Formulating a water release policy for the Pongola floodplain: A simulation approach

Floods have always played a role in the functioning of the traditional subsistence pastoral system on the Makatini Flats which surrounds the Pongola floodplain. This area lies just south of the Mozambique border in north-eastern South Africa. With the impoundment of the Pongola river upstream of this area the timing of the annual flood is now largely under the control of man and hence has become a management problem. To help resolve this problem a differential equation model of the pastoral system was developed. The model is used to assess the impact on the pastoral system of different times for the annual flood. A policy for the timing of the annual flood is then suggested.