Working for Wetlands (South Africa)

Working for Wetlands (WoW) is South Africa's national wetland rehabilitation programme, established in 2002 under the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). It is a joint initiative of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), the Department of Water and Sanitation, and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

The programme employs community workers — prioritising women, youth and people with disabilities — to rehabilitate degraded wetlands through invasive alien plant removal, bio-engineering, re-vegetation, and erosion control. Since inception, more than 1,300 wetlands across all provinces have been rehabilitated. Over the most recent five-year period, 634 wetlands covering approximately 22,500 hectares were restored and 12,513 full-time and part-time jobs were created.

Additionally, more than 12,000 hectares of commercial timber plantations were removed from wetland buffer zones since 1998, substantially improving the hydrological health of those catchments. Over R725 million has been invested in the programme since formal inception in 2004.

Working for Wetlands is distinct from the Working for Water programme: Working for Water targets invasive alien plant clearing in upland water catchments to improve water yield, while WoW focuses specifically on wetland ecosystem rehabilitation. In line with EPWP norms, both programmes employ poor and marginalised community members and report annually to the Department of Public Works.

Read the full analysis: https://www.capenature.co.za/projects/working-for-wetlands