Rietvlei Wetland Reserve

Rietvlei Wetland Reserve
Location of Rietvlei Wetland Reserve
Location	Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Coordinates	33°50′45″S 18°30′01″E / 33.84579°S 18.50039°E / -33.84579; 18.50039Coordinates: 33°50′45″S 18°30′01″E / 33.84579°S 18.50039°E / -33.84579; 18.50039
Area	663 ha (1,640 acres)
Established	1984
Governing body	City of Cape Town
[1]

The Rietvlei Wetland Reserve is a 663-hectare (1,640-acre) nature reserve situated in Milnerton, Cape Town, South Africa. It is managed by the City of Cape Town's Environmental Resource Management Department.

The Rietvlei Wetland Reserve forms part of the greater 880 hectares (2,200 acres) Table Bay Nature Reserve.

Rietvlei is considered as the most important area for waterbirds in the region and is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. Official recognition of its importance to biodiversity by the South African government was first afforded in 1984, when it was established as a Nature Area. This was followed by its declaration as a Protected Natural Environment in 1989, and the establishment of the Rietvlei Wetland Reserve in 1993. The first formal management plan for the reserve was developed in 1994, and this has served to guide management activities to the present.

The most obvious and dramatic human-induced modification at Rietvlei was the dredging of the entire north-west section between 1974 and 1976. Seawater was pumped into the pans to facilitate the operation and a vast area was dredged to a depth of 9 metres (30 ft). The ecological consequences were profound and irreversible. A sizable portion of Rietvlei's shallow ephemeral pans was changed into a permanent deep-water lake, which resulted in a total change in ecological character for this portion of the system.

Rietvlei Wetland Reserve offers various user activities, including several types of water sport recreation, bird watching, picnic, fishing and outdoor environmental education opportunities. The Rietvlei Education Centre hosts a range of environmental education programmes and utilises the two bird hides and the short footpath for field excursions.

The Milnerton Aquatic Club leases an area of land inside the nature reserve from where they promote windsurf, sail, power- and radio-controlled boating. The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) manages a rehabilitation facility at Rietvlei.

A range of natural and semi-natural habitats exist in this fluctuating wetland, which floods in winter and dries out in summer when the estuary mouth closes. These habitats include shallow marine waters, estuarine waters, sand/shingle shores, tidal mudflats, saltmarshes, coastal brackish saline lagoons, rivers, streams and creeks, permanent freshwater lakes and permanent and seasonal freshwater marshes and pools.