Ehlanzeni District Municipality Wetland Case Study

Wetlands have the ability to provide a wealth of ecosystem services which can support municipalities with providing essential services to local communities within their jurisdiction. A historical lack of recognition of the value of wetlands, coupled with limited access to wetland information available for the area, has meant that Ehlanzeni District Municipality (EDM) has been curtailed in its ability to effectively and holistically plan around wetlands. This has led to wetlands within EDM, historically becoming degraded or even lost as a result of decision making that does not take wetlands into consideration. Loss of wetlands puts EDM at risk of decreased water quality and quantity and increases EDM’s vulnerability and disaster risk to the impacts of climate change.