ABSTRACT

Eswatini became a signatory to the Ramsar Convention on the 15th of June, 2013. To date, the country does not have a national wetland inventory. This study applies a newly developed wetland mapping technique (produced in South Africa) to Eswatini, to provide baseline information on the potential distribution of wetlands across the country. Results of this study show that when applying the mapping technique as it was applied in South Africa, watercourses (rivers, drainage lines, and riparian zones) are more frequently mapped than true wetlands. Given that Eswatini currently uses the broad Ramsar definition of a wetland, the potential wetland map produced in this study is well suited to identify wetlands falling under such definition. However, the technique does not suffice where a more specific definition for wetlands is used. To improve the initial potential wetland map, this study made use of data, obtained from 2 000 points distributed across the initial wetland map, by classifying areas with the highest potential of being wetlands into hydrogeomorphic units. Results indicate that the methods used to improve the initial map areable to distinguish watercourses with a higher potential of being a true wetland and identify certain hydrogeomorphic units. This method can therefore be used to provide baseline data of potential wetland distribution for countries that do not possess the means, or attribute data to produce a comprehensive wetland map.

摘要

埃斯瓦蒂尼于 2013 年 6 月 15 日成为拉姆萨尔公约的签署国。迄今为止，该国没有国家湿地名录。本研究将新开发的湿地制图技术（在南非生产）应用于埃斯瓦蒂尼，以提供有关全国湿地潜在分布的基线信息。这项研究的结果表明，当应用在南非应用的绘图技术时，水道（河流、排水管线和河岸带）比真正的湿地更频繁地被绘制出来。鉴于 Eswatini 目前使用 Ramsar 对湿地的广泛定义，本研究中制作的潜在湿地地图非常适合识别属于此类定义的湿地。然而，在使用更具体的湿地定义的情况下，该技术是不够的。为了改进初始潜在湿地地图，本研究利用从分布在初始湿地地图上的 2 000 个点获得的数据，将最有可能成为湿地的区域分类为水文地貌单元。结果表明，用于改进初始地图的方法能够区分具有更高潜力成为真正湿地的水道，并识别某些水文地貌单元。因此，该方法可用于为不具备制作综合湿地地图的方法或属性数据的国家提供潜在湿地分布的基线数据。结果表明，用于改进初始地图的方法能够区分具有更高潜力成为真正湿地的水道，并识别某些水文地貌单元。因此，该方法可用于为不具备制作综合湿地地图的方法或属性数据的国家提供潜在湿地分布的基线数据。结果表明，用于改进初始地图的方法能够区分具有更高潜力成为真正湿地的水道，并识别某些水文地貌单元。因此，该方法可用于为不具备制作综合湿地地图的方法或属性数据的国家提供潜在湿地分布的基线数据。