Major floodplain wetland systems are important centres of production in communal lands throughout southern and eastern Africa. These systems provide numerous goods and services essential to household livelihoods, such as food plants, building materials and fish, and productive areas for growing corps, as well as grazing for livestock in transhumance systems between the wetlands and surrounding savannas. Whilst the multiple use of these areas is important for livelihood security, with increasing population density, these uses begin to impact on one another and on the biodiversity conservation value of the wetlands, through disruption of ecological functioning. This study investigates the relative value of different wetland goods and services used in rural household production, the interactions between different production systems, and their sustainability. The current use patterns which have evolved under conditions of weak tenure and management, population growth and poverty, threaten to erode the value of these wetlands in future. Various policy options exist for improving the future management and value of the wetlands, including those which enable wise use practices, reducing excessive reliance on livestock, delimiting protected areas, and commercial agricultural development. The ecological and economic implications of such policies are discussed.