In support of water-resource planning – highlighting key management issues using DRIFT: A case study

Brown, CA; Pemberton, Carlisle A.; Birkhead, A. L.; Bok, A.M.M. de; Boucher, C.; Dollar, Evan S.J.; Harding, W. R.; Kamish, W; King, Jackie; Paxton, Bruce R.; Ractliffe, S

doi:10.4314/wsa.v32i2.5258

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Ecological integrity for main rivers was mapped using three existing datasets: (i) present ecological status (Kleynhans, 2000; Nel et al. , 2007) based on an expert‐derived assessment of six criteria (flow, inundation, water quality, stream bed condition, introduced instream biota, riparian or stream bank condition); (ii) River Health Programme monitoring sites that use aquatic community and habitat indicators at a site level (River Health Programme, 2006); and (iii) aerial habitat integrity surveys at 5‐km stretches along four rivers selected for environmental flow assessment (Brown et al. , 2006).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing a conservation area network that supports the representation and persistence of freshwater biodiversity

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. The progression of approaches in systematic conservation planning from representation to representation and persistence has greatly enhanced its potential applicability to freshwaters. However, conceptual frameworks that consolidate principles for incorporating persistence into freshwater conservation planning are still lacking. 2. We present four key principles to consider when planning for the persistence of freshwater biodiversity: selecting ecosystems of high ecological integrity; incorporating connectivity; incorporating areas important to population persistence; and identifying additional natural processes that can be mapped. 3. The practicalities of gathering data and conducting the conservation plan to address these principles are explored here using a case study in the Olifants ⁄ Doorn Water Management Area, South Africa. Spatial layers are developed for depicting ecological integrity, sub-catchment boundaries, riparian zones and wetlands, high water-yield areas and patterns of groundwater discharge and recharge. 4. These data are used to develop a conservation area network that supports both representation and persistence of freshwater biodiversity. Although the planning region is relatively data rich by global standards, several data deficiencies were identified. We suggest ways of using environmental surrogates to address data deficiencies, improving confidence in these surrogates by combining them wherever possible with existing field data and expert knowledge. 5. We also recommend methods to achieve spatial efficiency by simultaneously designing for representation and persistence of freshwater biodiversity. Spatial efficiency can be achieved in different ways when using a conservation planning algorithm and a multipleuse zoning strategy. 6. The allocation of multiple-use zones aligns closely with the objectives of integrated water resources management and land use planning. Given the practicalities at local levels of planning, we recommend using multiple-use zones in the design phase, rather than merely at the end once the design is complete.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing a conservation area network that supports the representation and persistence of freshwater biodiversity

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The application of DRIFT to assess EWRs for perennial rivers is now well documented (Brown et al, 2006(Brown et al, , 2008King and Brown, 2010;King et al, 2014) and is not repeated. Rather, we focus here on its application to non-perennial rivers and the necessity to adjust the approach, largely due to the paucity of data on such systems but also because of their different nature.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

DRIFT-ARID: A method for assessing environmental water requirements (EWRs) for non-perennial rivers

Seaman

Watson

Avenant

et al. 2016

WSA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental water requirement (EWR) assessment methods, for ascertaining how much water should be retained in rivers to sustain ecological functioning and desired levels of biodiversity, have mostly been developed for perennial rivers. Despite non-perennial rivers comprising about 30-50% of the world's freshwater systems, data on their hydrology, biota and ecological functioning are sparse. Current EWR assessments require hydrological and other data that may not be available for such rivers and some adaptation in the methods used seems necessary. DRIFT is an EWR method for perennial (or near-perennial) rivers that has been developed in South Africa over the past two decades and is now widely applied nationally and internationally. When applied to the semi-permanent Mokolo River, challenges particular to, or accentuated by, non-perennial rivers included the reliable simulation of hydrological data, the extent of acceptable extrapolation of data, difficulties in predicting surface-water connectivity along the river, and the location and resilience of pools, as well as whether it was possible to identify a reference (natural) condition. DRIFT-ARID, reported on here, is an adaptation of the DRIFT approach to begin addressing these and other issues. It consists of 11 phases containing 29 activities.

show abstract

“…Prior to implementing such a strategy, the plans should be subjected to a full environmental impact assessment that also assesses the impacts that such weirs would have on a broader range of biotic and physical attributes. Monitoring the outcomes of conservation actions resulting from this assessment and planning should include indicators evaluating the health of rivers and groundwater systems through for example the River Health Programme (Roux, 2001), setting environmental flows (Arthington et al ., 2010) and implementation of comprehensive Ecological Reserve determination studies (Brown et al ., 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A spatial assessment of riverine ecosystems and water supply in a semi‐arid environment

Smith-Adao¹,

Nel²,

Maitre³

et al. 2011

River Research & Apps

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A spatial assessment was conducted in the semi-arid area of South Africa, to: (1) identify priority areas for the conservation of river and groundwater ecosystems; (2) examine surface and groundwater quality for human consumption and (3) investigate the rehabilitation of degraded areas to highlight 'win-win' situations for both environmental and human use. A systematic conservation plan was produced, highlighting river conservation areas (river types, fish species and connectivity areas), moderate-impact management areas (groundwater-surface water interaction and recharge areas) and river rehabilitation areas. The proposed river selections would achieve the biodiversity targets of 33 (66%) of the 50 river types; feasible rehabilitation would increase this to 92%. The greatest groundwater-surface water interaction and recharge (30 to > 50 mm À1 ) values are concentrated around the mountainous regions of the Little Karoo. This is because the main aquifers in the mountains, table mountain group (TMG) quartzites, yield naturally good quality water for human consumption. River reaches of unacceptable surface water quality were classified as degraded water resource delivery areas where the poor water quality was primarily due to saline return flows from irrigation and the impacts of other anthropogenic activities including abstraction of freshwater which otherwise would have diluted the return flows. Only the middle reaches of the Gouritz and Groot Rivers represent a possible win-win situation for both the environment and human use.

show abstract

In support of water-resource planning – highlighting key management issues using DRIFT: A case study

Cited by 6 publications

References 6 publications

Designing a conservation area network that supports the representation and persistence of freshwater biodiversity

Designing a conservation area network that supports the representation and persistence of freshwater biodiversity

DRIFT-ARID: A method for assessing environmental water requirements (EWRs) for non-perennial rivers

A spatial assessment of riverine ecosystems and water supply in a semi‐arid environment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About