Development of decision-support tools for assessment of wetland present ecological status (PES) Volume 2. Development of a decision-support framework for wetland assessment in South Africa and a decision-support protocol for the rapid assessment of wetland ecological condition.

Government agencies (and other parties responsible for the management of wetlands) take the Present Ecological State (PES) of a wetland, as represented by the PES Score and associated Ecological Category, into account when making management decisions relating to the sustainable use and protection of wetlands. It is thus important for government agencies to ensure that appropriate methods, which generate reliable and comparable results, are used for wetland PES assessments. The rationale for the current project was to: (i) identify key areas for future research and development with regard to the assessment of wetland PES in South Africa (dealt with Final Report: Volume 1); and (ii) provide interim decision-support tools to assist government agencies and wetland assessors in selecting appropriate wetland PES assessment methods and reporting the results in a transparent and consistent manner (dealt with in Final Report: Volume 2). It is anticipated that the research and development needs identified, and the guidelines and decision-support tools produced through this project, should assist in demystifying what is currently an area of great confusion and uncertainty for South African government agencies and wetland assessors alike.