 |
|
|
|
At work in KurumanNovember -0001 In late August, a new Working for Wetlands project was launched in the middle of the dry Kalahari, just outside the town of Kuruman.
Kuruman has been dubbed the Oasis of the Kalahari, on account of its springs that provide abundant life-giving surface water in an otherwise arid landscape. The wetlands associated with these springs are unusual in the dry Northern Cape and are hence of conservation value, but have been severely compromised by inappropriate land uses. Besides the wetlands’ regional importance and biodiversity value, they also provide livelihoods benefits, including grazing and reeds.
The main challenges for rehabilitation at the sites targeted for intervention this year are a series of channels and furrows. One particularly large channel, about 2 m deep, was dug to divert water from the Kuruman river to a villager’s field. This channel poses a danger to people and livestock, and already one elderly woman drowned during a high flow period. Smaller channels are formed through over-trampling by cattle, and because of poor vegetation cover as a result of over-grazing. Road embankments crossing the wetland cause further erosion complications. Heavy littering is also a concern, as is the many species of invasive alien plants along the edge of the wetland, including syringa and eucalyptus.
Rehabilitation work intended to restore the wetland to health is being implemented by a team of 24 people, 14 of them women. Project Manager Emily Chabedi says that the teams are sourced from the nearby rural community and each team member will attend a series of training courses this year.
Team member Thombo Adam talks about the importance of the wetland. “People and livestock use this wetland for water and a healthy wetland means healthy people.” Adam was also glad to know that that she would be receiving certificates for the courses she attends, “I know that if the project is finished I would have no job but I know that I would be having something to fall back on and look for another job like in the mines that are around this place.”
Another team member, Question Tsagae, said he was overwhelmed to be working at the project. ”You see, my days are numbered here on earth and I didn’t think I would get a job anywhere but because of this project, I now have a job. As workers, I think everyone is satisfied with what is going on here as well as the payment,” he said. He added that the community had always relied on the wetland since he was a young boy herding cattle there, but now the area is deteriorating. He’s glad to be part of the team rehabilitating the wetland.
Initial concerns about health hazards due to the presence of asbestos in the area were laid to rest through studies by the Council for Geoscience that confirmed it would be safe for people to conduct rehabilitation work in the wetland. People temporarily employed by this project will undergo screening for asbestos contamination before they begin work and will also be screened on leaving the project.
Rehabilitation work for this year will include the building of a concrete structure and the blocking of furrows. This will help to force water to spread across the wetland, rewetting the wetland and restoring its functionality as well as drowning alien plants. Working for Wetlands Provincial Coordinator, Eric Munzhedzi added that the dolimitic eyes in the wetland will be protected from further trampling by fencing off the area and introducing a systematic grazing system.
For more information please contact :
Eric Munzhedzi / Working for Wetlands
munzhedzi@sanbi.org / 072-0622090
Also in the November -0001 GumbootRietvlei rehabilitation project aids in water purificationHard scientific data on how the Rietvlei wetland cleans the City of Tshwane’s water proves the value of the free ecosystem services provided by wetlands.
More »Vital Statistics September 2008The Tshwane rehabilitation project in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve is one of the oldest of Working for Wetlands’ projects, having been active since 2000. In 2007/8 the project spent over R1,8 million on rehabilitation interventions, mainly gabion and earth structures, to re-wet the wetland.
More » |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
| |
