NFEPA Atlas 5.3_20111025_FINAL.indd - Biodiversity GIS - SANBI

ForewordWater is the lifeblood of South Africa and influences every part of the economy andthe aspirations of our people. The availability of freshwater is a key enabler, and itsunavailability a major constraint, to the economic development of our country andthe well-being of our citizens. And, while most people think of water as coming simplyfrom a tap, or from a dam, the quantity, quality and timing of flows of these preciouswater resources are in fact shaped and controlled by the health of the ecosystemsthrough which they have passed. These ecosystems – our rivers, wetlands, lakes and pans– constitute irreplaceable natural infrastructure for water resource management, andhavens for our rich biodiversity.This atlas provides the first comprehensive assessment of our Freshwater EcosystemPriority Areas, or, in short, those areas of the country that are most important forsustaining the integrity and continued functioning of our freshwater ecosystems.There is no doubt that South Africa’s freshwater ecosystems are under increasingpressure. The recently completed National Biodiversity Assessment highlighted that 65%of wetland ecosystem types and 57% of river ecosystem types are already threatened.However, there are also examples of these ecosystems that are still in good condition,often the smaller tributaries. These healthy ecosystems are the lifeblood that replenishesand sustains the hard-working and heavily impacted larger rivers that underpin all oureconomic activities.The mandate for taking care of our freshwater ecosystems is shared between theDepartment of Water Affairs and the Department of Environment Affairs, as well astheir provincial and regional counterparts. Water is also important to a number of sisterdepartments including the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and theDepartment of Mineral Resources. It is therefore essential that water is dealt with in anintegrated and cooperative manner across these key departments. This atlas provides uswith a unified product that will help to underpin such cooperative governance.The maps presented here, together with the Implementation Manual for FreshwaterEcosystem Priority Areas, will help greatly to ensure that healthy freshwater ecosystemscontinue to form the cornerstone of the implementation of our water resourceclassification system and the development of catchment management strategiesthroughout the country. They also inform planning and decisions about land use and theexpansion of the protected area network. By highlighting which ecosystems should remainin a healthy and well-functioning state, the maps provide a tool to guide our choices forthe strategic development of water resources and to support sustainable development.The atlas is also a remarkable, globally innovative product that all South Africans canbe proud of, drawing together the knowledge of our freshwater science community,as well as practitioners and water resource managers, whose collaboration forms thefoundation for the work presented here. For the first time this wealth of knowledge hasbeen consolidated into a single document, which helps to make excellent science accessible topolicymakers, managers and the public.I encourage you to use these maps in your work, and to work with all sectors of governmentto ensure that our priority rivers and wetlands are maintained in a healthy state, so that theycan continue to support the health and well-being of our people.Mrs Bomo Edith Edna MolewaMinister of Water and Environmental AffairsRepublic of South AfricaPeter Chadwick/WWF-SA- iii -