Are We Destroying Our Insurance Policy? The Effects of Alien Invasion and Subsequent Restoration - Landscape Ecology for Sustainable Environment and Culture - page 350

that their rate of clearing is slower than these data indicate. At their current rate of
clearing it would take Working for Water another 30 years to clear the Kromme,
and this is just one of many South African catchments. Such a large investment in
the Kromme over a long period of time with such a low rate of progress would
suggest that the WfWater Programme could do with improvement (Hosking and
du Preez 2004 ; McConnachie et al. 2012 ). Part of this may be the lack of com-
munication: the failure to bridge the gap between managers, implementing agents
and landowners and society at large (Cowling et al. 2008 ).
16.5 Conclusion
The question remains as to how these complex systems can be managed so that
they are insured against future climate change. Managing the functioning of rivers
requires holistic, integrated catchment management approaches as well as inter-
disciplinary co-operation (Dollar et al. 2007 ; Nel et al. 2007 , 2009 ). Riparian
systems have been described as complex adaptive systems and both a social
learning process and an adaptive management approach is needed (Pahl-Wostl
2007 ). We recommend that important water providing catchments, where agri-
culture is marginal, should be prioritized for provision of water-related ecosystem
services alone. Investment into improving the resilience of these systems as
insurance against future climate changes is essential. This should be in the form of
prohibiting unsustainable land management practices and enforcing the laws that
protect rivers and wetlands, eradication of invasive alien plants and rehabilitation
of the river and wetlands. This investment in restoration of an important water-
providing catchment cannot be done without education and a social learning
process (Pahl-Wostl 2007 ; Cowling et al. 2008 ).
Acknowledgments Thank-you to the following people for invaluable support and guidance:
Katie Gull, Mr Japie Buckle, Mr Pierre Joubert, Prof James Blignaut, Mr Mike Powell, GIS
Consultancy Garth Stephenson. Thank-you to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. All my work is
dedicated to You. Thank-you to the following organizations for funding and support: ASSET
Research, the Water Research Commission of South Africa, the Fynbos Forum Innovation
Scholarship (Table Mountain Fund and WWF), the HB Thom Fund, Dudley D'Ewes Scholarship
(Cape Tercentenary Foundation), the Ernst and Ethel Eriksen Trust.
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