crisis in the country is a threat 

to sustainable land use in the area, 

particularly in close proximity to existing 

power stations but also for new power 

stations close to the coal reserves. 

The existence of an extensive 

legislative framework 

pertaining to environmental 

conservation and protection 

Social and political 

commitment and capacity to 

protect the sensitive 

ecosystems 

Historic assets 

Better utilization of animal products in the 

local and international markets (i.e. use of 

leather from culled animals). 

Utilisation of waste materials to 

manufacture other goods. 

Maximised eco-tourism and sustainable 

tourism through careful management and 

protection. 

Enhancing the institutional and marketing 

structures that manage these resources 

Increase and improve manufacturing in the 

area such that value add of packaging or 

process is added to the already highly 

functional agricultural sector or through 

backward linkages / import replacement 

opportunities for products required to 

industry and mines in the area. 

Improve road conditions and access to 

natural, historical and cultural sites. 

Contribute to the growing tourism industry. 

Diversification of tourism products. 

Enhancing the institutional and marketing 

Few formal environmental polices exist to 

balance environmental and development 

issues. 

Lack of environmental awareness and 

management and adherence to applicable 

legislation. 

Unresolved land claims. 

Insufficient community support for 

environmental concerns. 

Political support for energy is a threat to 

sustainable land use in the area. 

Lack of co-ordination in spatial and land 

use planning and management. 

Insufficient financial resources. 

Limited political will. 

Increased demand for state provided low 

cost houses resulting from break up 

households into smaller unit poses a threat 

of under- utilized residential land and 

infrastructure. 

Urban sprawl resulting in unsustainable 

development impacting on natural areas, 

infrastructure provision and maintenance. 

Poor road conditions make access to sites 

and markets difficult, discouraging tourists 

from the area. 

The current discrepancy in population 

figures between the SA Stats Community 

Census of 2007 and the figures used in the 

municipal IDP and SDF needs to be 

resolved. The census suggests a 

significant decline in population while the 

IDP figures suggest continued growth in 

population. Either of these situations would 

have significant opposing implications on 

housing and land which cannot be left 

unresolved. 

The built form of Daggakraal is increasing 

unsustainable in terms of infrastructure 

provision and maintenance given is 

extremely sprawled nature. This will 

negatively impact on the resident’s ability 

to explore alternative land use activities 

that support sustainable livelihoods, such 

as small scale intensive arable farming, 

small scale manufacturing etc. Poor road 

infrastructure and long distances to 

markets could impede these possibilities, 

which also contribute to inefficient energy 

consumption. 

Development ad hoc, negatively impacting 

on the economy, and the social and 

natural environment. 





structures that manage these resources. 

Development and commercialization of 

traditional skills such as bead work, arts 

and crafts and design blankets which can 

be marketed to tourists. 

Maximising sustainable tourism through the 

protection and management of cultural, 

historical and natural features. 

EIAs considered in isolation. 

Limited integration between planning and 

development. 

Academic support from 

researchers 

International renowned 

ornithological sites 

A large number of cultural, historical and 

environmental features exist in the area for 

investigation. Enhance the knowledge of 

these sites to provide greater interest for 

tourists. 

Provides a strong basis to gain widespread 

support for conservation initiatives as well 

as for growing a sustainable tourism 

market. 

Diversification of tourism products. 

Enhancement of the institutional and 

marketing structures that manage these 

resources. 

Maximisation of eco-tourism through the 

protection and management of 

environmental features. 

Limited funding for academic research. 

Fragmented available information. 

Development ad hoc, negatively impacting 

on the economy, and the social and 

natural environment. 

EIAs considered in isolation. 

Limited integration between planning and 

development. 

Source: Adapted from Klug (2010) 

Table 4-5: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with agriculture 


Natural resource 

base – soil and water 

Infrastructural 

network 

Institutional network 

The soil and climatic conditions allows 

farmers to produce high quality agricultural 

produce of different types. 

The abundance of water allows for the 

current irrigation systems and can assist 

even more with all farming activities (crop 

and animal farming). 

The area shows a competitive advantage 

toward cattle and sheep production. 

The well developed (but poor quality) road 

and rail network allows easy access for all 

farms to main roads. 

This allows for packaging, storage and 

marketing of agricultural produce. 

Good storage facilities for grain exists in the 

western part of PKLM. 

The railway connection to Durban and 

Gauteng runs through PKLM. 

The well developed network allows for all 

services to be available to the agricultural 

sector and farmers in particular, providing 

access to all input suppliers and markets. 

Farmers themselves are well organized into 

farmer’s associations, farm watches 

(security network) and fire associations. 

An opportunity exists for the agricultural 

sector and local government to set aside 

their differences, initiate meaningful dialogue 

and implement sustainable development 

Topography in the eastern part limit crop 

production. 

Poor conditions of some of the roads due to 

coal transport limits transport of agricultural 

produce. 

The poor quality of the roads has a negative 

impact on the dairy industry since large 

distributers from Gauteng are unwilling to send 

their trucks into the area for fresh milk 

collection. Most dairy farms closed down due 

to poor prices offered by these large fresh milk 

distributors. 

The current mistrust between local 

government, and the farming and business 

sector limits the contribution of agriculture 

towards poverty alleviation and economic 

growth. 

Farmers and businesses do not trust the local 

government sector because of their poor 

record of service delivery. They believe the 

focus of government is on land reform and 

emerging farmers, which costs the commercial 

sector in the long run. 





plans based on scientific principles. 

The agricultural forums at municipal level 

should be exploited optimally to promote 

proper regional planning. 

A good opportunity exists for local 

government to appoint people with the 

necessary expertise to deal with agricultural 

issues. The Provincial Department of 

Agriculture is an equally important role 

player in this. 

Local government officials do not trust the 

agricultural sector as they believe the sector 

only acts in its own interest and does not 

support government policies. 

The lack of a properly institutionalised 

agricultural forum and leadership to make it 

work has a negative effect on both farmers 

and agricultural development in the region. 

Human capacity 

Land 

Farming animals 

The agricultural sector and farms in 

particular are managed at a very high level 

by very capable people (commercial 

farmers). A large percentage of farmers 

have University degrees and this potential 

has not yet been unlocked by the authorities 

to assist them in issues such as land reform 

and poverty alleviation 

High quality land available for production of 

various agricultural products. 

The area lends itself to high quality wool 

production. 

Game farming should be exploited, 

especially in areas with a high incidence of 

stock theft. 

Emerging farmers lack experience and 

knowledge to manage farms successfully 

Extension services from Department of 

Agriculture not efficient with focus on 

extension work at commercial farm level 

Land is limited; thus the demand for land will 

coincide with economic development and 

population growth, which often requires land. 

In most cases agriculture has to give way to 

other developments, especially when 

developments are of national interest. 

The clearing of natural vegetation for activities 

such as mining and agriculture, and the 

subsequent transformation of ecosystems, 

results in impacts such as: 

• Alien species invasions 

• Deterioration of soil quality from increased 

leaching of acids 

• Contamination of surface and 

groundwater, resulting in deteriorating 

water quality 

• Increased pressure on infrastructure – the 

poor condition of the roads as a result of 

mining activities suffices as an example 

here 

• Pollution (air and environmental) 

• Aesthetic pollution, which has a direct 

impact on the tourism industry since 

people do not like to travel through 

spoiled landscapes with mining activities, 

heavy vehicles on the roads and air 

pollution. 

Crime and stock theft are risks faced by 

farmers on theft. Sheep farming, with a higher 

return than cattle farming, used to be a large 

sector in the PKSLM but only a few farmers 

now farm with sheep because of the high 

incidence of stock theft. Time and money is 

wasted by farmers on self-protection units 

(farm watches) to perform duties of police 

tasks. The small stock industry (sheep 

farming) is nearly wiped out because of high 

incidences of stock. 





Land reform 

International market 

trends 

Local businesses 

Mining 

Coordination and combined planning should 

be extended to the land reform process. The 

use of mentorship programs to support new 

beneficiaries is under exploited. Personal 

conversations with farmers disclose their 

willingness to provide mentorship and 

assistance to new farmers. It is in the 

interest of all that land reform succeeds; a 

view also expressed by most farmers. The 

Department of Agriculture and the 

municipalities should use this offer from 

experienced farmers to assist. 

The potential exists to exploit niche markets 

with export potential, for e.g. apple 

production and berry production. A few 

farmers have started with the production and 

export of apples. The climate, soil and 

positioning of the area from the main 

markets and transport systems open up 

opportunities for various products. 

The Amajuba berry project near Volksrust 

should be used as an example on how to 

manage large scale projects. 

Introduce mentorship programs for beginner 

farmers in conjunction with commercial 

farmers. 

Agri processing can create numerous job 

opportunities and significantly contribute to 

poverty alleviation in the area. Farmers can 

also rectify the BEE profile of their 

businesses. Currently most of the produce is 

exported to Gauteng and KZN for 

processing. Afterwards, they are imported 

back into the area for consumers to 

purchase from retailers owned by people or 

companies in Gauteng. 

The building and maintenance of new roads 

by the mines could create additional markets 

for agricultural products. 

Mines should be taxed additionally because 

of the damage they incur on the road 

infrastructure. 

The slow pace and lack of support to land 

reform is a threat to the agricultural sector. All 

role players in agriculture in the region 

(farmers, agri businesses and banks) agreed 

that land reform should take place. They are 

concerned however with the poor service 

delivery of land reform and the lack of support 

from the Department of Agriculture to new 

farmers. New farmers don’t produce optimally 

and in some cases not at all, which pose a 

severe threat on agricultural production in the 

region. 

Previous land reform projects failed dismally 

because of a myriad of reasons, well-known to 

the Dept of Agriculture. 

A weak rand has a negative impact on grain 

production as costs in fertilizer, chemicals, 

seed, diesel and machinery increases. 

Subsidies for agriculture in Europe and the 

US, increased crop production in Brasilia, 

Argentina and China has a negative impact on 

agricultural produce in South Africa. 

Poor road condition has a negative effect on 

most businesses ( except the tyre industry 

who benefit from poor roads). 

Mining is not active at a large scale in the 

district. Exploration however indicates that 

lower quality coal is available and that might 

compete with agriculture for land – trade-offs 

between industry, agriculture and the 

environment is an inherent element of 

development. 

Mining in neighbouring regions, however 

impact negatively on the road system in the 

region. Roads are seriously damaged by coal 

trucks. 

The mining sector seems to be ignorant of the 

damage they incur on the environment, and 

the agricultural and tourism industry. 

Source: Adapted from Jordaan and Jordaan (2010) 

Table 4-6: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with socio-economics 


Natural environment 

Improvement in local ecotourism. 

Conservation of biodiversity through formally 

Minimal infrastructure development. 

Lack of services and maintenance. 





protected areas. 

Diversification of economic activities in the 

form of tourism. 

Appropriate environmental policies and bylaws. 

Potential to declare a RAMSAR site at 

Wakkerstroom. 

Grow in Eco tourism activities such as 

fishing, and bird watching. 

Enhanced environmental awareness. 

Limited job creation. 

Need of land for housing. 

Potential increase in Mining and industries, 

over grazing. 

Poverty. 

Development of other economic sectors. 

Inadequate land management practices 

leading to damage of biodiversity. 

Lack of knowledge of value of natural and 

heritage environment. 

Increase in demand for water. 

Minimal protection of the natural environment. 

Tourism potential 

Governance 

Agricultural potential 

Natural, historical and cultural heritage 

conservation and protection. 

Sources of funding from private sector to 

invest in tourism projects. 

Skills development, job creation and poverty 

alleviation. Nationwide, one job is created for 

every eight tourists visiting the country. 

Training and empowerment through on-thejob 

training. 

Cultural exchange opportunities. 

Revenue generation from tourism to alleviate 

housing backlogs and decrease information 

settlements. 

Accumulation of multiple skills that can 

potentially be used to diversify the local 

economy. 

Increase in money supply in the area to 

reach the poor communities. 

More entrepreneurial projects undertaken. 

Increase in money supply in the area which 

could reach poor communities through the 

multiplier effect. 

Creation of secondary economic spin-offs. 

Political stability and strong leadership. 

Increased performance. 

Skills development and transfer within the 

municipality. 

Reduction of services and housing backlogs. 

Strategic planning. 

Compatible with tourist activities. 

Job creation. 

Increase in waste production and pressure on 

landfill sites. 

Lack of environmental awareness and 

management and adherence to applicable 

legislation. 

Increase in traffic, pollution and water needs. 

Littering and human waste problems (tourists 

and locals). 

Pollution of water resources (physical or 

biological). 

Loss of local culture and way of life. 

Degradation of the vegetation. 

Poor environmental protection and 

management leading to loss of biodiversity. 

Services and housing backlogs reduces the 

integrity of the area. 

Environmental, visual and noise impacts of 

other economic activities (mining, saw mills, 

etc.). 

Potential negative impact of visitors on the 

characteristics, integrity and biodiversity of the 

place, local access and the 

social/economic/cultural well-being. 

Lack of funds and capacity to drive tourism. 

Tourism can provide local employment but 

badly managed tourism projects may result in 

a decline in natural resources. This, in turn, will 

impact tourism and employment figures. 

Threats to personal security and safety 

adversely affect tourism demand. A sense of 

personal security is also affected by the 

prevalence of violent crime, petty theft, water 

quality, disease or bad sanitation. 

Increase in services, housing and 

infrastructure backlogs. 

No strategic planning. 

Poor service delivery. 

Lack of capacity and funds. 

High community expectations and overreliance 

on government grants. 

Corruption and nepotism. 

Skills shortages and ineffective resource 

allocation. 

Over grazing and loss of grassland. 

Loss of biodiversity and natural habitats. 





Economically viable. 

Potential reduction in tourist numbers. 

Food security. 

Pressure on water resources. 

Mining and urban sprawl. 

Lack of land for housing development. 

Mining potential 

Employment generation. 

Skills development and transfer. 

Secondary economic spin-offs emanating 

from mining i.e. guest houses and local 

procurement of goods and services. 

Improved cooperation between institutions. 

Improved transport systems and road 

conditions. 

Higher tax revenue for government. With 

adequate management of state resources, 

community member will be in a position to 

benefit. 

Social development obligations of mines will 

assist community projects. 

Environmental support practices. 

Health impacts and potential conflict as a 

result of influx of job seekers and workers. 

Housing shortage. 

Basic services backlog. 

Increase in criminal activities. 

Contamination of surface and groundwater 

(e.g. AMD). 

The continuous movement of heavy haulage 

trucks degrading the condition of the roads. 

Cumulative and cross boundary impacts to air 

and water quality. 

Negative impact to biodiversity and wetlands. 

Unsustainable in the medium and long term. 

Impact on agricultural and tourism potential. 

Source: Adapted from BKS (2010) 

Table 4-7: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with cultural heritage 


Legal framework 

Local knowledge of 

cultural-heritage 

Potential for culturalheritage 

sites 

EIA processes must include a HIA which 

presents an opportunity for developing a 

database of heritage for the area. Everything 

older than 60 years is protected by law even if 

not formally proclaimed as a heritage site. 

Presents research opportunities for scholars. 

The discovery of cultural-heritage may present 

opportunities to expand the tourism product in 

the PKSLM area. This should be guided by 

relevant cultural-heritage management plans 

to ensure the sustainable utilization of these 

sites. 

Focus on the areas where it can be the 

occurrence of cultural heritage resources can 

be predicted and attend to the rest as it is 

discovered. 

Opportunity to build up a database in the 

PKSLM area. 

Development projects can be monitored and 

the database broadened accordingly. 

Limited knowledge of cultural heritage in the 

area. Adequately qualified professionals are 

required to conduct the studies. 

Municipal culture offices have limited relevant 

capacity and knowledge. 

Very little academic research done in the 

PKSLM area. 

The EMF process will only provide broad 

indication of cultural heritage resources in the 

PKSLM area. 

No comprehensive analysis of culturalheritage 

in the PKSLM, therefore there is 

limited information about the location and 

distribution of these resources. 

Many archaeological and/or historical sites, 

features or artifacts have a subterranean 

presence. There will also be a chance that 

these are accidentally discovered. 

Development activities could result in the 

damage and/or disruption of cultural-heritage 

resources, which can in turn undermine 

tourism potential. 

Graves can be found anywhere in the study 

area making it difficult to forestall them being 

damaged. 

Individual landowners such as farmers often 

believe that everything on their land belongs to 

them. 

A lack of understanding between the 

community and the government departments 

as to how the cultural heritage should be 





utilized and preserved. 

Historical towns 

Cultural heritage 

sites (e.g. historic 

buildings, 

cemeteries and 

memorials) 

The rich history of towns in the area affords an 

opportunity to expand the tourism activities in 

the PKSLM area. 

There are research opportunities for local 

historians and school children. 

Opportunity to expand the tourism product in 

the PKSLM area in a way that does not result 

in the damage and/or destruction of these 

sites. 

There is limited or no documentation of the 

history in rural areas. This makes it more 

difficult to identify places and sites of cultural 

significance that occur in these areas. 

Limited focus on the preservation of cultural 

heritage in towns in the PKSLM area. Most of 

these sites are in a poor state of repair. 

SAHRA database of heritage sites does not 

include all sites of cultural significance. 

There is little or no information regarding the 

location of sites, which means that it is difficult 

to determine whether the status of sites. 

Limits the opportunity to develop some of the 

sites as part of the tourism industry. 

Some of the sites are located on private land 

which makes it difficult to access and monitor 

their conservation. 

Source: Adapted from Van Vollenhoven (2010) 

Table 4-8: Assets, opportunities and constraints/threats associated with resource economics 


Sustainable 

economy 

Intact ecosystems 

The opportunity to establish a diversified, 

robust and sustainable economy that achieves 

a balance between the maintenance of natural 

capital and its use in agriculture, mining, 

tourism and forestry. 

Presence of tourism assets particularly around 

Wakkerstroom and in the form of heritage 

resources. The PGDS has set ambition goals 

and targets to improve the economic 

performance of tourism in recognition of its 

potential to deliver significant long term 

benefits. The target is to increase its 

contribution to Gross Domestic Product by 

10% per annum (MTPA, 2007). 

Relatively low level of degradation as yet in 

many parts of the study area resulting in 

economic benefits from ecosystem services 

that can be sustained at relatively minimal 

cost. 

The opportunity to remain a critical area for 

the maintenance of water security in the 

region and further afield in South Africa. 

The opportunity to optimise the chances of 

being able to adapt to climate change (intact 

unfragmented and well-functioning 

ecosystems with adequate natural areas are 

more resilient to change and offer more 

opportunities for species movements and 

dispersal, a factor that will become 

increasingly important in the face of climate 

changes. 

Ecosystem services provision from areas 

Level of economic need can result in skewed 

focus on short term gains at the cost of longer 

term sustainable economic development. This 

can result in ‘quick fixes’ that are likely to be to 

the detriment of long term development. 

Low levels of awareness of the economic 

benefits associated with healthy environments 

tend to create a bias towards potentially 

unsustainable development. 

Careful consideration will have to be given the 

preservation of the assets upon which tourism 

growth relies. 

Tourism development seems constrained by a 

lack of resources and limited institutional 

capacity at a local and regional level. To this 

can be added a lack of a clear tourism 

strategy and dedicated tourism staff for 

PKSLM. 

The threat of serious ecological impacts in 

which the natural capital of the area is 

damaged to the point where it is no longer 

adaptable and no longer delivers economic 

benefits and can only be repaired at great 

cost, if at all. Exceeding environmental 

thresholds and having to pay a heavy price for 

rehabilitation and restoration of critical 

ecological functions. 

Pressure to allow coal mining and other land 

conversion in particularly sensitive areas 

containing significant natural capital. 

Allowing alien invasive plants to spread 

thereby threatening indigenous vegetation and 

water security. 

Low absorptive capacity of sensitive area such 

as the Wakkerstroom wetlands. 

Claims that mitigation of mining impacts is 





containing natural capital and tourism are 

largely compatible. There is thus an 

opportunity to derive significant ecosystem 

and tourism values by limiting mining and 

other forms of land conversion in particularly 

sensitive environments (such as the 

Wakkerstroom area and others with important 

habitats). A key finding of the SDF is that 

valuable environmental resources which must 

be protected and linked to tourism to inter alia 

retain good environmental qualities and 

increase economic diversification and 

generate other income for the local 

communities (PKS, 2009b). 

possible do not seem to conform to the reality 

on the ground in other coal mining areas. The 

precautionary principle is thus particularly 

valid in sensitive areas where key ecosystem 

services are threatened along with other more 

sustainable land use options. 

Highly variable records of mining companies 

with respect to environmental mitigation 

makes it difficult to judge all companies and 

proposed mines in the same light. The most 

recent South African Mining Industry overview 

publication produced by Department of 

Minerals and Energy notes that “The small 

scale mining sector is, however, faced with 

many challenges such as lack of access to 

finance and markets, shortage of skills and 

inadequate or non-compliance with regulatory 

requirements” (Department of Minerals and 

Energy (DME), 2008). It is likely that these 

constraints are faced my small miners in the 

study area. From a sustainable environmental 

management perspective, non-compliance 

with regulatory requirements focused on the 

environment is particularly concerning. 

Degraded systems with limited connectivity 

between natural areas will be more vulnerable 

to climate changes not only impacting on 

species in natural areas but also on the 

agricultural systems that rely on natural areas 

for supporting ecosystem services. 

Economic data 

Critical input into strategic decision –making to 

maximize sustainability. 

The very limited availability of quantified 

estimates of the economic value associated 

with natural assets in the PKSLM. Although 

quantified estimates are not a pre-requisite for 

making strategic decisions, they can provide 

key insights and powerful arguments 

regarding the sustainable use and protection 

of natural assets. Their generation in the 

municipality and other parts of the country 

should thus be encouraged and ways found to 

channel better funding towards the required 

primary research. 

Source: Adapted from Van Zyl (2010) 




5 Conclusion 

This Status Quo report outlines the current situation 

within the PKSLM area, both in terms of a literature 

review and the various specialist analyses that were 

undertaken. It shows that the PKSLM is presently 

subject to a host of competing interests, with ad hoc and 

uncoordinated development making overall 

management difficult. This in turn contributes to an 

increase in conflict between developers, government 

and landowners. 

While sustainable management of resources is not being 

attained at the moment, the process to develop an EMF 

for the PKSLM provides a basis to promote the trend 

for more environmentally and socially responsible 

development, supported by guidelines and incentives. 

It can be deduced from the information presented in this 

report, PKSLM is experiencing immense pressure 

specifically from mining. The lack of an overarching 

development vision and guidelines has meant that 

development has mostly taken place in an ad hoc and 

uncoordinated manner. There is growing concern that 

mining activities pose a threat to water resources, air 

quality and ecological functioning, while providing job 

opportunities and economic development. These 

opportunities and constraints need to be balanced in 

order to achieve sustainable development of the 

PKSLM. 

The next phase of the EMF is to determine the vision 

for the PKSLM based on the desires of its stakeholders. 

This phase will assess the development trends and their 

associated threats to the environment as well as the 

opportunities and constraints that the environment poses 

for development. 




Map 1: Regional map of Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 2: Locality of the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 3: Institutional arrangement within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 4: Catchment basins of South Africa 




Map 5: Air quality within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 6: Transboundary influences on air quality within the Pixley Ka Seme Local 

Municipality 




Map 7: Arability of soils within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 8: Topography within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 9: Geology within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 10: Coal borehole distribution within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 11: Potential underground and surface mining within the Pixley Ka Seme Local 

Municipality 




Map 12: Quaternary catchments and water management areas within the Pixley Ka 

Seme Local Municipality 




Map 13: Surface water quality within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 14: Hydrogeology within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 15: Existing land uses within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 16: Hydro-morphic units of wetlands within the Pixley Ka Seme Local 

Municipality 




Map 17: Present ecological state of wetlands within the Pixley Ka Seme Local 

Municipality 




Map 18: Present ecological state of quinery catchments 




Map 19: Aquatic conservation within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 20: Aquatic biodiversity within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 21: Terrestrial biodiversity within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 22: Vegetation types within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 23: Protected areas within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 24: Identified hotspots within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 25: Infrastructure within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 26: Land claims within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 27: Tourism sites within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 28: Population density within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 29: Health facilities within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 30: Cultural-heritage within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 31: Land types within the Pixley Ka Seme Local Municipality 




Map 32: Developments applications (since 2005) within the Pixley Ka Seme Local 

Municipality 




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SRK Report Distribution Record 

Complete this form and include it as the final page for each copy of the report produced. 

Report No. 404946 

Copy No. 

Name/Title Company Copy Date Authorised by 

Surprise Zwane DEA 1 July 2010 Darryll Kilian 

Oupa Mavuso PKSLM 2 July 2010 Darryll Kilian 

Aletta Ntshabele, Margaret 

Mothiba & Gavin Cowden 

MDEDET 3 July 2010 Darryll Kilian 

SRK 4 July 2010 Darryll Kilian 

Dan Hlanyane GSDM Electronic July 2010 Darryll Kilian 

Dave Richards DMR Electronic July 2010 Darryll Kilian 

Tendani Nditwani DWA Electronic July 2010 Darryll Kilian 

BKS Electronic July 2010 Darryll Kilian 

Public venues July 2010 Darryll Kilian

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