Wetland rehabilitation includes the remediation measures taken to reverse or halt the negative impact on wetlands due to a development. The goal is that the net loss of biodiversity of the impacted wetland over the long term is minimised as far as possible or even improved as may be required.

Developments take place within a catchment area, and it is therefore important to determine the net impact on the biodiversity and how negative impacts may be offset by positive contributions to the net biodiversity elsewhere within the catchment.

Physical rehabilitation measures include:

• Designing site specific solutions to preserve or raise the water table, and/or promote re-vegetation. For example, the building of concrete or gabion weirs, or drop inlets, to raise the water table and restore shallow saturated conditions for plants.
• Designing erosion prevention measures to limit the negative impacts resulting from developments on wetlands
• Undertaking the relevant regulatory applications, e.g. Section 21 (i) and (c) applications.