Of Watts and Wetlands

The story of Ingula

What started out as a contentious partnership between Eskom, BirdLife South Africa and Middelpunt Wetland Trust has resulted in a win-win situation: Eskom runs a pumped storage power station in a nature reserve.

The story began in 2000 when discussions were held between the three parties to mitigate the potential threat to the wetland where the Critically Endangered White-winged Flufftail had been recorded. This led to the formation of the Ingula Partnership and the purchase of 8000ha of highly threatened high-altitude grassland around the wetland.

Construction of the pumped storage scheme began in 2005 and BirdLife South Africa has maintained a programme manager at Ingula ever since: Neil Smith, David Maphisa, Robin Colyn and currently Carina Pienaar. And monitoring has continued over the past two decades.

The first part of the book tells of the construction of the scheme, the scale of which is demonstrated by the fact that there is more concrete underground at Ingula than there is above ground at Medupe, a massive new thermal power station. At the height of construction there were 5000 people on site, and an annual photographic competition recorded progress. The book is extensively illustrated with images from the competition.

In the second half, the extensive conservation efforts on and around Ingula are described, including those to protect a breeding colony of Southern Bald Ibises. There is also a focus on the Protected Environment stewardship programme, as Ingula forms the core of the Upper Wilge Protected Environment.

Written and published by Malcolm Drummond, Of Watts and Wetlands contains much fascinating information and records how Ingula is considered a model for partnerships between industry and conservation NGOs. Malcolm was a founder trustee of Middelpunt Wetland Trust and a former chairman of BirdLife South Africa, and has been a primary member of the Ingula Partnership since its inception.

All books have been signed by Malcolm Drummond.