Keeping the benefits flowing and growing: quantifying the benefits of wetlands in the upper Orange Senqu Basin

Caroline A. Sullivan, Southern Cross University
Douglas Macfarlane
Chris Dickens
Myles Mander
Muriel Bonjean
Adam Teixeira-Leita
Catherine Pringle

Abstract

Background to the project

This study has been carried out under the EU funded NeWater project, which aims to promote adaptive water management under uncertainty. During the early stakeholder consultation phase of the project, it was revealed that much concern existed about the condition of wetlands in the higher altitude areas of the Orange/Senqu basin, which were perceived as being of great importance for water resource management. It was also suggested that a knowledge gap existed which had prevented their adequate recognition and incorporation into water management processes of the region. This was particularly the case in the Lesotho Highlands. It was considered that possibly the main reason for this was that water resources managers did not appreciate the value of these wetlands and thus had not given them priority.