RQIS (Resource Quality Information Services) - Department of Water and Sanitation - South Africa - NAEHMP Page - formerly RQS (Resource Quality Services), formerly IWQS (Institute for Water Quality Studies), formerly HRI (Hydrological Research Institute)

DWS:RQIS

PES, EI & ES : Desktop PESEIS assessment

Present Ecological State, Ecological Importance & Ecological Sensitivity

The information obtained from these assessments should be used as first level desktop assessments for purposes of ecological reserve determination and for Ecological Water Resource Monitoring (EWRM).

Select a whole primary drainage region below (may exceed 100Mb) or choose a secondary drainage region.

Primary drainage region A	Primary drainage region M
Primary drainage region B	Primary drainage region N
Primary drainage region C	Primary drainage region P
Primary drainage region D	Primary drainage region Q
Primary drainage region E	Primary drainage region R
Primary drainage region F	Primary drainage region S
Primary drainage region G	Primary drainage region T
Primary drainage region H	Primary drainage region U
Primary drainage region J	Primary drainage region V
Primary drainage region K	Primary drainage region W
Primary drainage region L	Primary drainage region X

Optional downloads

A compressed file containing each secondary region river shapefile.
A compressed file containing all secondary region rivers in a single shapefile.

PESEIS is not a replacement or addition to the NFEPA project

It relates to all SQRs and not only to sections that should be considered as potential priorities for aquatic biodiversity protection.
The ecological sustainability of a SQR is assessed within its EI and ES given the PES of such a reach.
EI refers to biophysical aspects in the SQR that relate to its capacity to function sustainably. EI does not refer to IUCN criteria which are addressed in the NFEPA approach, or issues related specifically to NFEPA principles to protect such biodiversity components.
ES considers SQR attributes that relate to the sensitivity of biophysical components to general environmental changes such as flow, physico-chemical and geomorphic modifications.
The objective of the PESEIS is to provide desktop level information on ecological issues as it relates to the protection and management of SQRs. For management purposes this refers specifically to the consideration of ecological reserve issues, water use licensing issues and EWRM (including the National Aquatic Ecosystem Health Monitoring Programme (NAEHMP) activities) and the determination of priorities for monitoring.
The PESEIS relates specifically to Rivers (Instream & Riparian aspects) and limited aspects of Valley Bottom Wetlands. Endorheic Wetlands are not addressed. This PESEIS replaces the 1999 PESEIS assessment of DWA and other desktop approaches that were followed for Ecological Reserve purposes and the NAEHMP.
Estuaries were not part of the PESEIS. However, a link between the REC of an estuary and the outputs required from an associated freshwater SQR to attain the REC is provided.
The efforts of many many reviewers are acknowledged, for example Delana Louw, Piet Kotze and James MacKenzie.

Whenever an assessment is done, the PESEIS and NFEPA information on the SQR should be interrogated. Provision for such a basic approach is provided in the PESEIS model (sheet: REC DSS).

Suggested citation

Department of Water and Sanitation. 2014. A Desktop Assessment of the Present Ecological State, Ecological Importance and Ecological Sensitivity per Sub Quaternary Reaches for Secondary Catchments in South Africa. Secondary: [W5 (for example)]. Compiled by RQIS-RDM: https://www.dwa.gov.za/iwqs/rhp/eco/peseismodel.aspx accessed on [date].

Contact

Please contact us if you have any queries.

Please report any difficulties in using the RQIS site to the Webmaster | Icons by Vecteezy.com.

Last update of this page 2019-08-02 13:25