E-flows science in the Crocodile River as part of the Incomati Transboundary Basin, southern Africa. Mozambique

Project Overview

Perennial, highly seasonal river site with social and ecological value, located within the Kruger National Park in South Africa, upstream of Mozambique.

Conserve Process YES

Enhance Process YES

Apply Complementary NO

Ecosystem Services

Provisioning

Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources.

Regulating

Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.

Habitat / Supporting

Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services". These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.

Cultural

Cultural Services corresponds nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.

Major Issues

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No issues provided.

EH Engineering Solutions

We have implemented a range of biomonitoring

We have implemented a range of biomonitoring tools using aquatic and riparian vegetation as ecological indicators and in an adaptive management approach use these tools as indicators to monitor the wellbeing of the instream and riparian ecosystems.

We have upstream dams, weirs that provide

We have upstream dams, weirs that provide flows to the reach being considered and we have specialist biotechnologies at the site including an ongoing FISHTRAC programme where we are using fish behaviour tracked and evaluated remotely and in real-time to monitor the ecosystem’s response to flow variability. We also have a 2D hydrodynamic model of the reach (Mike 2D model) including a sediment dynamism module to model and monitor the ecological infrastructure of the reach. Stakeholders have attempted to build fish pass structures and ensure they are operational to facilitate fish migration in the river but these structures are not operating adequately. The weir on the Crocodile River has been modified to include a radial gate to manage sediment movement in the river which is controlled to support e-flows.

We have established e-flow requirements (including the

We have established e-flow requirements (including the volume, timing, duration and frequency of flows) for the Crocodile River and complementary water quality and habitat targets or RQOs for the sustainable management of water resources in the river. We have also established tools to monitor flows in the basin.

We have also implemented a range of

We have also implemented a range of biomonitoring tools using macroinvertebrates and fish as ecological indicators and in an adaptive management approach use these tools as indicators to monitor the wellbeing of the instream ecosystem. This includes supporting tools of lines of evidence (LoEs) to give us a confident understanding of the ecological value of the flows in the river (and non-flow) drivers. This tool is the FISHTRAC LoE which incorporates the use of tagged and tracked fish.

Project Activities

Expected Outcomes

Increased base flows, improved quality of the resource and local and international community wellbeing. Establishment of and buy in of sustainable water resource management policies for the Crocodile River and Incomati Basin.

Latest Results

No results provided yet.

Ecohydrology Principles and Solutions

Hydrological Quantification

Quantification of the hydrological processes at catchment scale and mapping the impacts | Ecological engineering (integration, dual regulation and biotechnologies in catchment scale for enhancement of ecological potential)

Ecological Identification

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Ecological Engineering & Nature-based Solutions

We have implemented a range of biomonitoring tools using aquatic and riparian vegetation as ecological indicators and in an adaptive management approach use these tools as indicators to monitor the wellbeing of the instream and riparian ecosystems. | We have upstream dams, weirs that provide flows to the reach being considered and we have specialist biotechnologies at the site including an ongoing FISHTRAC programme where we are using fish behaviour tracked and evaluated remotely and in real-time to monitor the ecosystem’s response to flow variability. We also have a 2D hydrodynamic model of the reach (Mike 2D model) including a sediment dynamism module to model and monitor the ecological infrastructure of the reach. Stakeholders have attempted to build fish pass structures and ensure they are operational to facilitate fish migration in the river but these structures are not operating adequately. The weir on the Crocodile River has been modified to include a radial gate to manage sediment movement in the river which is controlled to support e-flows. | We have established e-flow requirements (including the volume, timing, duration and frequency of flows) for the Crocodile River and complementary water quality and habitat targets or RQOs for the sustainable management of water resources in the river. We have also established tools to monitor flows in the basin. | We have also implemented a range of biomonitoring tools using macroinvertebrates and fish as ecological indicators and in an adaptive management approach use these tools as indicators to monitor the wellbeing of the instream ecosystem. This includes supporting tools of lines of evidence (LoEs) to give us a confident understanding of the ecological value of the flows in the river (and non-flow) drivers. This tool is the FISHTRAC LoE which incorporates the use of tagged and tracked fish.

Objectives

EH Objectives

Water 4/5

Biodiversity 4/5

Services 4/5

Resilience 4/5

Cultural Heritage 0/5

Project Objectives

Culture, Vulnerable human communities live along the river as it forms the southern bank of the Kruger National Park. Historically local communities have undertaken various cultural activities in the river which has reduced due to access restrictions imposed by the Kruger following increases in Rhino poaching issues. Below the site where the river flows out of the Kruger various cultural activities including recreational activities, religious activities and aesthetic benefits are recognised. Education, The demo site is of interest to local universities, the Kruger National Park and stakeholders of the local river catchment forums for education purposes. Because of the facilities associated with the site including the weir and radial gate and fish pass the site is often used as a demonstration site. Law, The site is a formal e-flows monitoring point for the Incomati Basin in South Africa and the Trans-boundary e-flow framework for the Incomati Basin. Resource Quality Objectives or sustainability targets are associated with this site as well as multiple use regulation monitoring. Policy, The site has been used to contribute to policy development including catchment management strategy and formal resource directed measure (RDM) outcomes of the National Water Act. This includes the gazetting of e-flows and associated resource quality objectives to direct the management of the water resources in the basin. Governance, The site is used by local and national regulators to monitor flows, e-flows and the socio-ecological consequences of multiple stressors. From this site we demonstrate various local, regional and international sustainable water resource governance approaches, methods and their implementation.

Key Stakeholders

University of Mpumalanga, Charles Sturt University, Stellenbosch University, North West University Department of Water and Sanitation (South Africa) and the Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency. Department of Environmental Affairs and the Kruger National Park. Crocodile River Forum and the International Water Management Institute

Methodology

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