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River Health Programme 		a Western Cape River
Progress with implementation of the RHP in the Western Cape

Planning meetings
Two meetings have been held in the Western Cape to discuss implementation of the RHP in the province. The first was held in Jonkershoek in October 2000 for water-related organisations in Cape Town area. A meeting was then held during March of this year in Mossel Bay for the South Coast area. A meeting is still to be held for the West Coast area. The main purpose of the meetings was to co-ordinate and align provincial and national activities; provide assistance in terms of implementation processes such as data management, reporting and quality control; and identify a project where the national team can work with the provincial implementation team and jointly produce a complete RHP product for the province. The participants were representative of local, provincial and national government, environmental groups, consultants and academic organisations.
Issues that were raised include:

  • The links between the State of Rivers reports and the Cape Action Plan for the Environment and existing environmental reporting.
  • How the proficiency testing of river health samplers was to be implemented in the Province.
  • The adaptation of the Riparian Vegetation Index for Western Cape rivers.
  • The training needs of the province

    River Workshops
    The Western Cape Nature Conservation Board’s Scientific Services Division hosted two very successful workshops on river functioning and management in the past six months. A third workshop is planned to take place on 10 May 2001 in the Overberg (Breede River Region). The first two workshops were held in Cape Town on 12 October 2000 (Two Oceans Aquarium) and Mossel Bay on 14 March 2001 (Mossgas Information Centre) respectively. Both workshops were partly sponsored by the Two Oceans Aquarium and Mossgas for which we were very grateful and show their commitment towards the River Health Program. At both occasions part of the workshop was spent to introduce the RHP. The third workshop will be addressing the same aspects.

    The target group in all instances were all role-players working with and influencing rivers, for example, government officials from the different departments of all three spheres of government, private landowners, members of river forums, conservation agencies and forums etc.

    Training
    A SASS training course was held for officials from the Department of Water and Sanitation, Cape Metropolitan Council and the Boland Environmental Forum during January 2001. A similar course was also given to Wietsche Roets of the Western Cape Nature Conservation Board in November 2000. The courses were presented by Annelise Gerber and Mary-Jean Gabriel of the Institute of Water quality Studies.

    Water Week
    During Water Week (19-25 March 2001) there were a number of initiatives undertaken to promote the River Health Programme.
    These were:

    Robben Island Learner/Educational programme     19-23 March 2001
    The Robben Island Education department together with DWAF and other Water Partners hosted a learner programme on the Island during National Water Week. The objective of the programme was to keep the Robben Island's historical focus and integrate Water Week aspects. Approximately 35 schools with 660 learners and 40 educators attended the Robben Island, Water Week Programme from Monday to Friday. Exhibitors at the event were 20/20 Vision, Working for Water, Geohydrology and the River Health Programme. A event for the Minister of Water and Sanitation was held on 22 March 2001 on the Island where guests were invited from the Portfolio committee, national, provincial and local government, the Danish Ambassador, Stakeholders in Water Management Areas and the Media.

    Nyanga Clinic     20 March 2001
    The theme for this event was Water and Health/Environment. The RHP was one of the exhibitions with the aim to introduce MINISASS to the learners, as well as provide educational material to ALL members of the public about "Pollution prevention" and "Protecting our Water resources" as a way of combating water-born diseases like cholera. A lot of people did not realise there are macro-invertebrates in the water that are also victims of polluted water, some people thought they are the polluters. The respond from the public was the eagerness to know more about the state of "OUR RIVERS" in Cape Town. This event was organised in conjunction with the Nyanga RDP Forum. The three primary schools involved in the 20/20 vision project in the area were involved.

    Paarl/Wellington Environmental Education Initiatives     19 March 2001
    A number of river health related activities were undertaken in the Paarl and Wellington areas thanks to the support of the Drakenstein Municipality, Meerrust Farms and the Boland Environmental Forum. An Environmental Education programme sponsored by Meerrust Farms to encourage and empower schools to become involved in local environmental issues was initiated in Feb/March of this year. Schools were assisted or encouraged to undertake their own Water Week activities. On the 19th March a workshop was attended by 20 primary school learners and one high school nature club to assess aspects of the Dwars River ecosystem such as: river health, catchment conservation, river quality, aquatic life and water clarity. River day activities were also undertaken on the 22 March in the Palmiet River (a tributary of the Berg River) and exhibitions were held throughout the week at shopping centres and libraries in the area.

    The Way Forward
    Two catchments have been identified for pilot implementation of the RHP, that is, the Lourens River at Somerset West and the Klein Brak River near Mossel Bay. The main objectives of river health monitoring in these catchments is to build of capacity within the Western Cape, pilot test/modify the Riparian Vegetation Index and the Fish Assemblage Integrity Index for the Western Cape conditions, and collect/manage data that will enable State of River reporting. The first activity that is planned for pilot implementation is a SASS assessment of the Klein Brak River on 25 and 26 April.

    Any interested in taking part in these pilot implementation projects is welcome to contact Toni Belcher at (021) 950 7140 or send an e-mail to belchea@dwaf.gov.za.


    • Biomonitoring in the Palmiet - Western Cape


    Pniel Primary School - Western Cape

    Water Week 2001 - Western Cape


    River Workshop - Western Cape
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