The De Hoop Dam is located on the Steelpoort River and is
predominantly invaded by eucalyptus and wattle species.
In the worst-case scenario, as per the
Berg River Catchment, invasion in the
De Hoop catchment would increase
from 7% to between 53% and 55% of
the invadable area of the catchment.
the country,” says Le Maitre. Given these findings, the
authors state that building a dam without a plan to clear its
catchments of invasive alien plants and to maintain them in
that state, is tantamount to fruitless expenditure.
About the authors
innovations
• Dr David Le Maitre is the principal researcher
at CSIR, with expertise in ecosystem services
assessment and mapping. Le Maitre’s research
focuses on the linkages between biodiversity,
ecosystem services and land use, centring on
ecohydrology and water resources, the impacts of
plant invasions and improving the efficacy of invasive
plant species management.
• James Nelson Blignaut is a part-time professor at
the Department of Economics, University of Pretoria
and director of Beatus and ASSET Research.
• Professor Lynette Louw is appointed to
the Raymond Ackerman Chair of Management,
Department of Management and is the deputy
dean, Faculty of Commerce at Rhodes University in
Grahamstown, South Africa. Professor Carolyn
(Tally) Palmer is the director at Unilever Centre for
Environmental Water Quality and a professor at the
Institute for Water Research at Rhodes University.
www.waterafrica.co.za
May/June 2019
23
• Ian Preston has a Master’s in Commerce
Management (Water) and works at the Institute for
Water Research.
Water Sewage & Effluent May/June 2019
23