THE NYL-RIVER FLOODPLAIN, SOUTH-AFRICA, AS A FUNCTIONAL UNIT OF THE LANDSCAPE - A REVIEW OF CURRENT INFORMATION

The Nyl River floodplain is one of southern Africa's conservation, eco -tourism and agricultural assets. Its location in a water-stressed reg ion means that the biota of the Nyl River floodplain must compete for water resources with other water users. In order to compete, however, the system must clearly articulate its dependence on water and its eco nomic and conservation value. A review of the system's structure and a statement of our present understanding of how the system functions is provided. This information is used to qualitatively assess the system 's dependence on run-off from its catchment areas, Negative impacts on the system's biota, particularly the aquatic plants and waterbirds, a re predicted if run-off is reduced. It is concluded, however, that a q uantitative model of the system's functioning is required for the reso lution of water resource disputes and for the effective management of the system. It is anticipated that interdisciplinary studies will be r equired to provide this quantitative model of the Nyl River floodplain and of similar systems.