CWAC: Coordinated Waterbird Counts

The Coordinated Waterbird Counts (CWAC) project was launched in 1992. The objective of CWAC is to monitor South Africa's waterbird populations and the conditions of the wetlands which are important for waterbirds. This is being done by means of a programme of regular mid-summer and mid-winter censuses at a large number of South African wetlands. Regular six-monthly counts are conducted; however, we do encourage counters to survey their wetlands on a more regular basis as this provides better data. CWAC currently monitors over 400 wetlands around the country on a regular basis, and furthermore curates waterbird data for close to 600 wetlands.

This project was initiated by the then Ramsar Working Group of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in part-fulfilment of South Africa's commitment to the Ramsar Convention. CWAC also forms part of the African Waterbird Census (AfWC), a programme coordinated by Wetlands International based in the Netherlands. Data collected by CWAC is regularly submitted to the AfWC Regional office in Nairobi, Kenya.

TOTAL CWAC Report. Read a review of the report

In February 1995 a CWAC workshop was held in Wakkerstroom in the province of Mpumalanga. On this occasion, professional conservators from the conservation agencies and dedicated amateurs from the ranks of BirdLife South Africa came together to plan the future direction and expansion of the CWAC programme. One of the concrete products to emerge from this valuable collaboration is a list of priority wetlands which CWAC will aim to survey.

In 1999, the TOTAL CWAC Report was published. It provides a useful summary of all counts made from the start of the project until 1997. A summary of the main findings of this report was published in Bird Numbers. The report can be ordered from Horizon Book Services.

A comparison of counts from different wetlands gives indications of seasonal movements and the relative importance of sites for the conservation of different species. Once the project expands to include all of South Africa's major wetlands, the information for all sites together will enable us to produce annual population indices to trace the fluctuations of populations.

The development of this website marks a new era in waterbird conservation in South Africa since the availability of data for much-needed conservation work is now a reality. The Animal Demography Unit (ADU) together with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) encourages you to use this site as a source of data. Furthermore, this site aims to serve as a wetland assessment tool. If you suspect problems around your wetland, raise the issue with the relevant authorities: take action.

If you would like to become involved in the CWAC project, please download the CWAC information sheets which contain all the relevant information pertaining to this project. Alternatively contact the project coordinator (telephone 021 650 4698).

We encourage the use of the CWAC data for conservation, education, and recreational purposes. This information may not be incorporated into other websites, or used for explicit commercial gain. Please contact the project coordinator for further details. Effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the data; however, the ADU cannot guarantee that all data are correct. If you are aware of any errors or omissions in the data, please contact the project coordinator.