Transcript Slide 1

Water Resource Protection in South Africa
5th World Water Forum – Istanbul, Turkey
16-22 March 2009
Harrison Pienaar - Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
Stanley Liphadzi - Water Research Commission
Presentation Outline
 Legal Framework for Water Resource Protection (WRP)
 Contextualizing Water Resource Protection
 Giving Effect to WRP - Progress to Date
 Remarks
 Environmental Flows – A Research Perspective
 Ecosystem Goods and Services
 Environmental Flows Benefits
 Concluding Remarks
Legal Framework for WRP in SA
Chapter 18 of Agenda 21
(14 June 1992)
White Paper on National Water
Policy of SA (April 1997)
Water Law Principles
(November 1996)
National Water Act (NWA)
(Act No 36 of 1998)
Constitution of the RSA
(Act No 108 of 1996)
Water Resource Protection
(Chapter 3 of NWA)
Contextualizing Water Resource Protection
Gazette
classification
system
1
2
Classify each
significant resource
Resource Directed
Measures
Determine the
Reserve
Establish resource
quality objectives
4
3
Classification of Water Resources
Present
state
Level of
protection
Classificatio
n
Future state
How much
water can be
used
Gazetting of Classification System
 Section 12 of NWA provides that the Minister must prescribe a
system for classifying water resources – requires gazetting the
water resources classification (WRCS)
 The gazetted WRCS will provide a definition of the classes that are
to be used and the procedures to be followed to recommend a class
 WRCS needs to be published in the Government Gazette for
comments for not less than 60 days
 All comments received will be recorded and considered
7-Step Classification Procedure
• Water resources classification system to comprise of:
– Biophysical aspects
– Socio-economic status and trends
– Delineation of water resource units
– Functional relationship between resource units
– Develop alternate scenarios and outline their possible
implications
– Evaluate with stakeholders and make recommendation
– Authority makes decision on class
Management
Ecological classification
Natural
Moderately used/impacted
Heavily used/impacted
Unacceptably degraded
A
AB,B, BC, C
CD, D
EF, F
Resource Quality Objectives
 Numerical and narrative descriptors of the conditions
that must be met to achieve the recommended
ecological management scenario
 Based on formally accepted departmental policy
statements, methodologies or publications
Giving Effect to WRP – Progress
 Implementation spans across several sectors and govt.
departments
 Different govt. depts. have equally strong mandates
 Roles and responsibilities not always clearly defined
 DWAF - primarily water resource management
 DEAT
- biodiversity conservation
 NDA/LA - land management
 DPLG - development planning across government
 Initiatives mostly reflect needs specific to one dept. or
sector
 Collaboration between depts. or sectors easily complicated
 Cooperative governance inevitable to facilitate effective
implementation
 DWAF has strong mandate wrt. water resource protection
(chapter 3 of NWA)
Remarks
 Implementation of protection provisions in
NWA
 Integration of decision-making processes
 Strategies to be technically sound (scientific and
legal)
 More vigorous implementation crucial
Environmental Flows – Research Perspective
 South Africa has been active in E-flows research for
years
 Environmental flows understandably linked to socioeconomic growth and development
 Government and water institutions have e-flows related
programmes/departments
 There is effort to empower local communities and users
in managing their catchments
 Have began to acknowledge our limitations or short
comings
 Strong research programmes and leadership
Ecosystems Goods and Services
 This must be done in the African (South African) contestto be relevant and credible
 Working for Water and Working for Wetlands
programmes had projects that advanced payment for
ecosystem services (PES) and benefited local
communities too:
 Increased water services and goods
 Rehabilitation (job and wealth creation)
 Downstream users compensate /pay landowners for
the good stewardship of the land (natural capital)Government carry the costs
 More still has to be done especial to accommodate
intangible benefits
Environmental Flows Benefits
 Africa’s Economy depends on Water
 Imagine the National Parks without water
 Biodiversity / wild life
 Tourism
 Jobs
 GDP of the country
 Baseflows are important in rural areas (people,
livestock/agric, and businesses)
 Strengthen relationships between neighboring countries
 Removes water from the political arena (Quality and
quantity are equal important)
Concluding Remarks
 Redressing past inequities in water allocation and
ensuring equity between generations simultaneously
 Ensuring “some for all forever”, together
 Protection often viewed as competing with socioeconomic needs
 Administrative capacity to implement protection
provisions of water legislation
 Linking water resource protection to water services
provision critical
THANK YOU!