An overview of cyanobacterial research and management in South Africa post-2000

Abstract

The quality of South Africa’s water resources is becoming increasingly impaired by eutrophication, to the extent that regional crises now prevail. Thirty-five percent of the total storage is eutrophic to hypertrophic – including grosslyenriched reservoirs that far exceed the globally-accepted definition of hypertrophy. Failing infrastructure contributes to the problem of polluted urban runoff which comprises a significant fraction of flows to inland reservoirs, particularly in the landlocked, economic heartland of the country. In the period post-2000, a number of developments have underpinned the
provision of a research and management infrastructure that ensures that South African water resource management structures are capable of dealing with cyanobacterial problems. This paper details the progress and achievements that have been made during this period.