The area designated as a Ramsar site comprises the estuary of the Orange River before it reaches the Atlantic Ocean, between the river mouth and the Ernest Oppenheimer Bridge that links the border towns of Oranjemund and Alexander Bay. While the exact boundaries of the Ramsar site are somewhat unclear, the South African Section of the site (Site No. 526) covers approximately 2000 ha’s while the remaining 500 ha falls within Namibia (Site No. 744).
In 1995 the South African portion of the site was placed on the Montreux Record of the Ramsar Convention following considerable degradation of the salt marsh component of the system. This was the result of a combination of impacts, both at and upstream of the estuary.
At least here is a draft management plan now
Following South Africa’s accession to the Ramsar convention the Orange River Mouth was designated as a Ramsar site by South Africa in 1991. After Namibia ratified the Ramsar Convention in 1995, the designated area was enlarged and the Namibian part of the wetland was immediately designated as well.
In the same year, the area was put on the Montreux record because part of it had been seriously degraded. The Orange River Mouth Interim Management Committee (ORMIMC) was established in 1995 and has served as an advisory body to the respective competent authorities. The ORMIMC has been the driving force behind current
initiatives at the central government level in South Africa to rehabilitate the area, to remove it from the Montreux record, to get the area protected under South African law, and to draft a management plan for the Ramsar site.
https://www.environment.gov.za/sites/de ... ntplan.pdf
It was about time
