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All three major rivers in the drought-hit Kruger Park dried up during Water Week last month, sparking a row between environmentalists, farmers and the department of water affairs.

Kruger spokesperson Raymond Travers confirmed last month that the Crocodile, Letaba and Olifants rivers stopped flowing “for short periods”. They were now flowing again, but slowly.



Environmentalists are questioning whether water is being properly managed and whether the Water Affairs Department is complying with its own Water Act.

The legislation makes provision for a reserve which gives precedence to water for basic human use and the environment, ensuring that rivers continue to flow. It is the only right to water in the Act.

Travers said that after the rivers stopped flowing, Kruger’s water management officials immediately contacted the water authorities, who restored flow to the rivers. River flow is controlled by gates which regulate how much water is let through, with the quantity decided by water use associations and other stakeholders, including the department.

However, some Kruger officials query whether the park’s rivers are getting their fair share and whether farmers downstream are not being unduly favoured.

“Why, after more than 10 years of the new Water Act, do water affairs officials not ensure that the only right to water, river flow, is met before all other users?” one official asked. “By law, users can only use what is ‘left over’ after the river gets its share.”

"It is now the end of summer and these rivers are supposed to be flowing well," said Head of the Park's Conservation Services Department, Dr Freek Venter.

Instead, the rivers are flowing at the rates at which they normally flow after winter, in September or October.

Dr Venter urged consumers who draw water from the rivers upstream, such as farmers, sugar companies and municipalities, to use water more sparingly.

"Water usage outside the boundaries of Kruger has a significant effect on what happens when the rivers eventually reach Kruger."

He said an example of good co-operation among all water users in a river system was found downstream of the Nyaka Dam.

A certain amount of the water available in this system was allocated to the Sabie and Sand rivers, which eventually flowed into the Kruger National Park.

"The Nyaka Dam is a classic win-win situation and we would hope that similar agreements can be made with other water users in the various catchment areas of the other rivers that flow into the park," Dr Venter said.

But Jurg Venter, head of the Letaba Water User Association, dismissed the claim, saying the drought was depriving everyone in the area of water. “Farmers are not the only users and they’re already heavily rationed,” he said. “Like other users, the Kruger Park simply has to do with less water. It’s great that the government wants to provide water to more users, but you also have to examine how many users a water resource can support, especially in dry periods.”

Department of Water Affairs and Forestry spokesperson Hilgard Matthews said the Water Act was not being enforced, adding that it was incorrect to say Kruger’s rivers had dried up. The park had experienced problems as water was flowing along alternative routes and had not reached the pumping sumps.

The past two months had seen an extremely dry weather spell with very high temperatures, causing major vapour transpiration and evaporation from all water surfaces.

“This is a natural phenomenon we can do nothing about,” he said. “These are stressed catchments where special efforts and challenges are encountered in distributing water fairly.”

Three years ago the department and South African National Parks almost landed in court when the Olifants River stopped flowing and water management officials were blamed for taking incorrect decisions. Kruger is understood to have received a slap on the wrist for taking on a fellow government department.

Kevin Rogers, director of the Centre for Water in the Environment at Wits University, warned that perennial rivers contained many animal and plant species that required flowing water all year round. “Stop the water from flowing and they die. Simple as that.”

He said that as river pools evaporated, fish become concentrated and easy prey for crocodiles, fish eagles, kingfishers and cormorants.

“Even more dramatic is the effect of hippos who feed on land at night and defecate in the pools by day,” he said. “The faeces build up and their decomposition uses up the oxygen in the water, killing aquatic species.”

Meanwhile, Kruger announced this week that it would soon implement water restrictions in its camps.

The previous time when water restrictions of this nature had to be implemented was three years ago. However some camps, relying on bore hole water, are out of danger.

Travers says "Our major problem with the situation now is that the water rainfall coming down are less than it use to be the water utilisation has stayed the same."

Visitors favour winter months to flock to the reserve and that is when rainfall decreases. Possible water restriction will not have an effect on visitor's normal water usage during busy times. One step to save water is for management to provide visitors with an option to have their used towels replaced once a week and not daily.

Travers told reporters said: "We will first target things like gardens, lawns and stop spraying with water. We will see the lawns and gardens becoming smaller and drier. The water board will decide within the next two weeks if water restrictions will be implemented."

Labels: conservation, hippos, hydrology, olifants

LONDON- In the shadow of towering cliffs streaked with yellow and red, Nile crocodiles bask beside the swirling waters of Olifants gorge.

This corner of Kruger National Park, one of South Africa's premier attractions, serves as an ideal breeding ground for hundreds of crocodiles. They dig nests in sandy river banks along the eight-mile gorge, laying about 50 eggs each.

But much of this vista- and countless nests- will soon disappear under water. Thirty miles upstream in neighbouring Mozambique, work has begun on raising the Massingir dam, a project that will increase the gorge's water level by about 30ft.

At a stroke, the crocodiles will lose a major breeding ground and the natural beauty of one of Africa's most famous national parks, which attracts a million visitors every year, will be diminished.

Nile crocodiles are not facing extinction. They are found in rivers, lakes, swamps, and freshwater marshes across most of sub-Saharan Africa, the Kruger being the southern extent of their range. They appear on the world conservation union's "red list" of endangered species and trade in their hides is banned.

If Kruger, one of Africa's best protected national parks, cannot safeguard them, conservationists say their future is bleak. "Crocodiles are persecuted all over Africa," said Lawrence Anthony, the founder of the Earth Organisation ecological group. "This is one of the world's most famous protected areas. We can't afford to lose a major breeding ground. "

The Mozambican authorities did not consult Kruger about raising the dam. The park has not been officially informed when work will be finished - even though one of its safari lodges is also expected to be flooded.

Constantly growing numbers of poverty-stricken people surround every national park in Africa. Even if poaching is reduced to minimal levels, as Kruger has managed to accomplish, the wildlife can still be threatened by developments outside. When complete, the Massingir dam will provide water to tens of thousands of subsistence farmers. If the interests of human beings clash with those of Nile crocodiles and an area of outstanding beauty, the Mozambican authorities have no doubt about whose should take precedence.

The dam could be raised by a smaller amount to allow some crocodile breeding areas to survive. But nobody discussed a possible compromise with Kruger. The park authorities say there has been no cross-border co-operation and as far as they know, Mozambique did not even conduct an impact assessment.

"We understand that people over the border need water and they need help," said Raymond Travers, a spokesman for Kruger Park. "We have had very good co-operation with the Mozambican side in the past but it was not forthcoming this time."

Labels: central kruger, conservation, crocodiles, massingir, olifants

Different arms of the government are at one another’s throats over a proposed 21-storey dam on a major river that passes through the Kruger National Park and feeds Mozambique.

South African National Parks (SANParks) has threatened legal action against its principal sponsor, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.

Water Affairs plans to start building the R4billion De Hoop dam on a tributary of the Olifants river in the middle of this year, mainly to feed mining interests.

But SANParks and critical NGOs protest that the project violates national and international laws and pits ministries against each other.

“It will boil down to which department has the most political clout,” said Nick King, executive director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), which rejects the project. “Water Affairs’ mandate is the delivery of water; Environmental Affairs must conserve the resource base and SANParks protects biodiversity.”

In last year’s State of the Nation speech, President Thabo Mbeki announced the proposed De Hoop dam is “to provide water for platinum mining and agriculture”. Half a dozen platinum mines are planned for surrounding Sekhukhuneland, which straddles the border between Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

But the Steelpoort river, where the dam will be built, is a major tributary feeding the Olifants. For the first time on record, the Olifants stopped flowing last year for 78 days because of drought and growing demands on its water.

Late last year, Environmental Affairs approved Water Affairs’ application for construction of the dam in a controversial record of decision, against which SANParks and at least four NGOs have appealed.

Water Affairs said one reason it wants to build the dam is to supply three local municipalities with domestic water. But, asked the EWT in its appeal, “How will domestic supply be guaranteed? No evidence is provided that local communities will receive water, let alone be able to pay for it.”

In its appeal, SANParks said the dam would negatively affect tourism, wildlife and concession areas in the Kruger. “If our rivers dry up, the value of the tourism experience in Kruger will be diminished and tourism support for the area will cease.”

If the project went ahead without clear assurances that Kruger would continue to receive its share of downstream water— known as an “ecological reserve”— “SANParks will have no alternative but to approach an appropriate court for appropriate relief”.

SANParks added that the dam proposal “seriously compromises the relationship between South Africa and Mozambique”, which is upgrading the Massingir dam on its end of the Olifants river. Massingir has also come in for criticism, because it will flood parts of the Kruger and endanger an important breeding habitat of the Nile crocodile.

Vera Ribeiro, coordinator of the Mozambican environmental NGO Geasphere, said the Mozambique government had been notified about the De Hoop development. “But we are concerned there hasn’t been enough information adequately disseminated or disclosed on the project and about the potential impact on communities. The available information is mostly in English and almost impossible for Mozambicans to assess and make informed decisions on.

“The two governments must adhere to the Southern African Development Community’s protocol on shared watercourses, with close cooperation to ensure the sustainable use of shared water bodies.”

Ribeiro expressed concern not only about the quantity of downstream water on the Mozambican side, but that chemical pollutants and heavy metals from mining would affect water quality.

Ironically, the EWT added, environmental affair’s own research had identified the Sekhukhuneland region as one of nine national conservation priority areas because of its high biodiversity and ecosystems service value. At least 20 species of plant found nowhere else on Earth will be flooded by the 1,700ha dam, along with at least 20 animal and reptile species already threatened with extinction.

Opponents of the dam were furious when environmental affairs released its record of decision in late November, giving them 30 days over the holiday period to appeal. SANParks said it was given no official communication of the decision, but “only received notification early in December 2005 through other means”.

JP Louw, head of communications at environmental affairs, said there was nothing malicious or intentional about the timing. “The fact that both the Wild Coast [N2 tollroad] and De Hoop decisions were issued towards the end of the calendar year is purely coincidental, and there is certainly no deliberate intent by the department to issue decisions on big or controversial applications during this period.”

After the furore over the Wild Coast decision in December 2004, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk extended the appeal period for 30 days. But no such concession was made for the De Hoop dam this week.

“The law does not provide for an extension of the appeal period. Appellants will, however, be provided a second opportunity to make inputs when the minister avails the applicant’s responses to the grounds of appeals to appellants,” said ministerial representative Riaan Aucamp.

Read about the Kruger Park's river systems here.

Labels: conservation, dams, de hoop, massingir, olifants, SANParks, van schalkwyk

HOEDSPRUIT- Hundreds of fish have died in the Olifants River about 15km from Olifants camp in the Kruger National Park (KNP) as the river dries up.

Dr Thomas Gyedu-Ababio, the KNP's aquatic biodiversity conservation manager, said the fish are believed to have died from oxygen starvation.

Gyedu-Ababio found at least 500 dead fish on the banks of a pool in what remains of the Olifants River when he visited the site recently. The 500 fish were what remained after birds had feasted on the dead fish, Gyedu-Ababio said. They were mostly catfish, yellowfish and tilapia.

Once the Olifants River was one of the largest continuously flowing rivers in South Africa, but at this time of year it is reduced to a series of pools in the KNP, kept alive by water released from the Phalaborwa barrage.

Balule camp had no water on Monday because the Olifants' flow is so diminished.

Hippos are forced to congregate in the remaining pools of water. In the pool where the fish died, Gyedu-Ababio found almost 100 hippos in less than 500m.

In a reversal of their normal behaviour, Gyedu-Ababio said, "the hippos ran out of the water when they saw people", as there was not enough water in the pool to cover them.

The hippos have been living and defecating in the pools, producing an excessive quantity of dung that is now decomposing. The decomposition removes oxygen from the water, causing the fish to suffocate. Fish jumping out of the water in other pools is also a sign of oxygen shortage.

The Phalaborwa barrage is required to release water for the ecological needs of the Olifants River, but also has to provide water for human use. Gyedu-Ababio said the flow out of the barrage for several days prior to the fish deaths was so low that the gauging weir in the park could not accurately measure it.

The barrage has very limited water storage, as almost 90% of the dam is occupied by silt. It is estimated that there is only enough water in the barrage when it is full for two to three days' water supply. In the dry season, the barrage relies on water releases from the Blyde Dam to boost the flow of the Olifants River.

Measurements of water flow at the gauging weir in the KNP show that the flow into the park is what it would be during drought conditions. The park has requested a higher flow from the barrage, as the Olifants River is not reaching Balule camp.

The silt in the barrage is to be the subject of an environmental study that went out to tender in February. The tender has yet to be awarded, the Lepelle Northern Water authority said.

The release of large volumes of silt-laden water from the barrage has previously caused fish deaths in the Olifants.

The silt is largely derived from soil erosion caused by poor agricultural practices further upstream in the Olifants River, in Sekhukhuneland.

Labels: conservation, dams, fish, olifants

HOEDSPRUIT (Kruger Times)- This year looks to be a good year for the growth of Greater Kruger– fences are being dropped east and west of the Kruger National Park.

Weighty negotiations between nations have resulted in the concept of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park, and this year a section of the fence between Kruger and the adjoining million hectare Mozambican Limpopo National Park will be dropped.

With no less political manoeuvring and probably more years of negotiations, another section of fence is being dropped to allow 35,000ha of land to be incorporated into the other side of the Greater Kruger National Park.



Balule Private Nature Reserve and the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) of Klaserie, Timbavati and Umbabat have come to an agreement this April after the members of Klaserie Private Nature Reserve voted to remove the Balule fence earlier in the year.

Teams of workers from Balule and Klaserie have set to work with gusto, removing over seven kilometres of fence in just three days. About 24km of fence stood between the APNR and Balule, and with the removal of this a section of the tar road between Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa will effectively become one of the western edges of the Kruger National Park.

This will not affect visitors to Kruger, but animals can now make their way unhindered over a greater area of land. Klaserie warden Colin Rowles said, “This is of major ecological benefit to both sides” adding that the removal of the fence can relieve environmental stresses by allowing animals to travel to better grazing areas.

This season’s patchy rainfall has produced corresponding patchy veld conditions, and the removal of the fence will allow for greater animal movements. Rowles said that it would be interesting to monitor the animal movements. “We hope to pick up changes with our annual census in September.” He mentioned wildebeest as one species that they were particularly interested in monitoring.



Balule Nature Reserve is made up of several individually-managed but unfenced reserves on both sides of the Olifants River, but has a general constitution governing the whole reserve.

The sub-units include the Greater Olifants River Conservancy, Olifants West Game Reserve, York Game Reserve, Parsons Game Reserve, Olifants North Game Reserve and Grietjie Game Reserve.

The APNR dropped its fences with Kruger in 1994, adding about 140,000ha of ground for animals to traverse over. Prior to this, the Timbavati and Umbabat had dropped fences in 1988, and the Timbavati and Klaserie dropped their internal fence in 1992.

by Lynette Strauss, Kruger Times

Labels: balule, central kruger, great limpopo park, greater limpopo park, klaserie, olifants, timbavati, umbabat

HOEDSPRUIT (Kruger Times)- The small village of Massingir, about 330km north east of Maputo, is slowly shedding her rural leathers and garbing herself in urban feathers. The driving force behind the new electricity supply, more buildings, upgrade of the local clinic, school, even the waste disposal system and road network can be traced to the rehabilitation of the Massingir Dam. This is not perceived as good news all round.

The project has been met with diverse responses ranging from resistance to gratification, on both sides of the border.

In Mozambique, the government obtained an US$80million loan from the African Development Bank and assigned ARA-Sul (Administraco Regional de Aguas do Sul) as Executing Agent, under the chairmanship of the National Directorate of Water (DNA), to co-ordinate the rehabilitation of the dam and Xai-Xai smallholder agricultural project downstream.

DNA appointed the Project Implementation Unit (PIMU) to manage the various rehabilitation activities of the project. PIMU comprises two Component Implementation Units (CIUs) for the dam and the irrigation activities.

The Olifants River Forum, comprising stakeholders such as the Lepelle Water Board, the Kruger National Park, Palabora Mining Company, Sasol, Foskor, Eskom and other corporations with a stake in the river maintain serious concerns about the ecological impacts the dam will have on the river and its unique habitats, because of the scale of construction that is being undertaken.

The rehabilitation could lead to the destruction of sections of an 8km gorge that has no parallels elsewhere in South Africa. Though the South African and Mozambican governments seem well aware of these effects on the Olifants River gorge in the Kruger National Park, no interventions are apparently planned to prevent the destruction of this pristine and one-of-a-kind wilderness area.

The matter has been raised by conservation organisations like the Olifants River Forum, as well as at a workshop that was initiated by the Kruger National Park and held in Letaba last year, but there seems to have been a lack of coordination at the various sectoral levels that should have ensured consultation and consequent implementation of measures that would have prevented an ecological disaster to a national asset– Kruger National Park.

The upper sections of the Massingir dam, the second largest in Mozambique, is about 4km downstream from the eastern border of the Kruger National Park (KNP). It was built in the early 70s, in terms of an agreement between South Africa and Portugal, prior to South Africa’s current environmental and water laws, to ensure irrigation to the Lower Limpopo Valley in Mozambique and to possibly supply hydro-electrical power.

The Mozambican civil war hampered the final completion of the dam, notably the installation of the sluice gates. These are now being repaired and will be installed as part of the rehabilitation process. Rehabilitation also entails restoring the dam wall to enable the dam to carry its full reservoir of 2 800 million cubic metres.

Environmental Impact Assessment

The process around the initial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Rehabilitation of the dam is confusing. It appears Kjell Essel of Norplan did an EIA for the Mozambican ministry of Industry and Energy and African Development Bank in 1993. Though the Kruger National Park is a primary interested and affected party, it was never consulted and neither has a copy of the EIA ever been made available to the Park for comments.

The Department of Water Affairs (DWAF) told the Kruger Park Times it could not trace the EIA either. Themba Khumalo, spokesperson, said a professional service provider has been appointed to do a further EIA at this time. “They would also make the terms of reference available to South Africa but it is still awaited,” says Khumalo.

The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism told the Kruger Park Times that it “shares a view that the rehabilitation of the Massingir Dam has a potential to cause ecological impacts on the Olifants River gorge in Kruger. This matter has been raised at the Joint Management Board and Ministerial meetings of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park initiative. In these meetings, Mozambique undertook to conduct an environmental impact assessment. Further consultations are underway regarding this matter to ensure that impacts on the KNP are mitigated.”

Mitigation measures

According to Dr Freek Venter, Head of Conservation Services in the KNP, there is no mitigation work that could be done to save the Olifants River gorge.

“The dam will cause massive sedimentation in the gorge and even possibly as high as the Olifants Wilderness Trails camp, but there is no information available because no proper study has been undertaken. The sedimentation will destroy the deep pool-rapid ecosystem in the lower Olifants and Letaba rivers.”

”Once lost this national treasure cannot be regained. It will be lost for ever,” says Venter.

It is unclear how DWAF hopes to mitigate the impacts as the rehabilitation is currently ongoing without specified intervention to ensure the gorge will not be destroyed.

On the Mozambican side, PIMU contracted specialists to identify, propose and implement mitigating measurements. These include fauna and flora, ecosystems, land issues, maintenance of watercourses and environmental mitigating measures during construction.

Marcus Wishart from Australia, has been doing different Environmental Impact studies on the dam and river on behalf of IMPACTO, a private company in Mozambique.

Douw Swanepoel, a crocodile expert, has been contracted by PIMU for baseline monitoring of wildlife in the Massingir area.

The wildlife assessment project comprises three basic phases – a census during the first year, correlation and verification during the second year and to monitor the impact of the dam when it is full during the last phase.

The rehabilitation will be finalised in October 2006 when the dam will be filled.

Floods and filling the dam

In their newsletter a year ago the Olifants River Forum stated its concern that when the Massingir dam is full, and it rises an additional 10m, the dammed water will push back into the gorge section of the KNP. During floods the water will push even further up the gorge, depositing silt. The inflow area of dams is where sediment is dropped when water flow reduces speed.

Two major floods of the Olifants River in 1996 and 2000 filled up deep pools in the lower third of the gorge with sand. What was previously a single, narrow channel with a large, slow flowing water body and deep pools, inhabited by large populations of fish and hippopotami, has been changed into a shallow, sandy stream.

The Massingir dam has already slowed water in the Olifants River in Kruger down, especially during floods, increasing the siltation of the gorge.

This has resulted in increased siltation within the lower third of the gorge. Almost all the deep pools in the lower part of the gorge were filled with sand, so much so that they have disappeared completely. It is now feared that the rest of the gorge and further upstream in the Olifants and Letaba rivers will be destroyed.

When the dam overflows, it is likely to back up the water even more, as the water rises above the crest of the dam wall. This will deposit sediment even further upstream than occurs when the dam is only partially full.

A build-up of siltation has already occurred in the upper reaches of the Massingir Dam itself where sediment has been deposited in a fan-like delta as a result of the flow rates decreasing due to the dammed up water. It can be expected that this process will continue.

According to the Olifants River Forum one mitigation option that was proposed is to operate the dam at a lower level than normal for several years to allow smaller floods to remove the sediment from the gorge. Unfortunately, due to the restricted release from outlet valves in most older dams, it is not possible to manage dams so that they have lower levels during extreme flood events.

Crocodile population

The gorge section of the Olifants River differs completely from the rest of the 100km of river and all other gorges in South Africa. It has a deep, single thread, pool-rapid structure and is well known for its deep clear pools and prolific crocodile populations.

According to Swanepoel the initial indication show the major impacts will be on the fish, crocodile and hippopotamus populations in the river, and specifically, the gorge.

The fish population in the river has already been severely depleted with the number of dams (2500) in the river.

Crocodiles are prehistoric animals and “are some of the most adaptive species on earth,” says Swanepoel. He believes, as the dam fills the upper 1,5km of the gorge, the crocodiles will do one of three things.

“They will either stay in the remaining 3.5km of the gorge, or move upstream or into the Massingir Dam.”

He does not think it is likely the animals will move upstream due to the general condition of the river and believes it probable that they will move on towards the dam.

These studies are ongoing.

by Lynette Strauss, Kruger Times

Labels: conservation, crocodiles, massingir, olifants

HOEDSPRUIT (Kruger Times)- In June the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) announced further details of the second phase of the Olifants River Water Resources Development Project, which involves the raising of the dam wall on the Flag Boshielo Dam by five metres and the construction of the new De Hoop dam on the Steelport River, a tributary of the Olifants River.

Environmental impact assessments are being carried out for the project as announced at the beginning of June, and the Kruger National Park’s rivers department and the Olifants River Forum has met with other interested and affected parties to voice their concerns.

According to the KNP’s River Manager Dr Thomas Gyedu-Ababio, the park has submitted several concerns to the environmental impact agency, in the hopes that they can be mitigated during construction. Most of the concerns related to the changes in water quality that can be expected after the dam is constructed.

Gyedu-Ababio said that irregular releases of water from the dam could adversely affect the living creatures in the Olifants River system. Animals in the river have a physiology adapted to a certain flow rate, and surges and dips in the water volume can interfere with their lifecycles.

He also said sedimentation of the dam, and the subsequent release of silt when sluice gates are opened can harm the fish in the river. Fish in the Olifants River in the park already face problems when the sluices at the Phalaborwa barrage are opened and silt rushes out. The silt can not only cause immediate fish deaths, but it also alters the river bed and habitats may be lost for both fish and invertebrates. The bigger the dam, the larger the impact that can be expected downstream.

Dr Gyedu-Ababio also said that if the dam is planned without suitable fish ladders, those fish species that migrate upstream during their lifecycles will be compromised.

Other concerns related to the fact that dams can act as a reservoir for nutrients and heavy minerals, as well as alien species. When the dam sluices are opened, these are released and will flow downstream towards the Kruger Park, where they will have knock-on effects. Recreational activities on the dam can also introduce pollutants into the water.

Dr Gyedu-Ababio said that it was important that communities that live on the banks of the dam are educated about the importance of water, and how their activities can impact those downstream.

On the positive side, he added that if the dam is constructed and the reserve of the Olifants River is properly determined and then implemented, this could benefit all downstream, as they could be sure of a constant minimum supply of water.

The initial proposal for the De Hoop dam showed that the dam should yield about 90 million cubic metres of water a year, and cost about R1,000 million. The dam wall would be about 70m high, and the water is estimated to cover about 1600ha of land.

One of the tasks of the environmental assessment is to ensure that the size of the dam allows it to meet the downstream requirements of the water reserve, and not just the proposed water extraction targets.

The Olifants River Water Resources Development Project is not restricted to the construction of the De Hoop dam and the raising of the Flag Boshielo dam wall. It also includes extensive bulk water distribution (300km of pipelines), five reservoirs and pumping stations. Water will be used not only to expand the largely platinum mining activities in the area, but also to provide drinking water to many of the poor local communities.

Some water is also expected to be piped to the Olifants/Sand Transfer scheme that provides water for Polokwane, and a branch pipeline is planned for Jane Furse and the Nebo Plateau.

DWAF expect construction of some of the infrastructure to begin next year, and say that the De Hoop dam could provide full yields by 2011, subject to environmental approval. The project is expected to create extensive employment opportunities, directly through the dam building process, and also through the expansion of the mining industry.

A preliminary study was carried out last year that also looked at placing a dam directly on the Olifants River at Rooiport near Mafefe village, but the De Hoop site on the Steelport tributary was deemed to be the better option, both economically and in terms of water storage. There are already seven large dams in the Olifants River upstream of the Rooiport site, whereas this would be the first large dam on the Steelport River.

by Melissa Wray, Kruger Times

Labels: conservation, dams, de hoop, olifants

HOEDSPRUIT (Kruger Times)- In the early morning hours of 3 October six problem hippos were captured on the farm Rivermouth in the district of Hoedspruit.

Members of Helicapture Game Captures spent three weeks on this citrus farm in an effort to capture two bulls, three cows and one heifer hippopotamus.

The hippos came from the nearby Olifants River, but had adopted a new home in the form of an irrigation dam surrounded by citrus orchards. To prevent the animals from being shot as problem animals the landowner obtained capture permits from Limpopo Nature Conservation.

Helicapture in turn obtained export permits from Limpopo Nature Conservation and import permits from the applicable conservation authorities where the hippo will be released. Some of the animals will be released at Madikwe in the Pilanesberg area, while others will journey further to Namibia.

Helicapture caught the hippos using a method that they developed in 1989. A boma was built on the banks of the dam with the one opening equipped with a trap-door facing the dam. Another opening is left on the far side of the boma where the trailer ultimately used for transporting the animals is placed.

From either side of the boma the entire dam is fenced in by means of two electrified wires approximately 600mm above ground or water level. Lucerne is placed in the boma and closed circuit TV cameras are installed above the opening to the boma.

Dirk and Koos Dippenaar from Helicapture observe the hippos’ movements from a monitor and once they are in the boma the trap-door is closed. The hippos are left in the boma to graze until daybreak and then moved into the trailer for transportation to their new home.

This same method was used by Helicapture to capture 86 hippos in Botswana during the drought in 1997.

by Gavin Olivier, Kruger Times

Labels: game relocation, hippos, olifants

South Africa's National Research Foundation has launched a major study of long-term environmental changes, including climate patterns, and how they affect natural resources and the communities that rely on them.

The main task of the South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) will be to produce reliable and accessible information on the environment. Its results will be used to draw up guidelines for sustainable development. One of its focuses will be addressing environmental degradation seen on community land but absent in protected areas.

The researchers will also study the Olifants River, which has been heavily affected by local industries and settlements— with downstream effects in the Kruger National Park and Mozambique.

The Department of Science and Technology will fund SAEON with an annual budget of five million rand (US$780,000). As well as undertaking research, SAEON will train postgraduate researchers and conduct environmental science education in schools.

Saeon's first area of study, known as the Ndlovu Node, will be situated near the Kruger National Park's (KNP) Ba-Phalaborwa gate and will concentrate on studying the Savannah Biome ecosystems of Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

David Mabunda, chief executive officer of South African National Parks, welcomed the initiative, saying scientific research in national parks and their surrounds is vital to conservation in SA.

"Conservation is a combination of scientific research and sustainable development, which are vital tools in preserving our natural heritage and our communities, who are economically dependent on natural resources," he said.

Mabunda pointed out the differences between conservation areas and community land that has suffered environmental degradation.

"Community land has suffered environmentally, impacting on the lives of rural people, while on the other side of the fence, you have a pristine natural environment," he said.

Saeon's environmental research will address these problems, said Mabunda, by determining a long-term strategy to repair existing natural resources and to limit further damage to them.

Speaking at the launch of Saeon in Ba-Phalaborwa this week, Saeon's head, Johan Pauw, said the primary task of Saeon was to produce reliable and accessible scientific information on the environment.

"Furthermore, it aims to promote social development through postgraduate research training and environmental science education programmes for schools," he said.

Pauw said that scientific information produced by Saeon would set guidelines for sustaining a natural environment and assist in reducing society's vulnerability to long-term

"Superimposed on climatic effects are intensifying human impacts on the functioning of natural ecosystems... to sustain this natural capital will require far-sighted and well-informed planning," he said.

The president of the NRF, Khotso Mokhele, said it was important that the scientific knowledge gathered by Saeon be filtered down to improve the lives of communities reliant on South Africa's natural resources.

"Sustainable development cannot be sustained if communities who depend on our natural resources are not involved in the research process," he said.

Mokhele said scientific research needed to plan for long-term solutions to the country's environmental degradation.

"Saeon's task is essentially to ensure that future generations have a healthy natural environment to exploit without creating further damage," he said.

Pauw pointed out that the Olifants River, which flows from Gauteng and through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean, will be an important focus area for Saeon.

"The river is heavily impacted on by local industries and settlements all along its course and this has down-stream effects in the KNP and Mozambique," he said.

The river supplies water to mining activities in Ba-Phalaborwa and is dammed outside the town before it flows into the KNP.

"This dam has a significant impact on the river's ecology, the effects of which are clearly seen when the river is compared above and below the dam site," Pauw said.

A national as well as a regional perspective on environmental change was needed, Pauw said, in order to determine an effective environmental policy.

"This is the justification for conducting long-term environmental research, not just environmental monitoring," he said.

Labels: conservation, monitoring, olifants, research

PHALABORWA- The Kruger National Park will host South Africa's first long-term environmental observation node.

The node, called the Ndlovu node in recognition of the nearby Olifants River, is one of several planned for South Africa as part of a 30-year initiative by the National Research Foundation.

The department of science and technology will fund the nodes, which aim to create a standardised database that future generations can use to track trends and changes in the environment and formulate environmental policies.

The Ndlovu node will be situated near the Phalaborwa gate and will consolidate existing data, as well as co-ordinate and input new data from satellite nodes that will be set in the Lowveld area.

The South African Environmental Observation Network will manage the nodes.

Network manager Johan Pauw said the Phalaborwa complex was chosen because of its central location in the Lowveld, future access to Mozambique and the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, and access to Phalaborwa's road, rail and air system.

"The infrastructure at Phalaborwa was not matched elsewhere in the area," he said.

He said schoolchildren will also be involved in research projects to encourage them to enter careers in science, while teachers can receive further environmental training through the node.

The node will be launched officially in September.

Read more about the Kruger's weather and climate.

Labels: monitoring, olifants