The overall aim of this project is to assess and report on the ecological state of rivers in the Usutu/Mhlatuze Water Management Area (WMA). The project will be conducted in 3 phases comprising of:

* Phase 1: Compilation of an inventory of all work that has been done in the past to assess the health of the aquatic ecosystems in the WMA and a gap analysis to determine what additional surveys are needed to produce a comprehensive state of rivers report for the WMA

* Phase 2: Collection of all outstanding information to determine spatial and temporal dimensions in the data set that are necessary to determine a baseline that would indicate the Present Ecological State of (PES) the WMA, as well as the Ecological Importance and Sensitivity (EIS) of the WMA. The product of Phase 2 will be a comprehensive technical report on the ecological state of the rivers in the WMA

* Phase 3: Production of a user- friendly, state of rivers report that can be used by water resource managers to manage impacts on aquatic ecosystems in the WMA. Furthermore, to create awareness and understanding by the public on how aquatic ecosystems in the WMA could be utilised in a sustainable way to the benefit of all