Clearing invasive alien plants as a cost-effective strategy for water catchment management : the case of the Olifants River catchment, South Africa
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Date
Authors
Morokong, Tshepo
Blignaut, James Nelson
Nkambule, Nonophile Promise
Mudhavanhu, Shepherd
Vundla, Thulile
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Pretoria, Department of Economics
Abstract
Invasive alien plants have a negative impact on ecosystem goods and services derived from ecosystems.
Consequently, the aggressive spread of invasive alien plants (IAPs) in the river catchments of South Africa
is a major threat to, inter alia, water security. The Olifants River catchment is one such a catchment that is
under pressure because of the high demand for water from mainly industrial sources and unsustainable
land-use, which includes IAPs. This study considered the cost-effectiveness of clearing IAPs and compared
these with the cost of a recently constructed dam. The methods used for data collection were semistructured
interviews, site observation, desktop data analysis, and a literature review to assess the impact of
IAPs on the catchment’s water supply. The outcomes of this study indicate that clearing invasive alien plants
is a cost-effective intervention with a Unit Reference Value (URV) of R1.44/m3, which compares very
favourably with that of the De Hoop dam, the URV for which is R2.93/m3. These results suggest that
clearing invasive alien plants is a cost-effective way of catchment management, as the opportunity cost of
not doing so (forfeiting water to the value of R2.93/m3) is higher than that of protecting the investment in the
dam.
Description
Keywords
Catchment management, Cost-effectiveness, Invasive alien plants (IAPs), River catchments, Olifants River catchment, South Africa (SA), Unit reference value (URV)
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Morokong, T, Blignaut, J, Nkambule, NP, Mudhavanhu, S Vundla, T 2016, 'Clearing invasive alien plants as a cost-effective strategy for water catchment management : the case of the Olifants River catchment, South Africa', South African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences, vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 774-787.