* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, October 11, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Shares First Look Teaser Trailer (And It’s Fangtastic) – Yahoo

    THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Shares First Look Teaser Trailer (And It’s Fangtastic) – Yahoo

    The Live-Action Simpsons Movie That Was Supposed To Star Phil Hartman – Yahoo

    The Live-Action Simpsons Movie That Was Supposed To Star Phil Hartman – Yahoo

    The Best “Friends” Halloween Episodes That Blend Spooky And Silly In The Perfect Way – Yahoo

    The Best “Friends” Halloween Episodes That Blend Spooky And Silly In The Perfect Way – Yahoo

    MSG Entertainment Takes Radio City Music Hall Into the Future With Introduction of Sphere Immersive Sound – Business Wire

    MSG Entertainment Transforms Radio City Music Hall with Cutting-Edge Sphere Immersive Sound Experience

    Israel’s Entertainment Industry Is Being Targeted by the Left in Hollywood and the Right at Home – The Wall Street Journal

    Inside the Fierce Clash Shaping Israel’s Entertainment Industry: Hollywood vs. Local Voices

    Offset Is Ready To Finalize Divorce With Cardi B for a Major Reason – Yahoo

    Offset Poised to Finalize Divorce from Cardi B for a Major Reason

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Inside Europe’s military technology resurgence – NBC News

    Europe’s Bold Comeback: Unveiling the Rise of Cutting-Edge Military Technology

    Vicor Corporation: Great Technology, Execution Trapped In Time (NASDAQ:VICR) – Seeking Alpha

    Vicor Corporation: Innovative Technology Hindered by Lackluster Execution

    4J schools trying out new electronic hall pass technology – Lookout Eugene-Springfield

    4J Schools Unveils Cutting-Edge Electronic Hall Pass System to Transform Student Experience

    China outlines more controls on exports of rare earths and technology – fox40.com

    China Unveils Tougher Restrictions on Rare Earth and Technology Exports

    Wisconsin Dairy Leads the Way with Cutting-Edge Technology Systems

    ENERCON and Biome collaborate for wind turbine noise reduction technology – Yahoo Finance

    ENERCON and Biome Join Forces to Revolutionize Wind Turbine Noise Reduction

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Shares First Look Teaser Trailer (And It’s Fangtastic) – Yahoo

    THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Shares First Look Teaser Trailer (And It’s Fangtastic) – Yahoo

    The Live-Action Simpsons Movie That Was Supposed To Star Phil Hartman – Yahoo

    The Live-Action Simpsons Movie That Was Supposed To Star Phil Hartman – Yahoo

    The Best “Friends” Halloween Episodes That Blend Spooky And Silly In The Perfect Way – Yahoo

    The Best “Friends” Halloween Episodes That Blend Spooky And Silly In The Perfect Way – Yahoo

    MSG Entertainment Takes Radio City Music Hall Into the Future With Introduction of Sphere Immersive Sound – Business Wire

    MSG Entertainment Transforms Radio City Music Hall with Cutting-Edge Sphere Immersive Sound Experience

    Israel’s Entertainment Industry Is Being Targeted by the Left in Hollywood and the Right at Home – The Wall Street Journal

    Inside the Fierce Clash Shaping Israel’s Entertainment Industry: Hollywood vs. Local Voices

    Offset Is Ready To Finalize Divorce With Cardi B for a Major Reason – Yahoo

    Offset Poised to Finalize Divorce from Cardi B for a Major Reason

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Inside Europe’s military technology resurgence – NBC News

    Europe’s Bold Comeback: Unveiling the Rise of Cutting-Edge Military Technology

    Vicor Corporation: Great Technology, Execution Trapped In Time (NASDAQ:VICR) – Seeking Alpha

    Vicor Corporation: Innovative Technology Hindered by Lackluster Execution

    4J schools trying out new electronic hall pass technology – Lookout Eugene-Springfield

    4J Schools Unveils Cutting-Edge Electronic Hall Pass System to Transform Student Experience

    China outlines more controls on exports of rare earths and technology – fox40.com

    China Unveils Tougher Restrictions on Rare Earth and Technology Exports

    Wisconsin Dairy Leads the Way with Cutting-Edge Technology Systems

    ENERCON and Biome collaborate for wind turbine noise reduction technology – Yahoo Finance

    ENERCON and Biome Join Forces to Revolutionize Wind Turbine Noise Reduction

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

South Africa: New Hope for West Coast Wetland After Seven Year Drought

July 26, 2023
in News
South Africa: New Hope for West Coast Wetland After Seven Year Drought
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

But the future of this West Coast jewel is not yet assured, despite record rains this year

Record rainfall has again filled Verlorenvlei on the West Coast after seven years of drought. But the future of this important biodiversity site depends on a crucial meeting this week. Scientists will present their findings on the vlei’s ecological reserve, the amount and quality of water necessary to keep it healthy. Conservationists, scientists and other users of the vlei have been urging this for decades.

For seven long years, drought reduced the life-teeming waters of Verlorenvlei on the West Coast to a handful of toxic puddles.

Now, thanks to this year’s record rainfall, the beautiful vlei – a biodiversity jewel, a globally important site for waterbird conservation, and a critical water resource for people and animals – finally has a significant quantity of water in it again.

And there’s potentially more good news for the vlei.

On Wednesday 26 July, a two-year project to develop a critical component for the vlei’s future management – setting the “ecological reserve”, the amount and quality of water necessary to maintain the system in a healthy natural state – will culminate at a workshop in Leipoldtville.

A reserve determination is a statutory requirement for all major water bodies, but this crucial management tool has been missing from the heavily over-exploited Verlorenvlei. Conservationists, scientists and other users of the vlei have been urging its introduction for decades.

So Wednesday’s workshop could herald a water sharing agreement between the three main beneficiaries: agriculture (the farmers), two municipalities (the communities), and the vlei itself. But to achieve a fair solution is going to require significant cooperation and give-and-take between all the parties, and the outcome is not guaranteed.

Those in the vanguard of the vlei’s conservation include the Friends of Verlorenvlei group. Formally constituted In October 2019, it was founded by Felicity Strange who, with her partner Nick Taylor, has witnessed the changing fortunes of the vlei since retiring to its shores 19 years ago.

A low point – literally and figuratively – was “Day Zero” on 17 July 2017 when the water level meter of the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation’s water level on a jetty extending into the vlei registered zero. This was the reading for several years.

In October 2021, a team of researchers from the Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha, the CSIR and the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment visited the vlei to assess its water quality and other ecological aspects. Their findings, reported in an abstract at the South African Marine Science Symposium in 2022, made for extremely grim reading.

In How to kill a lake: First recorded acidification of an estuarine lake in South Africa, the scientists reported that the extended drought and over-use of freshwater inflow had resulted in “unprecedentedly low” water levels in Verlorenvlei in 2021. At that stage there were three disconnected sections of the vlei: the “hypersaline” inlet channel with a salt concentration of 150 grams per litre (g/l) (seawater averages 35 g/l); a brackish main lake/vlei area with a salt concentration of 5 g/l; and the upper vlei reaches with a concentration of 1g/l.

The scientists also reported an “extremely low” pH in the main vlei (2.7 – 3.4), meaning it was highly acidic. (Lemon juice and vinegar have a pH of roughly 3; “neutral” water is 7.)

“Such surface water acidification (pH 2-3) has been recorded in Australian lakes but this is the first record for South Africa. Phytoplankton blooms in the vlei further contribute to pH stress. While vegetation was showing recovery after recent rains, no invertebrate or fish life was observed in the main vlei, with freshwater species only noted in the upper reaches. Birdlife followed a similar pattern,” they wrote.

“Urgent flow interventions are needed to address this ongoing ecological disaster, as recovery depends on achieving higher water levels and marine connectivity,” they concluded.

In 2019, Strange had written a letter to then Minister of Environmental Affairs Nomvula Mokonyane in which she raised four concerns about Verlorenvlei, including the proliferation of alien vegetation, mining applications and the lack of an ecological reserve water determination for the vlei and its catchment.

Just 28 water users – individuals or companies – are abstracting 43% of the water in the catchment, she points out.

To her credit, Mokonyane responded surprisingly quickly. Just two months after receiving Strange’s letter, the Minister replied that a technical working group committee representing three national departments and CapeNature had already convened to investigate Strange’s representations, and that a detailed report had been compiled attempting to address her concerns.

Among the several recommendations in this report, two were crucial

Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters

Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox

a Water User Association should be set up for all the catchments in the broader Verlorenvlei catchment; and a comprehensive Ecological Reserve study should be completed and implemented. “This is a national and global priority, so in essence the South African government needs to ensure adequate funding,” the report stated.

The findings of this study, including its recommendations on implementation and monitoring, will be presented for discussion at this week’s workshop.

Nelson Mandela University researchers returned to take more samples from the vlei at the end of June this year, and found that while the system was on a road to recovery, it was not yet in a healthy state. Despite an increase in freshwater inflow and a deeper water level, the main lake was still highly acidic with a pH of between 3 and 4 – a dangerous level for livestock and other fauna.

Australian examples have shown that it may take years for acidic conditions to revert to normal, even if a system does receive an adequate supply of freshwater into the future.

So there is a heavy responsibility on the authorities now to ensure that, as a start, the ecological reserve is determined, implemented and monitored.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : AllAfrica – https://allafrica.com/stories/202307260019.html

Tags: AfricanewsSouth
Previous Post

Zimbabwe: Chamisa Promises Mnangagwa Leader of Opposition Seat in Parliament, Promises ‘Mean-Lean’ Government

Next Post

South Africa: Families Rally to Help Bury Three Children Who Died After Playing On Dump Site

Whatcom County farm reaches settlement over illegal irrigation allegations – My Bellingham Now

Whatcom County Farm Reaches Settlement in Illegal Irrigation Case

October 11, 2025
Taylor Robinson on Data, Biosecurity, and the Science Behind Healthier Vertical Farms – iGrow News

Taylor Robinson on Data, Biosecurity, and the Science Behind Healthier Vertical Farms – iGrow News

October 11, 2025
Grand opening of the new UNR College of Agriculture Main Station Farm Science Center – KTVN

Join the Exciting Grand Opening of the New UNR College of Agriculture Main Station Farm Science Center!

October 11, 2025
PS Store Adds Helpful Feature But Users Have Concerns – PlayStation LifeStyle

PS Store Adds Helpful Feature But Users Have Concerns – PlayStation LifeStyle

October 11, 2025
Inside Europe’s military technology resurgence – NBC News

Europe’s Bold Comeback: Unveiling the Rise of Cutting-Edge Military Technology

October 11, 2025
Ireland Contracting Nightly Sports Call: Oct. 10, 2025 – CBS News

Ireland Contracting Nightly Sports Call: Thrilling Highlights from October 10, 2025

October 11, 2025
England v Sri Lanka: Women’s Cricket World Cup – live – The Guardian

England v Sri Lanka: Women’s Cricket World Cup – live – The Guardian

October 11, 2025
Consumer sentiment sours as government shutdown threatens economic damage – ABC News – Breaking News, Latest News and Videos

Consumer sentiment sours as government shutdown threatens economic damage – ABC News – Breaking News, Latest News and Videos

October 11, 2025
THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Shares First Look Teaser Trailer (And It’s Fangtastic) – Yahoo

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT Shares First Look Teaser Trailer (And It’s Fangtastic) – Yahoo

October 11, 2025
KATJA RIDDERBUSCH, KFF Health News – Asheville Watchdog

KATJA RIDDERBUSCH, KFF Health News – Asheville Watchdog

October 11, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (863)
  • Economy (883)
  • Entertainment (21,756)
  • General (17,539)
  • Health (9,925)
  • Lifestyle (896)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (884)
  • Politics (893)
  • Science (16,094)
  • Sports (21,384)
  • Technology (15,864)
  • World (866)

Recent News

Whatcom County farm reaches settlement over illegal irrigation allegations – My Bellingham Now

Whatcom County Farm Reaches Settlement in Illegal Irrigation Case

October 11, 2025
Taylor Robinson on Data, Biosecurity, and the Science Behind Healthier Vertical Farms – iGrow News

Taylor Robinson on Data, Biosecurity, and the Science Behind Healthier Vertical Farms – iGrow News

October 11, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version