Comment mesurer la dégradation de la nature, son état de "santé", afin de déterminer l’amortissement de son utilisation, non-enregistré dans les bilans des nations? Mon travail de thèse sur la « comptabilité écosystémique » du bassin versant du Rhône est une première expérimentale sur une nouvelle méthodologie intégrable aux outils encore incomplets des comptabilités nationales de type PIB. Consommer du capital écologique, nos ressources renouvelables, sans l’amortir revient à créer des dettes écologiques. L’objectif de la comptabilité écosystémique est de produire un outil d’aide à la décision permettant d’éviter la dégradation nette des écosystèmes par des politiques publiques informées par la science. L’outil produit des bilans écologiques basés sur des informations géographiques et mesurés en termes physiques, permettant d’effectuer des modélisations et simulations afin d’estimer l’internalisation des externalités (Figure). J’ai élaboré divers indicateurs synthétiques relatifs aux fonctions des écosystèmes et de leur intégrité, pour calculer le potentiel écologique du bassin versant du Rhône. Le diagnostic comptable est assortie d’une description spatialisée des changements observés afin de mieux saisir leur pertinence. L’outil est susceptible d’aider les différentes entités territoriales à se positionner sur la gestion de leurs ressources renouvelables stratégiques (eau, sols, biomasse, infrastructures et services écologiques) dans le contexte d’un ordre mondial en transformation: il s’agit des enjeux géopolitiques majeurs en matière de sécurité et souveraineté alimentaire et énergétique, dans leur lien avec la santé publique. / How to measure the degradation of nature, its "health" condition, to determine the depreciation of its use, not recorded in the balance sheets of the nations? My thesis work on the "ecosystem accounting" of the Rhone river basin is an experimental first on a new methodology integrable with the still incomplete tools of the national accounts of the type GDP. Consuming ecological capital, our renewable resources, without amortizing means the creation of ecological debts.The goal of ecosystem accounting is to produce a decision support tool to avoid the net degradation of ecosystems through science-informed public policies. The tool produces ecological balances based on geographical information and measured in physical terms, making it possible to perform modelizations and simulations in order to estimate the internalisation of externalities (Figure). I have developed various synthetic indicators relating to the functions of ecosystems and their integrity, to calculate the ecological potential of the Rhône watershed. The accounting diagnosis is accompanied by a spatial description of the changes observed in order to better understand their relevance. The tool is likely to help the various territorial entities to position themselves on the management of their strategic renewable resources (water, soil, biomass, infrastructures and ecological services) in the context of a changing world order: major geopolitical issues in terms of security and food and energy sovereignty, in their link with public health.

No description available.

[pt] O oceano é um ecossistema fundamental para a sobrevivência dos humanos e não humanos. Todavia, vem sendo explorado de forma desordenada e sufocado com poluição plástica, como demonstram diagnósticos recentes, elaborados na Década do Oceano, inclusive em relação ao cenário brasileiro. Nesse período, pretende-se alavancar ações para alcançar um oceano saudável e produtivo, entre outros atributos, mediante integração e colaboração entre diversos atores, inclusive as instituições financeiras, que dispõem de recursos para financiar sua execução. O presente trabalho objetiva demonstrar como o Planejamento Espacial Marinho, cujo estudo para implementação do Projeto-Piloto na região sul do país será apoiado pelo Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), poderá, além de servir de base para a adequada regulação do uso sustentável do oceano, também acelerar o combate à poluição plástica nesse ecossistema, induzindo a ampliação de ações voltadas à gestão de resíduos sólidos, nele planejadas. Esse efeito adicional poderá ser alcançado porque esse planejamento será desenvolvido com base ecossistêmica e observando a integração entre as políticas públicas marinhas e terrestres já existentes, além de considerar todas as questões que afetam o oceano. A Convenção das Nações Unidas sobre Diversidade Biológica definiu a base ecossistêmica como uma estratégia para a gestão integrada da terra, da água e dos recursos vivos, que promove a conservação e o uso sustentável, de um modo equitativo. No âmbito do referido financiamento, deverão ser produzidos cadernos técnicos setoriais, entre os quais sobre meio ambiente e mudança do clima, analisando, inclusive, a poluição marinha e como esse problema ambiental e social pode afetar o uso econômico do oceano. Assim, aliando essa iniciativa a outras que já são apoiadas, em linha com sua missão socioambiental, o BNDES irá induzir transformações relevantes, ao colaborar para a efetividade da Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos, necessária para o desenvolvimento da Economia Azul e a consequente sustentabilidade do oceano. / [en] The ocean is a fundamental ecosystem for the survival of humans and non-humans. However, it has been exploited in a disorderly way and suffocated with plastic pollution, as shown by recent diagnoses, elaborated in the Ocean Decade, including in relation to the Brazilian scenario. During this period, the intention is to leverage actions to achieve a healthy and productive ocean, among other attributes, through integration and collaboration between different actors, including financial institutions, which have resources to finance its execution. This work aims to demonstrate how the Marine Spatial Planning, whose study for the implementation of the Pilot Project in the southern region of the country will be supported by the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), may, in addition to providing for the regulation of ocean use, also accelerate the combat against plastic pollution in this ecosystem, inducing the expansion of actions aimed at solid waste management in Brazil. This additional effect can be achieved because this planning will be developed based on ecosystem and observing the integration between existing marine and terrestrial public policies, in addition to considering all issues that affect the ocean. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defined the ecosystem base as a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way. In this financing, should be produced a sectoral notebook about the environmental and climate change, including analyzing marine pollution and how this environmental and social problem can affect the economic use of the ocean. Thus, combining this initiative with others that are already supported, in line with its socio-environmental mission, the BNDES will induce relevant transformations, by collaborating for the effectiveness of the National Solid Waste Policy, necessary for the development of the Blue Economy and the consequent sustainability of the ocean.

Based on the surveys in Cat Tien National Park (CTNP), this paper explored the situation of forest land use among ethnic minorities (EMs). Overall, 170 households in 6 sampled hamlets of CTNP were interviewed. In-depth interviews and the Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) method were implemented to obtain the data. The result showed that the more the EMs participated in natural resource management and conservation activities the less they extracted the forest land resource (Pearson Chi-Square Test, p = 0.002). Moreover, the ratio of the natural resource use in terms of encroached forest land differed significantly between indigenous EMs and migrant ones (Pearson Chi-Square Test, p = 0.000). It is recommended that more participation of the EMs in forest management or environmental services may be one of the effective strategies for sustainable management of the forest land in CTNP, especially in the CZs. Additionally, different management arrangements between two groups is necessary. / Kết quả nghiên cứu đã cho thấy được thực trạng sử dụng đất rừng trong cộng đồng người dân tộc thiểu số tại Vườn quốc gia Cát Tiên. Phương pháp đánh giá nhanh nông thôn và phỏng vấn sâu được vận dụng để nghiên cứu 170 nông hộ mẫu thuộc 6 thôn tại vườn quốc gia. Kết quả cho thấy đồng bào dân tộc thiểu số càng tham gia các hoạt động quản lý và bảo tồn tài nguyên thì họ càng ít lấn chiếm đất rừng. Hơn nữa, tỉ lệ sử dụng đất rừng nhóm dân tộc thiểu số bản địa và di cư là khác biệt. Thu hút thêm sự tham gia của đồng bào dân tộc thiểu số trong quản lý tài nguyên hay dịch vụ môi trường rừng là giải pháp hữu hiệu cho công tác quản lý tài nguyên bền vững ở Vườn quốc gia Cát Tiên, đặc biệt đối với vùng lõi. Nghiên cứu cũng đề xuất cần có những giải pháp quản lý thích hợp cho từng nhóm đồng bào dân tộc thiểu số tham gia quản lý tài nguyên hay dịch vụ môi trường rừng.

Les plantes médicinales jouent un rôle central, tant pour la médicine traditionnelle de certaines cultures, que pour la satisfaction d’une demande commerciale, souvent lointaine. Face à la forte pression qui pèse actuellement sur les populations de plantes médicinales - due à l'augmentation de la surexploitation commerciale et à la perte d'habitats - il est crucial de trouver des options qui permettront une gestion durable de cette ressource tout en contribuant à maintenir le bien-être socioéconomique des communautés locales qui en dépendent. Ainsi il est important de comprendre les perceptions que les populations ont des plantes médicinales, de la façon de les exploiter et de les gérer. L’objectif, donc, de ce projet est de mieux comprendre les interactions existantes entre savoir traditionnel et gestion des plantes médicinales. La présente étude de cas constitue une étude géographique et ethnobotanique inductive/exploratoire. Nous dressons dans cette recherche le portrait des dynamiques utilisées par les communautés Nahuas de la Huasteca Potosina pour la gestion des plantes médicinales. L’information qui est présentée a été obtenue par une combinaison de données descriptives, historiques, qualitatives, quelques unes quantitatives, qui sont le produit d’une revue bibliographique et d’un travail de terrain. Notre recherche démontre un éventail de pratiques de gestion, d’intérêts, de valeurs ainsi que de représentations sociales des plantes médicinales au sein d’une même ethnie. Cette étude met en évidence l’importance des pratiques locales de gestion pour élaborer des recommandations dans le domaine de la gestion durable des plantes médicinales. / Plant species can have different uses. However, medicinal purposes play a central role in different cultures whether they are used for traditional medicine or for commercialization. At present, medicinal plant species are under strong pressure. This is due to their commercial uses and is related to the loss of their habitat. It is imperative to find options that will allow the utilisation of medicinal plant species in a sustainable way. Thus, it would allow a contribution to the socioeconomic well-being of those communities that depend upon the plants. Similarly, it is also important to understand the perception that communities have of their plants and their uses. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to better understand the relationships between traditional knowledge and the utilisation of medicinal plant species among these local communities. The research constitutes an exploratory-inductive study with strong geographical and ethno-botanical bases. In this research, we describe the patterns followed by indigenous Nahuas communities of la Huasteca Potosina in the management of medicinal plant species. Descriptive, historical, qualitative and quantitative data used for this study were gathered through bibliographic research and fieldwork. The result of the study describes a series of practices, values and social representations. It relates to the use of medicinal plant species within a specific ethnic group. The importance of this research is to highlight local practices and, thus, come up with additional recommendations to the sustainable utilisation of medicinal plant species. / Las plantas medicinales desempeñan un papel central, tanto para la medicina tradicional de algunas culturas como para satisfacer una demanda de mercado tanto local como externa. Dada la fuerte presión actual sobre las poblaciones de plantas medicinales - debido a la creciente explotación comercial y la pérdida de hábitat - es crucial encontrar opciones que permitan un manejo sostenible de este recurso, así como contribuir al mantenimiento del bienestar socioeconómico de las comunidades locales que dependen de éste. Por lo tanto, es importante entender las percepciones, la forma de explotación y manejo de las plantas medicinales por parte de las poblaciones. El objetivo de este proyecto es comprender mejor las interacciones entre los conocimientos tradicionales y la gestión de las plantas medicinales. Este estudio de caso es un estudio geográfico y etnobotánico inductivo / exploratorio. Donde es expuesto un retrato de las dinámicas de gestión de las plantas medicinales utilizadas por las comunidades nahuas de la Huasteca Potosina. La información presentada es el producto de un análisis de datos descriptivos, históricos, cualitativos y cuantitativos; obtenidos de una revisión bibliográfica y un trabajo de campo. Nuestra investigación muestra una serie de prácticas de manejo, intereses, valores y representaciones sociales de las plantas medicinales dentro de una misma etnicidad. Este estudio pone en relieve la importancia de las prácticas de gestión local para elaborar recomendaciones en el ámbito del manejo sostenible de las plantas medicinales.

Les plantes médicinales jouent un rôle central, tant pour la médicine traditionnelle de certaines cultures, que pour la satisfaction d’une demande commerciale, souvent lointaine. Face à la forte pression qui pèse actuellement sur les populations de plantes médicinales - due à l'augmentation de la surexploitation commerciale et à la perte d'habitats - il est crucial de trouver des options qui permettront une gestion durable de cette ressource tout en contribuant à maintenir le bien-être socioéconomique des communautés locales qui en dépendent. Ainsi il est important de comprendre les perceptions que les populations ont des plantes médicinales, de la façon de les exploiter et de les gérer. L’objectif, donc, de ce projet est de mieux comprendre les interactions existantes entre savoir traditionnel et gestion des plantes médicinales. La présente étude de cas constitue une étude géographique et ethnobotanique inductive/exploratoire. Nous dressons dans cette recherche le portrait des dynamiques utilisées par les communautés Nahuas de la Huasteca Potosina pour la gestion des plantes médicinales. L’information qui est présentée a été obtenue par une combinaison de données descriptives, historiques, qualitatives, quelques unes quantitatives, qui sont le produit d’une revue bibliographique et d’un travail de terrain. Notre recherche démontre un éventail de pratiques de gestion, d’intérêts, de valeurs ainsi que de représentations sociales des plantes médicinales au sein d’une même ethnie. Cette étude met en évidence l’importance des pratiques locales de gestion pour élaborer des recommandations dans le domaine de la gestion durable des plantes médicinales. / Plant species can have different uses. However, medicinal purposes play a central role in different cultures whether they are used for traditional medicine or for commercialization. At present, medicinal plant species are under strong pressure. This is due to their commercial uses and is related to the loss of their habitat. It is imperative to find options that will allow the utilisation of medicinal plant species in a sustainable way. Thus, it would allow a contribution to the socioeconomic well-being of those communities that depend upon the plants. Similarly, it is also important to understand the perception that communities have of their plants and their uses. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to better understand the relationships between traditional knowledge and the utilisation of medicinal plant species among these local communities. The research constitutes an exploratory-inductive study with strong geographical and ethno-botanical bases. In this research, we describe the patterns followed by indigenous Nahuas communities of la Huasteca Potosina in the management of medicinal plant species. Descriptive, historical, qualitative and quantitative data used for this study were gathered through bibliographic research and fieldwork. The result of the study describes a series of practices, values and social representations. It relates to the use of medicinal plant species within a specific ethnic group. The importance of this research is to highlight local practices and, thus, come up with additional recommendations to the sustainable utilisation of medicinal plant species. / Las plantas medicinales desempeñan un papel central, tanto para la medicina tradicional de algunas culturas como para satisfacer una demanda de mercado tanto local como externa. Dada la fuerte presión actual sobre las poblaciones de plantas medicinales - debido a la creciente explotación comercial y la pérdida de hábitat - es crucial encontrar opciones que permitan un manejo sostenible de este recurso, así como contribuir al mantenimiento del bienestar socioeconómico de las comunidades locales que dependen de éste. Por lo tanto, es importante entender las percepciones, la forma de explotación y manejo de las plantas medicinales por parte de las poblaciones. El objetivo de este proyecto es comprender mejor las interacciones entre los conocimientos tradicionales y la gestión de las plantas medicinales. Este estudio de caso es un estudio geográfico y etnobotánico inductivo / exploratorio. Donde es expuesto un retrato de las dinámicas de gestión de las plantas medicinales utilizadas por las comunidades nahuas de la Huasteca Potosina. La información presentada es el producto de un análisis de datos descriptivos, históricos, cualitativos y cuantitativos; obtenidos de una revisión bibliográfica y un trabajo de campo. Nuestra investigación muestra una serie de prácticas de manejo, intereses, valores y representaciones sociales de las plantas medicinales dentro de una misma etnicidad. Este estudio pone en relieve la importancia de las prácticas de gestión local para elaborar recomendaciones en el ámbito del manejo sostenible de las plantas medicinales.

The EU's Water Framework Directive aims to a long-term and sustainable use of our water resources and wants to ensure good water quality in Europe's water bodies. Discharge of polluted stormwater into receiving waters can be a threat to their ecological and chemical status. Municipalities are responsible for supervision of the environmental quality standards (EQS) and therefore need to gain knowledge of current stormwater management, the expected level of pollution emissions and possible appropriate purification steps to ensure that the goal of good water quality is achieved. This master thesis aims to provide this knowledge in the example case of Vallentunas urban area and wants to prepare future oversight so that it can be assessed how much the discharge of polluted stormwater into the local receiving water is a threat to its status. With the help of maps, aerial photographs, site observations and individual discussions those areas are mapped where appearance of moderate to highly polluted stormwater could be suspected. The degree of pollution at the discharge points is determined based on land use upstream and uses standard values according to the administrators assistance "Tillsyn av dagvatten" (MSL 2014). The study identifies 100 areas in need of supervision regarding their stormwater management. The information is digitized and made available to all affected departments in the municipality via the internal GIS. Through literature review this thesis highlights even the legal provisions for the supervision and its importance to the environmental quality standards and also consider the importance of the expected climate change for the stormwater pollution. The work emphasizes the importance of increased information flow and communication between the different actors that are significant for surface water management and environmental quality standards for water. For being able to look at the examination area from an international perspective the essay does a simpler comparison of the municipal supervision of stormwater management between Sweden and the state of Schleswig Holstein in Germany. / EU:s ramdirektiv för vatten syftar till ett långsiktigt och hållbart utnyttjande av våra vattenresurser och ska säkra en god vattenkvalitet i Europas vattenförekomster. Utsläpp av förorenat dagvatten till recipienterna kan vara ett hot för deras ekologiska och kemiska status. Kommunerna har tillsynsansvar för miljökvalitetsnormerna (MKN) och därför behov att få kunskap om nuvarande dagvattenhantering, förväntad föroreningsgrad av utsläppen och eventuella lämpliga reningsåtgärder för att säkerställa att målet med en god vattenkvalitet uppnås. Arbetets syfte är att hjälpa till att skaffa denna kunskap i exempelfallet Vallentuna tätort och förbereda framtida tillsyn så att det kan göras en bedömning av hur pass mycket utsläppet av förorenat dagvatten till den lokala recipienten är ett hot för dess status. Med hjälp av kartor, flygbilder, platsobservationer och enskilda samtal kartläggs områden där man kan förvänta sig uppkomsten av måttligt till starkt förorenat dagvatten. Föroreningsgraden vid utsläppspunkterna bestäms utifrån markanvändning uppströms och använder schablonvärden enligt handläggarstödet "Tillsyn av dagvatten" (MSL 2014). Undersökningen pekar ut 100 områden som har behov av tillsyn rörande deras dagvattenhantering. Informationen digitaliseras och görs tillgänglig för alla berörda enheter i kommunen via det interna GIS-systemet. Genom granskning av litteraturen belyses bl.a. även de rättsliga bestämmelserna för tillsynen och dess betydelse för miljökvalitetsnormerna samt att det tas hänsyn till förväntad klimatförändring. Arbetet betonar vikten av ett ökat informationsflöde och kommunikation mellan de olika aktörerna som har betydelse för dagvattenhanteringen och miljökvalitetsnormerna för vatten. För att se på uppsatsens undersökningsområde ur ett internationellt perspektiv görs även en enklare jämförelse av tillsynen för dagvattenhanteringen mellan Sverige och förbundslandet Schleswig Holstein i Tyskland.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:39:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 PINTO_Bruna_2014.pdf: 7582705 bytes, checksum: d231281182e1012c5ab65a4e42ad1f3a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-04 / Considering that less than 11% of the brazilian Environmental Protection Areas have a Management Plan, the assessment of land use and the conflict in Permanent Preservation Areas can provide important results to the management of this Protected Area category, since the map of degraded Permanent Preservation Areas can be used as a guide for restoration actions. This research aimed to characterize the land use in APA Tietê, highlighting the conflict associated with Permanent Preservation Areas (Federal law n° 12.651 de 2012), in order to provide subsidies to the planning and land management. We have mapped land use through supervised automatic classification of RapidEye satellite image, and determined the land use conflicts with aid of software ArcGIS 10.2. We can conclude that APA Tietê has predominance of agricultural land uses, corresponding to 78.42% of the total protected area. This area is in critical condition to biodiversity conservation, since 76.43% of Permanent Preservation Areas consist of conflicting land uses. We have mapped 908 forest fragments, of which approximately 88% have areas smaller than 10 ha. 39.64% of these forest fragments have no neighbor fragment in a distance of 100 m. The native vegetation cover represents only 9.98% of the total area of the Environmental Protection Areas. The analysis of the hypothetical scenario showed that the restoration of Permament Preservation Areas can increase the size of the fragments and enhance landscape connectivity, in compliance with environmental legislation. Another alternative indicated to increase total vegetation cover in APA Tietê following legal increments is proposed for the restoration of the area through the establishment of Legal Reserves. In this context, through multicriteria analysis, we made a rank of all the territory of the Protected Area based on ecological relevance in order to give priority to some areas for the establishment of these protected areas. This work revealed the criticality of the current status of APA Tietê, especially towards its conservation objectives and offered alternatives, based on a scientific rigor to support the planning process of the protected area, at the local, state and national context. / Considerando que menos de 11% das Áreas de Proteção Ambiental brasileiras possuem Plano de Manejo, a avaliação do uso da terra e do conflito em Áreas de Preservação Permanente pode fornecer resultados importantes para a gestão dessa categoria de Unidade de Conservação, uma vez que a espacialização das Áreas de Preservação Permanente degradadas pode ser utilizada como diretriz de ações de restauração. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo caracterizar o uso da terra da APA Tietê, evidenciando os conflitos associados às Áreas de Preservação Permanente (Lei Federal n° 12.651 de 2012), de modo a fornecer subsídios para o planejamento e gestão territorial. Mapeou-se o uso da terra por meio classificação automática supervisionada de imagem do satélite RapidEye e determinou-se os conflitos com o auxílio do software ArcGis 10.2. Conclui-se que a APA Tietê possui predominância de usos agropecuários da terra, correspondendo a 78,45% da área total da Unidade de Conservação. A área encontra-se em estado crítico para conservação da biodiversidade, uma vez que 74,40% das Áreas de Preservação Permanente são compostas por usos da terra conflituosos. Foram mapeados 908 fragmentos florestais, sendo que aproximadamente 88% dos fragmentos mapeados possuem áreas menores do que 10 ha. 39,64% dos fragmentos florestais não possuem nenhum fragmento vizinho em um raio de 100 m. A cobertura vegetal nativa representa apenas 9,98% da área total da APA. A análise do cenário potencial revelou que a restauração das APPs permite aumentar o tamanho dos fragmentos e melhorar a conectividade da paisagem, em observância com a legislação ambiental. Outra opção indicada para incrementar a cobertura vegetal total na APA Tietê seguindo os incrementos propostos por lei é a restauração de área por meio da instituição da RL. Nesse aspecto, por meio de análise multicritério, pode-se ranquear todo o território da UC com base na sua relevância ecológica de modo a priorizar áreas para a instituição dessas áreas protegidas. O trabalho revelou a criticidade da situação atual da APA Tietê, principalmente perante seus objetivos conservacionistas e ofereceu alternativas, baseadas em um rigor científico, para subsidiar o processo de planejamento dessa área protegida, no contexto local, estadual e nacional.

The study was aimed at assessing perceptions of local communities on the use of coastal natural resources in Coffee Bay and the “Hole in-the Wall” area. The environmental impact caused by non–compliance with environmental legislation was also assessed. Data was obtained through interviews conducted with members of 50 households chosen randomly and questionnaires that were distributed to government departments in charge of the resources. The study found that due to high illiteracy and unemployment in the area, people were compelled to use the available coastal natural resources to satisfy their basic needs. About 70% of them were aware of the legislation but felt they could not comply with it since they had not been consulted. The study’s recommendations are that the community should be consulted on legislation, more environmental awareness campaigns should be conducted and government plans should be aligned in terms of service delivery / Environmental Sciences / M.Sc. (Environmental Management)

Information regarding the ecological wellbeing of the Natalspruit and its adjoining wetlands is essential if the river is being managed using sound ecological management principles. Despite this, little is known about this river, with little documentation at the regional or municipal level. This study partially addresses this knowledge gap by evaluating the impacts of human activity on a section of the Natalspruit and its adjoining wetlands. It reports on pollution concentrations found at selected sample sites and compares the results to Rand Water data and the National Standards and Guidelines of South Africa for physicochemical parameters and contaminated soils. Water samples were collected at five chosen sample sites during May and July 2018. Soil samples were taken during July 2018. The study found that water at all five sample sites is not suitable for drinking, the health of livestock and recreational use due to the present and high Total Coliform levels (ranging from 450 CFU/100ml to 100 000 CFU/100ml), as well as Turbidity, Total Hardness, TDS, Mg, NO2, SO4, and BOD which also exceeded the guidelines. Only site SS1 (May) exceeded the CaCO3 concentrations regarding livestock health. No guidelines were available for DO levels on the health of livestock. Cl levels in the Natalspruit was suitable for drinking. PO4 concentration at all the sites were all within the guidelines of acceptable levels for aquatic ecosystems. In terms of heavy metals, Cr levels significantly exceeded the guidelines at all five sample sites with the exception of ecosystem health. This is of great concern due to the toxicity of Cr. Cu concentrations exceeded the guidelines for both all land-uses protective of water resources and ecosystem health, at SS1, SS2, SS3 and SS5. Ni concentrations exceeded the guidelines for all land-uses protective of the water resources at SS5. Pb and Zn concentrations exceeded the guidelines for the land-uses protective of the water resources at all the sites with the exception of SS4 for Pb and SS2 and SS4. SS1 and SS5 reported Zn concentrations higher than the guideline for the protection of ecosystem health. SASS 5, PES and EIS assessments indicated moderate to severe modifications of the river. Thus, mining, industrial activities, surface runoff from densely populated informal settlements and wastewater treatment plants have negatively impacted upon the river. Decades of environmental neglect and effluent discharge have degraded the ecosystem, thus necessitating rehabilitation. However, as the study was limited in both time and scope, so additional research should be undertaken. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)