Water, Sewage & Effluent May June 2019 | Page 25

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