Middelpunt Reserve near Dullstroom declared new Ramsar site
The Middelpunt Nature Reserve is situated along the headwaters of the Lakenvleispruit in the Olifants River basin, approximately 14km from Dullstroom.
The minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment, Barbara Creecy, has welcomed the declaration of Middelpunt Nature Reserve as South Africa’s 29th Ramsar (Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance) site.
In February, Steelburger/Lydenburg News reported about important research the Mpumalanga Wetland Forum was doing at Verloren Valei, about 12km out of Dullstroom towards Belfast.
The theme for 2023 was ‘It’s time for wetlands restoration’.
Wetlands remove toxic substances and sediment from water, while also improving downstream water quality and the overall health of communities. They are also an important habitat for several breeding bird species. Migratory waterfowl use wetlands as resting places, feeding grounds, breeding grounds and nesting grounds.
These wetlands not only play an important role in the ecosystem, but can also create much-needed job opportunities through the tourism sector and rehabilitation projects. These programmes include Working for Wetlands 2021 and 20 Years of Wetland Restoration in South Africa, and projects by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. It is part of the hard work and dedication of the Mpumalanga Wetland Forum, Friends of Verloren Valei, Endangered Wildlife
Trust and other organisations that the Middelpunt site became recognised.
The declaration of South Africa’s 29th wetland of international importance comes less than a year since the declaration of the Berg Estuary in the Western Cape as South Africa’s 28th Ramsar Site under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
“This is a further indication of how important it is to conserve and protect our country’s wetlands. Wetlands’ unique environmental features do not only provide clean water through their natural filtration systems, but also because they provide habitats to a variety of species, including migratory birds,” said Creecy.
The Middelpunt Nature Reserve is situated along the headwaters of the Lakenvleispruit in the Olifants River basin, approximately 14km from Dullstroom.
The site is situated in one of South Africa’s highest rainfall regions, known as the Mpumalanga Drakensburg Strategic Water Source Area. This region consists primarily of a permanent freshwater valley bottom wetland, supported by lateral seeps and artesian springs.
The Ramsar site is home to one of the rarest and most threatened waterbirds in Africa, the white-winged flufftail. Ethiopia was thought to be the only country where white-winged flufftail breed, and recently, the first breeding record was made at Middelpunt Nature Reserve, establishing that a breeding population exists outside of Ethiopia.
At the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, or the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement meeting held in Budapest, South Africa won an award for the conservation of the white-winged flufftail in recognition of its conservation efforts for this endangered rare bird species.
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The site also contributes significantly to conserving the genetic and ecological diversity of the Steenkampsberg Mountain Grasslands and provides habitat for a number of other endangered and endemic species, including the blue crane, secretary bird, African grass owl, and Denham’s bustard.
The site is one of just two in South Africa where the rare peat borrowing crab is found.
Middelpunt Wetland contains a peat layer between 1.5 and 2.6m deep, accumulating at a rate of 0.36mm per year. This provides an important ecosystem service to the global community by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.
The Friends of Verloren Valei arrange guided field trips periodically during the year.
Contact them at info@verlorenvalei.org.za or visit their website on www.verlorenvalei.org.za.
They can also be contacted to obtain more information about Middelpunt.
