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Summary IEB Grade 12 Geography-Catchment and River Management
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IEB Geography notes for Grade 12 These notes are on Catchment and River Management
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Catchment and River ManagementThe importance of water sources and wetlands
Fresh, clean water is important to people and the environment for the following reasons:
o A supply of clean water, free from bacteria that cause water-borne diseases like
cholera.
o People rely on rivers to provide water for many activities. Without water there can be
no agriculture, no industry, no business and no development. People need the water
from rivers for their homes. Rivers and dams provide people with hydroelectricity.
o Fresh water sources supply people with food.
o Water sources are used for recreational activities, tourism, cultural activities and
settlement.
o Birds and wildlife depend on rivers and the vegetation in the riparian zone.
Wetlands are marshes and swamps that are found in some drainage basins and catchment
areas. Wetlands are important as they trap and store water, regulate stream flow, and filter
and purify the water that flows through them:
o Wetlands remove harmful bacteria from water and reduce the acidity of the water.
o Wetlands also filter sand from the water and prevent silt from reaching rivers and
dams, preventing them from silting up and reducing capacity.
o Water flowing into a wetland slows down and spreads out. The wetland plants hold
back the water and the wetland acts as a sponge, storing the water and releasing it
slowly downstream. This reduces flood damage and ensures a steady supply of water
all year.
o Wetlands are important breeding areas and habitats for many organisms.
Why drainage basins and catchment areas need to be
managed
o Rivers and their catchment areas need to be managed so that:
o Everyone can have access to water
o River ecosystems remain healthy
o Flooding can be controlled
o Sustainable development can be maintained: this means that water sources are
protected so that they are safeguarded for present and future generations
o Users of water sources do not harm rivers and make them unusable, for example
when a large amount of waste flows into rivers, the river plants, animals and microbes
are unable to break it down.
Integrated Water Resource Management is the policy that groundwater, rivers and wetlands
need to be managed together, as they are all linked within the water cycle.
o This management must include the land that surrounds the water sources and the
human activities that have an impact on them.
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