Catchments and the aquatic ecosystems they support are, from people’s perspective, the most important natural resources on planet earth. We cannot exist without them. They are sustained not only by the water which flows through them, but also by the aquatic biota which live in them. They are also the most threatened ecosystems on earth and in South Africa, the 2019 National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) reports that 67% of the total river length in the country is classified as degraded and that 64% of river ecosystem types are classified as threatened (Driver et al 2019).

GeoNest works to support the responsible stewardship of our strategically and ecologically important catchments and aquatic ecosystems. This is presently through:

• Supporting integrated catchment management
• Developing tools and approaches to support water resources decision makers
• Monitoring the state of our catchments
• Monitoring freshwater ecosystems and river health including key ecological indicators such as fish, invertebrates, diatoms and water quality.