Assessment of the State of South Africa's River Health: 10-Year National Review

Abstract

The South African Rivers Assessment Programme (SARAP) has monitored the ecological condition of rivers since 2010 using fish, macroinvertebrate, diatom, and riparian vegetation biotic indices. This 10-year review synthesises monitoring data from 1 800 sites across 58 primary catchments, showing that 45% of river length is classified as largely modified or seriously modified. Drivers of degradation, trends, priority catchments for restoration, and targets for the national ambient environmental health programme are presented.

Authors

Categories