The Orange River estuary shelters wetlands of international importance and is classified as a Ramsar site. The main driver of the ecological state of these wetlands is the flood from the Orange River. These wetlands, and especially a saltmarsh located on the south bank of the river, have been threatened during the last decades due to changes in the hydrological regime of the Orange River. This degradation has been reinforced by the construction of inappropriate (environmentally speaking) road works within the wetland. Currently, the soils and the groundwater salinity within the saltmarsh are too high and freshwater flooding would be required to allow the rehabilitation of this Ramsar site.