Water Wheel Sept 2021: Water Source Areas

Abstract

New national park plan to protect mountain water factory “Grass is like a blanket that protects the land,” says Themba Nsibande. Not so much to keep it warm, he explains, but because these lush green blankets cover the bare soils and protect them from being ripped away by the massive erosive force of rainwater falling along the mountain borderline between Lesotho and the Eastern Cape province. Safeguarding a threatened highaltitude grassland is one of the primary reasons for the proposed establishment of South Africa’s newest national park in a collaboration between SANParks and the conservation group WWF South Africa. By ensuring better protection and restoration of grasslands, the new park will also help to safeguard the abundant supply of clean and clear mountain water that feeds local rivers and dams lower down in the catchment. Nsibande, the WWF project coordinator for the proposed 30 000 ha park, describes it as a “national park with a difference” .

Categories