aur kzn section of the swazi rail link wetland ass 2013.06 · swazi rail link- kzn section golela...

COPYRIGHT WARNING Copyright in all text and other matter, including the manner of presentation, is the exclusive property of the author. It is a criminal offence to reproduce

and/or use, without written consent, any matter, technical procedure and/or technique contained in this document. Criminal and civil proceedings will be taken as a matter of strict routine against any person and/or institution infringing the copyright of the author and/or proprietors.

Upgrade of the KZN section of the Swazi Rail

Link, Golela to Nsezi (DEA Ref 14/12/16/3/3/2/552)

Wetland /Riparian Specialist input into the Scoping Report

June 2013

Drafted by

Limosella Consulting

P.O. Box 32733, Waverley

Pretoria, 0135

Email: [email protected]

Cell: +27 83 4545 454

Drafted for Aurecon

Lynnwood Bridge Office Park,

4 Daventry St,

Lynnwood Manor, 0081

Swazi Rail Link- KZN Section Golela to Nsezi: Wetland Specialist Input into the Scoping Report June 2013

2

Declaration of Independence

I, Antoinette Bootsma, in my capacity as a specialist consultant, hereby declare that I -

• Act as an independent consultant;

• Do not have any financial interest in the undertaking of the activity, other than remuneration

for the work performed in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act

107 of 1998);

• Undertake to disclose, to the competent authority, any material information that has or may

have the potential to influence the decision of the competent authority or the objectivity of

any report, plan or document required in terms of the National Environmental Management

Act, 1998 (Act 107 of 1998);

• As a registered member of the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions, will

undertake my profession in accordance with the Code of Conduct of the Council, as well as any

other societies to which I am a member; and

• Based on information provided to me by the project proponent, and in addition to information

obtained during the course of this study, have presented the results and conclusion within the

associated document to the best of my professional judgement.

________________________

Antoinette Bootsma (PrSciNat)

Ecologist/Botanist

SACNASP Reg. No. 400222-09

2013.06.22

Date

Indemnity

This report is based on survey and assessment techniques which are limited by time and budgetary

constraints relevant to the type and level of investigation undertaken. The findings, results, observations,

conclusions and recommendations given in this report are based on the author’s best scientific and

professional knowledge as well as information available at the time of study. Therefore the author reserves

the right to modify aspects of the report, including the recommendations, if and when new information

may become available from ongoing research or further work in this field, or pertaining to this

investigation.

Although the author exercised due care and diligence in rendering services and preparing documents, she

accepts no liability, and the client, by receiving this document, indemnifies the author against all actions,

claims, demands, losses, liabilities, costs, damages and expenses arising from or in connection with services

rendered, directly or indirectly by the author and by the use of this document.


3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Limosella Consulting was appointed by Aurecon to conduct wetland and riparian delineations and

functional assessments to inform the Environmental Authorization process for the rail link between Lothair

(South Africa) and a suitable location along the existing Swaziland railway network. The current document

is aimed at informing the scoping phase of the Environmental Authorization process with a focus on the

Upgrade of the KwaZulu Natal section of the Swazi Rail Link, from Golela to Nsezi (DEA Ref

14/12/16/3/3/2/552.

In order to inform the Environmental Authorization process in accordance with the EIA Regulations (No. R.

385, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, 21 April 2010) emanating from Part 5 of the

National Environmental Management Act 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998), as well as the Water Use Licence

application process which specifies that activities within 500m from wetlands or riparian areas are excluded

from the General Application of Authorization S21 (c) and (i) water uses (government gazette No. 389),

wetland and riparian delineations and functional assessments will be conducted to inform activities

associated with the KwaZulu Natal section between Golela to Nsezi.

Sixty five (65) non-perrennial and ten (10) perrenial watercourses cross the existing, as well as the

proposed 35m wide railway corridors. These watercourses form the basis for identifying potential wetland

and riparian areas to be investigated during field surveys. These alignments, including the footprints of

access roads, crew camps, borrow pits and refuelling yards, will be extensively surveyed to identify all

wetlands and riparian areas within 500m of the proposed activity footprints. Relevant functional and

integrity assessments will be conducted based on the findings of the site survey.


4

Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 6

1.1 Project Description ....................................................................................................................... 6

1.2 Locality of the Study Site ............................................................................................................... 6

1.3 Assumptions and Limitations ........................................................................................................ 7

1.4 Definitions and Legal Framework .................................................................................................. 7

1.5 Description of the Receiving Environment ..................................................................................... 8

2 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................. 9

2.1 Wetland and Riparian Delineation................................................................................................. 9

2.2 Wetland and Riparian Functionality and Integrity Assessments ................................................... 10

3 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................... 16

4 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 16


5

Figures

Figure 1: Typical Cross section of a wetland (DWAF, 2005) ....................................................................... 9

Figure 2: Schematic diagram illustrating an example of where the 3 zones would be placed relative to

geomorphic diversity (Kleynhans et al.2007) .......................................................................................... 10

Figure 3: Relationship between human disturbance and habitat health and impact categories (Macfarlane

et al, 2006) ............................................................................................................................................. 14

Figure 4: Generic ecological categories for EcoStatus components used in the VEGRAI index (modified

from Kleynhans, 1996 and Kleynhans 1999 cited in Kleynhans & Louw 2007b) ....................................... 15

Tables

Table 1: EIS scores obtained for the Wetland on the study site (DWAF, 1999) ........................................ 11

Table 2: Example of the results and brief discussion of the Ecosystem Services provided by the wetlands

in Midrand, Gauteng .............................................................................................................................. 13

Table 3: Health categories used by WET-Health for describing the integrity of wetlands (Macfarlane et al,

2007) 15


6

1 INTRODUCTION

The South African government has taken a keen interest in the conservation sustainable utilisation and

rehabilitation of wetlands within South Africa. This is largely attributed to the fact that South Africa is a

contracting party to the Ramsar convention on wetlands. Wetlands are defined by the South African

National Water Act (NWA), Act No 36 of 1998, as “land which is transitional between terrestrial and aquatic

systems, where the water table is usually at or near the surface, or the land is periodically covered with

shallow water, and which in normal circumstances supports or would support vegetation typically adapted

to life in saturated soils”. All wetlands are protected by law (NWA, Act 36 of 1998) because of their

importance and their vulnerability to damaging impacts. Wetlands are important because they:

• Provide hydrological control which helps prevent soil erosion (attenuate floods, store and release

water slowly);

• Recharge groundwater sources;

• Purify water by trapping many pollutants, including sediment, heavy metals and disease causing

organisms;

• Are very productive since they supply nutrients and water in a stable environment for rapid plant

growth and thus can be used as grazing areas if done on a sustainable basis; and

• Are one of the most bio-diverse ecosystems, providing life support for a wide variety of species,

some totally reliant on wetlands for their survival (Davies and Day 1998; DWAF 2005).

Wetlands are, however, some of the most threatened habitats in the world today (DWAF 2005). In some

catchments in South Africa, studies have revealed that over 50% of the wetlands have already been

destroyed. Mining and pollution are two of the many culprits which alter the water flow and water quality

which kills or damages wetlands. Continued wetland destruction will result in less pure water, less reliable

water supplies, increased severe flooding, lower agricultural productivity and more endangered species

(DWAF 2005).

1.1 Project Description

Limosella Consulting was appointed by Aurecon to conduct wetland and riparian delineations and

functional assessments to inform the Environmental Authorization process for the rail link between Lothair

(South Africa) and a suitable location along the existing Swaziland railway network, in accordance with the

EIA Regulations (No. R. 385, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, 21 April 2010) emanating

from Part 5 of the National Environmental Management Act 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998). The concept

unlocks potential for a multinational strategic rail corridor, while at the same time relieving pressure from

the heavy haul Richards Bay Coal Line and general freight Eastern Mainline to Maputo (Transnet Group

Planning, 2013). The current document is aimed at informing the scoping phase of the project with a focus

on the upgrade of the KwaZulu Natal section of the railway line between Golela to Nsezi (DEA Ref

14/12/16/3/3/2/552).

1.2 Locality of the Study Site

This document discusses the component of the project focusing on the KwaZulu Natal section of the railway

line between Golela to Nsezi. Sixty five (65) non-perrennial and ten (10) perrenial watercourses cross the

existing, as well as the proposed 35m wide railway corridors. These watercourses form the basis for

identifying potential wetland and riparian areas to be investigated during field surveys. No locality data is as

yet available for the footprints of access roads, crew camps, borrow pits and refuelling yards. All


7

waterbodies that lie within 500m of the proposed development footprints will be investigated during a

dedicated field survey as set out in this document.

1.3 Assumptions and Limitations

The following assumptions are made in this document:

• The information provided by Aurecon forms the basis of the planning discussed.

• Other than the location of the existing and proposed railway lines, no information was available on

the location of access roads, crew camps, borrow pits and refuelling yards. These are therefore not

included in this document although it should be noted that planning will be amended to include

them when information regarding their location becomes available.

• Although the proposed railway upgrade will occur within an approximate 35m corridor, wetlands

within 500m of construction activities should be identified as per the DWA Water Use Licence

application regulations. In order to meet the timeframes and budget constraints for the project,

wetlands within the proposed corridor will be delineated on a fine scale based on detailed soil and

vegetation sampling. Wetlands that fall outside of this 35m corridor, but that fall within 500m of

the proposed activities will be delineated based on desktop analysis of vegetation gradients visible

from aerial imagery.

• Floodline calculation, groundwater and hydrological processes fall outside the scope of wetland

and riparian delineation and functional assessments discussed in this report.

1.4 Definitions and Legal Framework

In a South African legal context, the term watercourse is often used rather than the terms wetland, or river.

The National Water Act (NWA) (1998) includes wetlands and rivers into the definition of the term

watercourse in the following definition.

Watercourse means:

a) A river or spring;

b) A natural channel in which water flows regularly or intermittently;

c) A wetland, lake or dam into which, or from which, water flows, and

d) Any collection of water which the Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, declare to be a

watercourse, and a reference to a watercourse includes, where relevant, its bed and banks.

Riparian habitat is the accepted indicator used to delineate the extent of a river’s footprint (DWAF, 2005).

The National Water Act, 1998 (Act No. 36 of 1998), defines a riparian habitat as follows: “Riparian habitat

includes the physical structure and associated vegetation of the areas associated with a watercourse, which

are commonly characterised by alluvial soils, and which are inundated or flooded to an extent and with a

frequency sufficient to support vegetation of species with a composition and physical structure distinct

from those of adjacent land areas.”.

The National Water Act, 1998 (Act 36 of 1998) defines a wetland as “land which is transitional between

terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the surface, or the land is

periodically covered with shallow water, and which land in normal circumstances supports or would

support vegetation typically adapted to life in saturated soil.”


8

Authoritative legislation that lists impacts and activities on wetlands and riparian areas that requires

authorisation includes:

• Conservation of Agriculture Resources Act, 1983 (Act 43 of 1983);

• Environment Conservation Act, 1989 (Act 73 of 1989);

• National Water Act, 1998 (Act 36 of 1998);

• National Forests Act, 1998 (Act 84 of 1998);

• National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998);

• National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act 10 of 2004).

• GNR 1182 and 1183 of 5 September 1997, as amended (ECA);

• GNR 385, 386 and 387 of 21 April 2006 (NEMA); and

• GNR 544, 545 and 546 of 18 June 2010 (NEMA).

1.5 Description of the Receiving Environment

During the Environmental Impact Assessment phase of the project a review of available literature and

spatial data will be conducted to form the basis of a characterisation of the biophysical environment in its

theoretically undisturbed state and consequently an analysis of the degree of impact to the ecology of the

study site in its current state. The following elements will be investigated:

Hydrology:

Surface water spatial layers such as the National Freshwater Ecosystems Priority Areas (NFEPA) Wetland

Types for South Africa (SANBI, 2010) and layers provided by the Chief Directorate Surveys and Mapping

(1996) will reflect the presence of several perennial and non-perennial rivers on and around the study.

These known watercourses will form the primary source of expected wetland and riparian areas to be

investigated during a field assessment. Quarternary catchments will be identified and the characteristics of

hydrological processes in this region will be presented.

Geology and Soils:

An understanding of regional geology and soils forms the basis for describing the hydrological processes in

the wetlands and riparian areas analysed and therefore also the impacts and functionality of these systems.

Although groundwater and hydrological processes fall outside of the scope of the wetland and riparian

assessments discussed here, it is important to know if, for example a wetland is driven by surface water or

has a significant subsurface flow input. Regional spatial layers that are investigated include soil types

(www.agis.agric.za), landforms and geology from for example Department of Development and Planning

and the Environmental Potential Atlas.

Regional Vegetation:

Mucina and Rutherford (2006) analyzed and classified the vegetation of Swaziland Lesotho and South Africa

into functional units described as vegetation types. These vegetation types further refine the broader

biome concept and are closely linked to underlying geology and climatic processes. Knowledge of the

regional vegetation type provides an understanding of the plant species expected and also form a

benchmark from which to determine the level of degradation of a wetland or riparian area. Particularly in

the effectiveness of buffer zone areas, knowledge of vegetation type becomes important.


9

Other aspects of the biophysical environment that are taken into consideration include local climate and

rainfall patterns, current and historic landuse and a description of the catchment of the wetland or riparian

area.

2 METHODOLOGY

The delineation method documented by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry in their document

“An updated manual for identification and delineation of wetlands and riparian areas” (DWAF, 2008), will

be followed throughout the field survey. This guideline describes the use of indicators to determine the

outer edge of the wetland and riparian areas such as soil and vegetation forms as well as the terrain unit

indicator.

A hand held GPSmap 76CSx will be used to capture GPS co-ordinates in the field. 1:50 000 cadastral maps

and available GIS data will be used as reference material for the mapping of the preliminary wetland

boundaries. These will be converted to digital image backdrops and delineation lines and boundaries will be

imposed accordingly after the field survey.

2.1 Wetland and Riparian Delineation

Wetlands are identified based on the following characteristic attributes (DWAF, 2008) (Figure 1):

• The presence of plants adapted to or tolerant of saturated soils (hydrophytes);

• Wetland (hydromorphic) soils that display characteristics resulting from prolonged saturation; and

• A high water table that results in saturation at or near the surface, leading to anaerobic conditions

developing within 50cm of the soil surface.

Figure 1: Typical Cross section of a wetland (DWAF, 2005)

Riparian habitat is classified primarily by identifying riparian vegetation along the edge of the macro stream

channel. The macro stream channel is defined as the outer bank of a compound channel and should not be

confused with the active river bank. The macro channel bank often represents a dramatic change in the

energy with which water passes through the system. Rich alluvial soils deposit nutrients making the riparian

area a highly productive zone. This causes a very distinct change in vegetation structure and composition


10

along the edges of the riparian area (DWAF, 2005). The marginal zone has also been referred to as active

features or wet bank (Van Niekerk and Heritage, 1993 cited in DWAF, 2008). It includes the area from the

water level at low flow, if present (the greenline concept may be used in the absence of base flow, to those

features that are hydrologically activated for the greater part of the year (WRC Report No TT 333/08 April,

2008 cited in DWAF, 2008). The non-marginal zone is the combination of the upper and lower zones (Figure

2).

Figure 2: Schematic diagram illustrating an example of where the 3 zones would be placed relative to geomorphic diversity (Kleynhans et al.2007)

2.2 Wetland and Riparian Functionality and Integrity Assessments

For the purpose of activities within the 1:100 year floodline or the wetland/riparian area (whichever is the

greatest), an application for a Water Use License must be made. In addition, activities close to wetlands are

excluded from the General Authorization for S21 (c) and (i) water uses (government gazette No. 389) due to

the complexity and potentially cumulative impact on a wetlands and rivers and the resources as a whole

(DWA, 2010). Therefore all activities within 500m of wetlands or rivers should be subject to an application

for authorization.

In order to inform the water use licence application process, an analysis of wetland and riparian

functionality or integrity must be undertaken. Wetland functionality is defined as a measure of the

deviation of wetland structure and function from its natural reference condition. In the current study the

hydrological, geomorphological and vegetation integrity will be assessed for the wetland units that are

recorded at the time of the site visit to provide a Present Ecological Status (PES) score (Macfarlane et al,

2007), and an Environmental Importance and Sensitivity category (EIS) (DWAF, 1999) and in the case of

riparian areas VEGRAI (Kleyhans et al, 2006). Furthermore the ecosystem services provided by the wetland

will be explored using WetEcoServices (Kotze et al, 2005). The functional assessment methodologies

presented below take into consideration these recorded impacts in various ways to determine the scores

attributed to each functional Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) wetland unit. It is important to note that, for the

purposes of this strategic wetland assessment, functional wetland units are approached as larger units


11

which may combine smaller parts that could be considered as separate functional units in a more detailed

study. The aspect of wetland functionality and integrity that is predominantly addressed includes

hydrological and geomorphological function and the integrity of the biodiversity component (mainly based

on the intactness of natural vegetation).

Ecological Importance and Sensitivity (EIS)

Ecological importance is an expression of a wetland’s importance to the maintenance of ecological diversity

and functioning on local and wider spatial scales. Ecological sensitivity refers to the system’s ability to

tolerate disturbance and its capacity to recover from disturbance once it has occurred (DWAF, 1999). This

classification of water resources allows for an appropriate management class to be allocated to the water

resource and includes the following:

• Ecological Importance in terms of ecosystems and biodiversity;

• Ecological functions; and

• Basic human needs.

Table 1 provides an overview of the EIS rating scale used with an explanation of the relative status of

wetlands in each category.

Table 1: EIS scores obtained for the Wetland on the study site (DWAF, 1999)

Ecological Importance and Sensitivity Categories Rating Summary

Wetlands that are considered ecologically important and sensitive on a national

or even international level. The biodiversity of these wetlands is usually very

sensitive to flow and habitat modifications. They play a major role in

moderating the quantity and quality of water in major rivers

>3 and <=4 Very High

Wetlands that are considered to be ecologically important and sensitive. The

biodiversity of these wetlands may be sensitive to flow and habitat

modifications. They play a role in moderating the quantity and quality of water

of major rivers

>2 and <=3 High

Wetlands that are considered to be ecologically important and sensitive on a

provincial or local scale. The biodiversity of these wetlands is not usually

sensitive to flow and habitat modifications. They play a small role in moderating

the quantity and quality of water in major rivers

>1 and <=2 Moderate

Wetlands that is not ecologically important and sensitive at any scale. The

biodiversity of these wetlands is ubiquitous and not sensitive to flow and

habitat modifications. They play an insignificant role in moderating the quantity

and quality of water in major rivers

>0 and <=1 Low


12

WetEcoServices:

WetEcoServices Kotze et al, (2005) was adapted and used to assess the different benefit values of a

wetland. A Level 1 desktop assessment will be performed to determine the wetland’s functional benefits.

Several characteristics will be verified during the field survey to produce a comprehensive initial functional

analysis. This technique is not ideally suited to determine the specific level of impact of a current or

proposed development and is based more on qualitative data as opposed to quantitative data, which opens

it up to subjective misuse (Kotze et al, 2005). Table 2 provides an example of the results for a

WetEcoServices analysis.


13

Table 2: Example of the results and brief discussion of the Ecosystem Services provided by the wetlands in Midrand, Gauteng

Wetland A2 (F3) Function Score Significance

This seepage wetland is highly

impacted by compaction of soils, roads

bisecting it and loss of vegetation

cover. Remaining services include

Sediment, Phosphate and Toxicant

trapping due to the diffuse pattern of

water flow in this wetland unit.

However, only sediment trapping is

relevant to the site as the sources of

other pollutants is limited.

It scores very low for cultural

significance and provision of

biodiversity associated services. This is

largely the result of the highly built-up

areas through which it flows.

Flood attenuation 1.4 Moderately Low

Stream flow

regulation 1.7 Moderately Low

Sediment trapping 2.8 Intermediate

Phosphate trapping 2.2 Intermediate

Nitrate removal 1.8 Moderately Low

Toxicant removal 2.3 Intermediate

Erosion control 1.6 Moderately Low

Carbon storage 0.3 Low

Maintenance of

biodiversity 0.8 Low

Water supply for

human use 0.4 Low

Natural resources 0.0 Low

Cultivated foods 0.8 Low

Cultural

significance 0.0

Low


14

WET-Health

WET-Health is a tool designed to assess the health or integrity of a wetland. Wetland health is defined as a

measure of the deviation of wetland structure and function from its natural reference condition. This

technique attempts to assess hydrological, geomorphological and vegetation health and is suitable for the

functional assessment of floodplain, channelled and unchannelled valley bottom, seepage wetlands and

pans. It is a modular approach that uses:

- An impact-based approach for those activities that do not produce clearly visible responses in wetland

structure and function. The impact of irrigation or afforestation in the catchment, for example,

produces invisible impacts on water inputs. This is the main approach used in the hydrological

assessment.

- An indicator-based approach for activities that produce clearly visible responses in wetland structure

and function such as the presence of gullies or alien species. This approach is mainly used in the

assessment of geomorphological and vegetation health.

Each of these modules follows a broadly similar approach that examines extent, intensity and magnitude of

impact. This is translated into a health score. The approach is as follows:

- The extent of impact is measured as the proportion of a wetland and/or its catchment that is affected

by an activity. Extent is expressed as a percentage.

- The intensity of impact is estimated by evaluating the degree of alteration that results from a given

activity.

- The magnitude of impact for individual activities is the area-weighted product of extent and intensity.

- The magnitude of individual activities is combined in a structured and transparent way to calculate the

overall impact of all activities that affect hydrology, geomorphology or vegetation.

- The overall magnitude of impact is then translated into an estimate of wetland health for hydrology,

geomorphology or vegetation.

Wetland health is placed into the following health categories that are compatible with the standard DWAF

A-F ecological categories (Figure 3). Table 3 provides a summary and descriptions of the PES categories

awarded.

Figure 3: Relationship between human disturbance and habitat health and impact categories (Macfarlane et al, 2006)


15

Table 3: Health categories used by WET-Health for describing the integrity of wetlands (Macfarlane et al, 2007)

Description Impact Score

Range PES Score Summary

Unmodified, natural. 0.0.9 A Very High

Largely natural with few modifications. A slight change in ecosystem processes is discernible

and a small loss of natural habitats and biota may have taken place. 1-1.9 B High

Moderately modified. A moderate change in ecosystem processes and loss of natural

habitats has taken place but the natural habitat remains predominantly intact. 2-3.9

C

Moderate

Largely modified. A large change in ecosystem processes and loss of natural habitat and

biota has occurred. 4-5.9

D

Moderate

The change in ecosystem processes and loss of natural habitat and biota is great but some

remaining natural habitat features are still recognizable. 6-7.9

E

Low

Modifications have reached a critical level and the ecosystem processes have been modified

completely with an almost complete loss of natural habitat and biota. 8.10

F

Very Low

Riparian Vegetation Response Assessment (VEGRAI):

The Riparian Vegetation Response Assessment Index (VEGRAI) (Kleynhans et al, 2007) was used to

determine the functionality of the riparian zone on the study site in terms of its EcoClassification.

EcoClassification is the term used for the Ecological Classification process. This refers to the determination

and categorization of the Present Ecological State (PES) of various biophysical attributes of rivers relative to

the natural or close to the natural reference condition (Kleynhans & Louw 2007).

VEGRAI has a spreadsheet model component that is composed of a series of metrics and metric groups,

each of which is rated by populating spreadsheets with field data. The metrics in VEGRAI first describe the

status of riparian vegetation in both its current and reference states and second, compare differences

between the two states as a measure of vegetation response to an impact regime (Figure 4) (Kleynhans et

al, 2007).

Figure 4: Generic ecological categories for EcoStatus components used in the VEGRAI index (modified from Kleynhans, 1996 and Kleynhans 1999 cited in Kleynhans & Louw 2007b)


16

3 CONCLUSION

In order to inform the Environmental Authorization process in accordance with the EIA Regulations (No. R.

385, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, 21 April 2010) emanating from Part 5 of the

National Environmental Management Act 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998), as well as the Water Use Licence

application process which specifies that activities within 500m from wetlands or riparian areas are excluded

from the General Application of Authorization S21 (c) and (i) water uses (government gazette No. 389),

wetland and riparian delineations and functional assessments will be conducted to inform activities on the

KwaZulu Natal section of the railway line between Golela to Nsezi.

Sixty five (65) non-perrennial and ten (10) perrenial watercourses cross the existing, as well as the

proposed 35m wide railway corridors. These watercourses form the basis for identifying potential wetland

and riparian areas to be investigated during field surveys. No locality data is as yet available for the

footprints of access roads, crew camps, borrow pits and refuelling yards. All waterbodies that lie within

500m of the proposed development footprints will be investigated during a dedicated field survey as set

out in this document. Functional and Integrity assessments will be conducted based on the outcomes of the

field surveys.

4 REFERENCES

Chief Directorate: Surveys & Mapping. 1996: Hydrology. Cape Town: CDSM.

Department of Water Affairs (2010). National Water Act, 1998 (Act No 36 of 1998) S21(c) & (i) Water Uses.

Version: February 2010. Training Manual.

Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (1999). Resource Directed Measures for Protection of Water

Resources. Volume 4. Wetland Ecosystems Version 1.0. Pretoria

Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (2008). Updated Manual for the identification and delineation of

wetlands and riparian areas. Department of Water affairs and Forestry. Pretoria. South Africa

Second Edition. September 2008.

Kleynhans, C.J. (1996): A qualitative procedure for the assessment of the habitat integrity status of the

Luvuvhu River. Journal of Aquatic Ecosystems Health 5: 41-54

Macfarlane D.M., Teixeira-Leite A., Goodman P., Bate G and Colvin C. (2010) Draft Report on the

Development of a Method and Model for Buffer Zone Determination. Water Research Commission

project K5/1789. The Institute of Natural Resources and its Associates

Mucina L., and Rutherford M. C. (2006). Vegetation Map of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland, 1:1 000

000 scale sheet maps. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria

SANBI 2010. National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Areas. South African National Biodiversity Institute

Transnet Group Planning (2013) Swaziland Rail Link FEL-2 Pre-Feasibility Report. Transnet Group Planning

Websites

http://www.agis.agric.za

aur kzn section of the swazi rail link wetland ass 2013.06 · swazi rail link- kzn section golela...

Documents