Wetland use: A wetland management decision support system for the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands

Abstract

Presently, wetland use tends to be planned from the restricted perspectives of individual landowners with specific interests (e.g. livestock grazing). Little attention is given to the effects on wetland functional values (e.g. water quality improvement) which benefit society. Also, there are very few guidelines available for the management of wetlands in South Africa. Thus, a wetland management decision support system, termed WETLAND-USE was developed to assist agricultural and nature conservation extension workers in providing sound land-use advice for wetland areas. The study area chosen for developing the system is in KwaZulu/Natal and includes Bioclimatic Groups 3, 4, 6 and 8 (Phillips, 1973). Agro-ecological zones and hydrogeomorphological classes used by WETLAND-USE In order to make informed wetland management decisions it is important to zone wetlands into land capability units which are as homogeneous as possible. The hydrological regime is generally the most important factor accounting for zonation within wetlands.

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