So far, we have discussed about air, noise and land pollution issues that are prevalent in national parks. In this blog post, the focus will be on another type of environmental pollution- water pollution, specifically in Kruger National Park (KNP) in South Africa. I will be adopting the “Message Box” approach that we have learned from Tutorial 1, to unpack and summarise key information from a journal article on the impacts of pollution in KNP. The main source that I will be drawing information from, is a journal article titled “Pollution impacts on the aquatic ecosystems of the Kruger National Park, South Africa”, which was written by Riddell et al. and published in the Scientific African journal in 2019.

But first, let’s take a quick look at a video that summarizes the problems of water pollution that the KNP is facing today.

Source: South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) Youtube Channel

Context
The KNP is a savanna ecosystem that is situated in the middle reaches of a few sizeable and biologically diverse transboundary river systems. Over the last 30 years, the KNP has been at the forefront of applied river ecosystems research due to the various challenges that the rivers face- which have often arisen from anthropogenic changes in the catchments of the park. The resultant challenges give rise to a multitude of effects that bear upon the parks’ capability to maintain the viability of aquatic ecosystems in a large and biodiverse landscape.

Audience
Various Stakeholders that are responsible for the management of the KNP, such as the South African National Parks (SANParks) and the Olifants Catchment Management Agency, as well as the users of the rivers, such as the densely populated peri-urban settlements who rely on the water from the river for agriculture and irrigation.

Purpose
To get an overview of the challenges that the KNP face in terms of upstream pollutants and its impact on the aquatic ecosystems. Since it is the responsibility of the KNP to conserve these important ecosystems, the focus on the effect of diffuse pollutant impacts to the freshwater aquatic biota as well as the diversity of these impacts will be explored.

Issue
Water pollution in the rivers of the KNP as a result of mining activities and municipal wastewater problems.

Problem

• Cyanide spills occur from extensive mining of copper and phosphate along a tributary of the Olifants River at KNP’s western boundary. The mining expansion in the Olifants River suffered serious salt enrichment, mainly from the sulphate and phosphate through controlled effluent discharge
• There is little oversight of the licenses of industrial mining facilities that sets out how much water it can use and what quality of water it can release into the river, especially for mines owned by people with political connections (Kings, 2017)
• Municipal wastewater treatment plants release polluted water more often than not. These plants are generally acknowledged in the environment sector as being the single worst source of pollution in South Africa (Kings, 2017)
• There is no systemic eco status monitoring that is taking place in the KNP’s northern rivers for at least 20 years and this is a cause for concern. Only the Crocodile and Sabie systems are being monitored by the Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency (IUCMA)

So What?

• Point and diffuse sources create a cascade of environmental pressures, such as affecting the mortalities of species like the Nile crocodile
• The manifestation of diseases as a result of upstream pollution impacts and eutrophication leads to a trophic level shift, with both crocodiles and sharp-tooth catfish changing to a more piscivorous diet
• Discernible effects of heavy metal bioaccumulation as a result of mining activities in the Olifants catchment
• Impacts on top predators such as the Tigerfish in the aquatic food chains
• Diffuse accumulation of Copper, Mercury and build up in egg-shells of crocodiles in the Olifants River, resulting in an eco-toxicological effect
• Intermittent fish kills arising from anoxic sediment sluicing
• Serious human health risks associated with regular subsistence of protein consumption of tissue from fish
• People using untreated water from these contaminated sites (along the Olifants) face a high risk of contracting diseases, such as diarrhoea and E coli

Benefits

• Rivers supply valuable water resources for domestic water supply, irrigation farming, industrial and mining developments. Tackling the pollution related issues in the KNP would thus provide important economic and social benefits to the users of both South Africa and Mozambique.
• Conserve the ecosystems and the biodiversity in the KNP
• Ensure safe water supply to tourist camps in the park that are dependent on the water from the Olifants River

Solutions

• The rivers of Kruger cannot be managed in isolation from the rest of the catchment area upstream of the park, but will need to align with integrated catchment management processes
• Categorising different rivers for various management options and setting up relevant institutions to oversee water resources within the 19 water management areas throughout the country
• Adopt a more stringent approach in ensuring that industrial mining activities follow the regulations set out for them, and punish those who do not stick by them, such as through heavier fines.
• Promote awareness of the benefits of conserving river biodiversity within the water management areas by tackling the prevalent pollution issues in the KNP

 

Till next time,
Irsyad

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References:

Kings, S., 2017. A River Of Shit, Chemicals, Metals Flows Through Our Land. [online] The Mail & Guardian. Available at: <https://mg.co.za/article/2017-04-13-00-a-river-of-shit-chemicals-metals-flows-through-our-land/>

Kings, S., 2014. Bosveld Phosphates Pollutes Kruger Rivers, Again. [online] The Mail & Guardian. Available at: <https://mg.co.za/article/2014-03-10-company-pollutes-kruger-rivers-again/>

Riddell, E., Govender, D., Botha, J., Sithole, H., Petersen, R. and Shikwambana, P., 2019. Pollution impacts on the aquatic ecosystems of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Scientific African, 6, p.e00195.

Siyabona Africa. n.d. Managing Kruger’s Rivers. [online] Available at: <http://www.krugerpark.co.za/krugerpark-times-4-7-krugers-rivers-24334.html>