Page 41 - UGU Dstrct Mun IDP Report '21-22

Catchment
Description
Area (Km2)
Lovu River Catchment
The Lovu River Catchment extends past the UDM boundary, beyond Richmond. This catchment is classified as Tertiary Catchment U70, which contains five Quaternary Catchments, namely U70A – U70E.
1 031
Umkomaas River Catchment
The Umkomaas River Catchment extends past the UDM boundary, to its headwaters in the Drakensberg Mountains near Giants Castle. This catchment is classified as Tertiary Catchment U10, which contains 12 Quaternary Catchments, namely U10A – U10M.
4 387
Mzimkhulu River Catchment
The Mzimkhulu River Catchment extends past the UDM boundary, to
its headwaters in the Drakensberg Mountains adjacent to Lesotho. This catchment is classified by Tertiary Catchments T51 and T52, which contain 21 Quaternary Catchments, namely T51A – T51J and T52A – T52M.
6 678
Mtamvuna River Catchment
The Mtamvuna River Catchment extends past the UDM boundary, to its headwaters located to the south of Kokstad. This catchment is classified by Tertiary Catchment T40, which contains nine Quaternary Catchments, namely T40A – T40J.
2 737
3.2.2 Protected Areas
Protected Areas (PAs) ) fulfil several critical functions within the landscape, most notably they function as the cornerstones of biodiversity conservation and ecological sustainability, biodiversity retrospectivity, climate change adaptation, provision of ecosystem goods and services, and socioeconomic (particularly rural) development (DEA 2009). It is therefore not surprising that protected areas are seen as one of the most important mechanisms for protecting biodiversity.
Internationally, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) committed governments to protecting a minimum of 10% of each habitat type by 2010. South Africa’s current protected area network falls far short of sustaining biodiversity and ecological processes with only approximately 6% of our land surface set aside and managed as protected areas. This flat target of 10% is relatively arbitrary, with no compelling ecological rationale. In the South African context, with our globally exceptional levels of biodiversity richness, we need a higher level of protection (DEAT & SANBI, 2008).
At present, a total of seven terrestrial formally protected and two marine protected areas (Aliwal Shoal & Trafalgar) occur within the Ugu District (see Table 3.2.2.1). These range in extent from 17 ha (Skyline Nature Reserve) to over 12, 000 ha (Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area). Terrestrial protected areas cover a meagre 8883.1 hectares, representing only a small fraction (1.76%) of the land surface within the District (Figure 3.2.2.1). This figure is clearly well below international benchmarks and is grossly inadequate to protect the diversity of species, habitats and processes within the District. While several informal conservation areas also exist, these areas are not formally protected by law and therefore provide little assurance of long-term protection. These areas include community conservation areas, privately owned reserves, and game ranches. Further efforts are clearly required to expand the existing formal conservation estate with opportunities for building on existing biodiversity commitments shown by landowners through these informal conservation initiatives.
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