Middelpunt Nature Reserve declared as South Africa’s 29th Ramsar site
The Middelpunt Nature Reserve in Mpumalanga has been declared a Wetland of International Importance ("Ramsar Site") by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, also known as the Ramsar Convention. This addition brings the number of South Africa's Ramsar Sites to 29. The Middelpunt Nature Reserve is located along the headwaters of Lakenvleispruit, a stream in the Olifants River basin, approximately 14 kilometres from the town of Dullstroom.
The Nature Reserve is situated in one of South Africa's highest rainfall regions known as the Mpumalanga Drakensburg Strategic Water Source Area (SWSA), which consists primarily of a permanent freshwater valley bottom wetland, supported by lateral seeps and artesian springs. It is home to one of the rarest and most threatened water birds in Africa, the White-winged Flufftail, as well as to a number of other endangered and endemic species, including the Blue Crane, Secretary Bird, African Grass Owl, and Denham's Bustard. The Middelpunt Nature Reserve is one of just two in South Africa where the rare peat borrowing crab is found.
The Convention on Wetlands/Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their Wetlands of International Importance and to plan for the "wise use", or sustainable use, of all of the wetlands in their territories.
