Gumboot October 2011

World Wetlands Day 2012

WORLD WETLANDS DAY 2012
Next year's World Wetlands Day (WWD) event is definitely not to be missed. Preparations for this annual celebration, which coincides with the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands 40 years ago, have already begun in South Africa. 

NFEPA Training Opportunity

ATTENTION WETLANDERS! NFEPA TRAINING OPPORTUNITY
With the development of the National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas (NFEPA) maps and manuals largely complete, focus is now shifting to training and supporting potential users of the products.

The NFEPA project is a three-year partnership project (June 2008–May 2011), led by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Its task was to build on the river component of the National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment (NSBA), and identify a national network of freshwater conservation areas and explore institutional mechanisms for their implementation. Through the project, freshwater biodiversity experts from around the country have developed maps outlining a national network of priority freshwater ecosystems and their supporting catchments. This was the first time that systematic conservation planning methods were applied to the full range of freshwater ecosystems on a national scale in South Africa. In addition to generating the maps, the project has also made progress with integrating NFEPA into the National Biodiversity Assessment 2011. The data generated through NFEPA comprises the freshwater component of the assessment. Fifteen free-flowing rivers representative of the various eco-regions used in the analysis were also identified.

The training workshops are aimed at government authorities and environmental consultants involved with, or contributing to, any planning or decision-making process that should take freshwater ecosystems into account. The workshop will cover the use of NFEPA in the main implementation mechanisms—such as the water resource classification system, bioregional planning, and regulatory mechanisms such as EIAs and water licensing. Key issues and questions regarding the use of NFEPA in practice will also be addressed.

Below are the dates and venues of the upcoming NFEPA training workshops:
• 16 November: Cape Town, SANBI, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden (Colophon room).
• 23 November: KwaZulu-Natal (Durban or Pietermaritzburg) (venue to be confirmed).
• 24 November: Pretoria, SANBI, Pretoria National Botanical Garden (Biodiversity auditorium).
Currently budget constraints are limiting the number of workshops that can be held, but plans are underway to expand these workshops to other regions sometime next year.
Each workshop will consist of a one day session which will start at approximately 09:30 and will finish no later than 15:30. Workshop attendance is free of charge. Travel and accommodation arrangements and costs are however not included and are at the cost of each participant.

If you have used NFEPA or have specific questions that you want to have addressed during these sessions, please e-mail these questions to either Jeanne Nel (Jnel@csir.co.za) or Liesl Hill (Lhill@csir.co.za) before 17 October.
If you are interested in attending, please reply to Liesl Hill (Lhill@csir.co.za) as soon as possible and indicate which workshop you would like to attend. Further details regarding the workshops as well as a programme will be distributed before the end of October.
Hope to see you there!

Easy Identification of Some South African Wetland Plants

EASY IDENTIFICATION OF SOME SOUTH AFRICAN WETLAND PLANTS
A field guide bearing this title was published by the Water Research Commission (WRC report TT 479/10) earlier this year. Authored by C.E. van Ginkel, R.P. Glen, K.D. Gordon-Gray, C.J. Cilliers, M. Muasya and P.P. van Deventer, it provides a very useful and practical tool to assist in the identification of wetland plants. 
 

Easy Identification of Some South African Wetland Plants

EASY IDENTIFICATION OF SOME SOUTH AFRICAN WETLAND PLANTS
A field guide bearing this title was published by the Water Research Commission (WRC report TT 479/10) earlier this year. Authored by C.E. van Ginkel, R.P. Glen, K.D. Gordon-Gray, C.J. Cilliers, M. Muasya and P.P. van Deventer, it provides a very useful and practical tool to assist in the identification of wetland plants. 
 

FINAL NATIONAL WETLANDS INDABA UPDATE

FINAL NATIONAL WETLANDS INDABA UPDATE
We are now only a week away from the much awaited National Wetlands Indaba event. All plans for this year's event, which will be taking place at the Didima Resort and Conference Centre in KwaZulu-Natal from 18 to 21 October, have been concluded. For the first time in the Indaba's history, the number of people wanting to attend this year's event has exceeded the venue's capacity, forcing the organisers to reluctantly turn people away. The theme for this year's event is Wetlands: Back to the Future 2020.
The programme for the National Wetlands Indaba is now available here: http://www.wetlands.za.net/indaba/programme.htm
Hope to see you there!