WildLife Group
of the SAVA
system. Umfolozi Sugar Cooperative (UCOSP) and two
farmers launched an application in the High Court in
August 2015 to compel iSimangaliso to breach the
uMfolozi river mouth to the sea. The application was
launched on an urgent basis to enable the draining
of floodwaters from less than 94ha or 1% of the
9427ha of land under sugarcane on the uMfolozi
floodplain. This matter has been set down for May
2016. An interim court settlement, which remains in
place until May 2016 when the matter will be heard,
requires iSimangaliso to breach the mouth at a point
of its choosing when the Msunduze water levels reach
1.2gmsl at Cotcane.
A second urgent application was launched by UCOSP
and the two farmers in December 2015 to compel
iSimangaliso to breach. iSimangaliso stayed the
breach. This was the last time water flowed from the
uMfolozi River into Lake St Lucia. The application was
postponed sine die. A date has not been given for this
hearing.
In the spirit of collaboration, iSimangaliso has been in
discussion with UCOSP since 2008, when iSimangaliso
began the review of the management strategy for
the Estuary. Commitments to improve their flood
protection by UCOSP have yet to be fulfilled.
We are extremely concerned about the possible
adverse ecological impacts to Lake St Lucia from the
breaching of the uMfolozi River to the sea, as well as
the possible knock-on effects on the livelihoods of
many people, particularly in light of the poor winter
rain that has been forecast. 2015 was recorded as the
lowest rainfall year since 1920.
iSimangaliso’s Lake St Lucia Estuary is one-of-a-kind.
It is the world’s oldest protected estuary and Africa’s
largest estuarine system, as well as the focal point
of the UNESCO World Heritage Listing. It has been a
Ramsar Wetland of International Importance since
1986 – not only of global ecological
significance, but also of regional and local
economic importance.
More than 50% of all water birds in
KwaZulu-Natal feed, roost and nest in
this estuary. Of the 155 fish species that
have been recorded in the Lake St Lucia
estuarine system, 71 species use St Lucia
as a nursery area and at least 24 of these
are important in marine line fisheries.
Harvests of raw materials, particularly
estuarine sedges, is estimated to be
worth around R7,5 million a year. The
contribution of the estuarine floodplain
24