Closure of Water Points in Kruger National Park

Information and Discussions on Water Management in Kruger
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Bushcraft
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Re: Demolition of Water Points in Kruger

Post by Bushcraft »

Richprins wrote:



IMO, this whole thing is incoherent and nonsensical, if not disingenuous...

Most of these water points are fine already, and it is indicative that they are mostly on prime tourist roads, which does not seem terribly scientific?

Seems more like a PR exercise to me... :yes:
Agreed RP ^Q^ ^Q^ \O


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PRWIN
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Re: Demolition of Water Points in Kruger

Post by PRWIN »

Now I am totally confused, this is just crazy, 0- 0- 0- first demolish then re-open, do they know what they doing :-? :-? :-? :-?


South Africa’s conservation authorities have warned that the continuing drought could pose a serious threat to the Kruger National Park, Africa’s premier wildlife reserve.

South African National Parks said they were carrying out study on decades old boreholes to as a possible means to provide alternative sources of water to the species in the park. what study to close them

The authority said most of the dams in the park were dry due to the lack of rain that has precipitated the drought stretching back some six months.

Kruger National Park spokesman William Mabasa said most of the animals in the park were becoming stranded in the park as dams and grazing was effectively dry, frustrating warm water habitant species.

If it does not rain, we may start losing some wildlife such as buffalo, hippo and others that need more water to survive, said Mabasa.

He said some six rivers that flowed from outside the park and passed through, provided very little water and not nearly enough to sustain wildlife.

“It is very dry in the park, you can even spot a wildlife from distance the way it is dry. Our fear is that the weaker game will not survive, because drought has got potential of killing weaker games and retaining the stronger ones,” said Mabasa.

He said to mitigate a looming ecological disaster, a study was being conducted to resuscitate boreholes drilled during 1960s drought. :-? 0- Study to close them

“There were boreholes drilled in the park that are not utilised but we have taken a resolution to determine which once can be used.” :-? :-? :-? :-? What about those that where destroyed and blown up

Weeks ago, the Mapungubwe National Park in Limpopo was saved by mid-January rainfall, with reports that some rivers had started flowing again

http://www.enca.com/south-africa/knp-au ... ng-drought


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Lisbeth
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Re: Demolition of Water Points in Kruger

Post by Lisbeth »

0*\


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Richprins
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Re: Demolition of Water Points in Kruger

Post by Richprins »

A pathetic and rambling nonsensical article...poor journalism!

But I suppose if the gist of it is true, that boreholes are now being looked up again, that blows the whole point of the "scientific experiment" up...to excuse the pun! 0*\


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H. erectus
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Re: Demolition of Water Points in Kruger

Post by H. erectus »

Oh goodness, how pathetic can planning the future get,.. 0*\
Just goes to show what us outsiders have to be content with!!!

Yoh,...suppose my comments leave a lot to be desired but hopefully
they have a problem locating most points, for that would be typical!!!


Heh,.. H.e
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Alf
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Re: Demolition of Water Points in Kruger

Post by Alf »

I can confirm that Mooiplaas and Bowkerkop waterholes are open \O

They were both closed last year August. I must add that the water level at Bowkerkop was low, but at least there was water


Next trip to the bush??

Let me think......................
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Flutterby
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Re: Demolition of Water Points in Kruger

Post by Flutterby »

\O


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nan
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Re: Demolition of Water Points in Kruger

Post by nan »

a good news... still a lot to reopen \O


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H. erectus
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Re: Demolition of Water Points in Kruger

Post by H. erectus »

nan wrote:a good news... still a lot to reopen
Oh goodness, what unsure and ill management undertaken
by our dear Curator??!!!! Barking which ever way the wind blows!!


Heh,.. H.e
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Re: Demolition of Water Points in Kruger

Post by Richprins »

Lisbeth wrote:After the drought: What is the future for Kruger’s waterholes?



During last season’s drought in the Kruger National Park, there were calls for park management to provide the animals with additional water. Wild asked Izak Smit, Science Manager: Systems Ecology, GIS and Remote Sensing, to shed light on the use of artificial waterholes.


Although the entire park received below average rainfall during the 2015/2016 rainfall season, the drought was most severe in the central and southern parts of the park where the lowest rainfall was recorded. In fact, for some rainfall stations it was the lowest rainfall recorded in history, with Skukuza receiving for the first time less than 200mm within a climatic year.




What are the current conditions in the park?

On average, most of the park experienced normal rainfall over the past rainfall season, and as such the plants that animals depend on for food (forage) have recovered well in most areas. Our intensive field monitoring data show that grasses south of the Olifants River (where the drought was most severe) have increased from on average 1,051kg/hectare during the drought to on average 3,264kg/hectare during the past season.

Nonetheless, the rainfall was very variable across the park and whilst certain rainfall stations recorded good rainfall, other stations experienced another dry year. For example, Lower Sabie Camp had more than double its average long term rainfall (1,256mm), whilst Olifants Camp had another dry year and recorded only 312mm in the past rainfall season (63% of long-term average).

The following satellite images show the difference in vegetation and greenness between the end of the growing season in 2016 and 2017. The more red an area, the lower the greenness, and vice versa for more green areas.



Surface water is widely available as pools in seasonal streams and springs, and all the perennial rivers are flowing, with good storage in upstream catchment dams.

Why did the Kruger National Park decide to close down some artificial waterholes?

When artificially provided water is widely available, it can impact the ecosystem negatively in a number of ways. Firstly, it may change the number of herbivores and their distribution. For example, if you place a waterhole in a certain area of the park where water does not occur naturally, then water dependent species like hippo, buffalo and elephant may settle in that area or visit the area more frequently. This may have knock-on effects such as a shortage of food and changes in predator behaviour. Ultimately this may disadvantage certain less water dependent species like sable and roan.

Secondly, if water attracts more herbivores into a specific area, the effect of these animals on the environment will also change markedly. If you locate a waterhole in a certain area, the grazing and browsing patterns change and will impact the environment. For example, if you place a waterhole in an area that used to be waterless, then elephant impact on trees in that area may increase. In short, artificial waterholes favour certain species (animals and plants alike). If artificial waterholes are available across the landscape, it will most likely have negative implications for other species.

Wouldn’t the waterholes have helped animals during the drought?

It’s a misconception that a high density of waterholes during droughts would be of benefit. In fact, most herbivores that die during droughts die due to the lack of food rather than the lack of water. Simply stated, if you provide a lot of waterholes, the number of water-dependent herbivores can increase unnaturally in years leading up to a drought, reducing food availability during the ensuing drought and increasing starvation-induced deaths. What’s more, veld condition is also affected as grazing is spread over a wider landscape. In short, by providing water, you can reduce the food available during droughts, which may ultimately increase the number of animals that die.



Waterholes make for great game viewing opportunities. Aren’t visitors losing out now?

We need to balance tourism and conservation objectives. At the height of the water provision programme there were more than 350 boreholes providing water for game in the park. Clearly an unnatural situation for a “semi-arid” savanna system. Many of these waterholes were not even close to tourist roads. As such, we started closing some of them since the mid-1990s when the water provision policy was changed after careful consideration and consultation and in line with scientific understanding. Although the number of artificial waterholes has been significantly reduced since then, there are still many operational waterholes available for tourists to visit and it is not our intention to remove all of them.

What’s more, in some areas we have also started to take tourist roads to (natural) water sources, instead of the other way around of taking (artificial) waterholes to tourist roads! This way we can achieve our tourism objectives without compromising our conservation mandate. In my opinion this also provides a more authentic wilderness experience – a river pool makes for much better ambience and photos than a cement trough or earthen dam. One such example is the recently opened one-way loop road (off the H1-4) next to the Ngotso Stream, where the artificial Ngotso Dam was recently breached.

Kruger is also increasingly investing energy into ensuring that the rivers flowing through the park are in a good condition and receive the water necessary to keep the system healthy. This is achieved through active monitoring of the rivers and constant engagement and interaction with our shared river users outside the park and the Department of Water and Sanitation.

These measures illustrate that we are passionate about ensuring conservation is not compromised, whilst ensuring the tourism product in Kruger remains of a high standard.


PICTURES PROVIDED BY IZAK SMIT


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