The Blyde catchment is quite diverse in its economic exploits. It is not dominated by any certain type of economic activity, rather having a smaller scaled wide array of activities happening. The area is seen as a tourism hotspot, with the Blyde River Canyon and escarpment area, as well as the area extending into the Lowveld, acting as ecotourism attraction whilst the Pilgrim’s Rest area acts as a cultural/heritage tourism area. Mining in the area is limited, but still annually employs about a couple of hundred, individuals in the catchment (DWAF 2005). Agriculture, is marginally the biggest driver of this area’s economy. There is some subsistence farming, as well as two irrigation schemes providing water for commercial farmers in the area. The one scheme is based around the Ohrigstad River, producing mostly maize, and also some tobacco and fruits. A larger scheme lies downstream, in the Lowveld close to where the Blyde meets up with the Olifants. This highly commercial farming based area focusses on producing export crop, especially fruit such as papaya and mango. The final leg in the Blyde economy is the large commercial forestry industry found around its southern region, all around the escarpment. This is by far the biggest forestry area in the whole of the ORC, estimated to cover an area of about 220km² (IWMI, 2008).