Overberg District Municipality Wetland Case Study

Municipalities across South Africa are often constrained in their ability to effectively manage their natural resources due to lack of capacity as well as lack of human and financial resources. As a result, natural resources such as wetlands run the risk of being mismanaged resulting in their degradation and a loss of the valuable services that they provide. The environmental management department of Overberg District Municipality (ODM) is constrained by all of the above mentioned factors. However, despite the constraints, or perhaps as a result of, ODM has been actively harnessing the network of NGOs working in environmental conservation and natural resources in the district to ensure that wetlands are managed effectively and in line with ODM’s environmental mandates.