National Wetland Inventory South African National Wetland Inventory Overview Recognizing the ecological, social and economic importance of wetlands, as well as their threatened status in South Africa, the Wetlands Conservation Programme of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has committed itself to setting up a national wetland inventory. The inventory was launched at a workshop in November 1997, which was attended by a range of stakeholders including government departments, NGOs, conservation bodies and research institutes. The workshop built on the groundwork laid by an earlier meeting, held in 1988 by the Foundation for Research Development, on wetland inventory and classification. Mapping and classification During the first stage of the inventory, South Africa's wetlands will be mapped and classified.
Mapping consists of identifying and delineating wetlands from remotely-sensed images.
In order to accomplish this, a wetland classification system, by which the various wetland habitat types are ordered into groups with certain shared natural attributes, has been developed. This was accomplished by modifying for South African use the classification system successfully used by the United States National Wetland Inventory for almost twenty years, known as the Cowardin system. The use of such a system will aid decision-making for conservation and management, facilitate mapping, and provide a means to standardise and define terms used to describe various wetland types. Aerial photographs are currently considered to be the most accurate form of remotely sensed data for identifying and delineating wetlands. As a general rule, all wetlands conforming to the definition adopted for the inventory and that can be accurately identified and mapped from aerial photos will be included in the inventory.