The Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR) attended the 2024 National Wetlands Indaba in Cape St Francis, an annual gathering focused on conserving and sustainably managing South Africa’s wetlands. This year’s theme, “Wetlands and Human Well-being,” highlighted the important link between people and the ecosystem services provided by healthy wetlands.
Nelisiwe Khusi, GCBR Junior Hydrologist (SANBI Groen Sebenza intern) presented a poster titled Restoration and Biodiversity Management in the Broomvlei Wetland, highlighting GCBR’s restoration and monitoring activities within the Broomvlei wetland and the Goukou River system, which received positive feedback. To learn more about poster the read the following blog.
The Indaba also provided an opportunity to reconnect with collaborators who have worked closely with GCBR. Dr. Donovan Kotze, a trusted GCBR advisor, presented his research on “The Effects of Wastewater on Ecosystem Services Provided by Selected South African Wetlands.” Additionally, GCBR supported Raven Pietersen’s PhD research by assisting with rainwater sample collection. She presented her work, titled “Shedding Light on Western Cape Valley-Bottom Peatland Water Sources: A Tracer-Based Approach,” which was well received, and we look forward to the outcomes of her ongoing analysis.
Poster presentations included:
- Zahra Omarjee, a GCBR-funded MSc student from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, presented “A Multi-Proxy Palaeo-Environmental Record from the Palmietrivier Wetland, Southern Cape: Insights into Holocene Fire, Vegetation, and Climate Dynamics.”
- Xiluva Mathebula, a Groen Sebenza/NRF-SAIAB Freshwater Taxonomy intern with National Research Foundation – South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (NRF-SAIAB), shared her research on “Re-examination of Species Limits in the Cape Galaxias (Galaxias zebratus) Using an Integrative Taxonomic Approach.” Some samples for her study were collected during fish monitoring fieldwork in the upper Goukou and Weyers Rivers in collaboration with the NRF-SAIAB team earlier this year.
Overall, several presentations at the Indaba highlighted studies conducted within the GCBR region, highlighting its significance as a research area and its vital role in regional environmental conservation and sustainable management.