Grassroots September 2016, Vol. 16, No. 3

News contributions to South Africa’s nature conservation through the governmental Working for Water Programme. But not all human activities are harmful to dragonflies and other water, fauna and flora. Farm dams can encourage age many species that would otherwise be very scarce in the area. Good nature conservation dams are those with constant water levels, much water weed and marginal vegetation, and no pollutants, especially fertilisers and pesticides used in agriculture. Successful ccessful management of fresh water biodiversity depends on the quality of data on the species that these ecosystems support. Projects monitoring the health of fresh waters are a vital component of this. The process of fresh water assessment is very pleasant, t, like going bird watching. This new approach makes freshwater assessment so much easier than in the past and makes a major contribution to nature conservation. Grassroots Figure 1: Damselfly like the white malachite are excellent candidates for water assessment. Credit: Michael Samways September 2016 Vol 16 No. 3

Grassroots September 2016, Vol. 16, No. 3 | Page 19