Clearing thirsty alien invasive trees to restore nature’s water springs
The eye of a spring in Matatiele is known as the place where the ‘ water snake’ lives and the people who live there know that if you disrupt the eye of the spring, it will disappear forever.
Situated near the southern Drakensberg, the now dusty village of Matatiele lies 70 kilometres from Kokstad, near the junction of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and southern Lesotho borders. Broadly translated, Matatiele means “the geese have flown” in Sotho – a reference to the once water-abundant wetlands and marshes of this area that were home to many wild birds.
One of the reasons for Matatiele’s present day water woes is the prevalence of Black Wattle, a tree native to Australia that has taken over the area. Left unchecked, this thirsty tree has rapidly diminished the natural wetlands across the Eastern Cape, with each tree absorbing up to 25 litres per day.
Through its Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN), The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) is working with the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA) to help restore the Umzimvubu water catchment area surrounding Matatiele, as part of a wider programme to secure clean water for more than 6 million people across Africa.
The Matatiele project, which will reach its conclusion at the end of 2020, aims not only to restore nature’s ecological infrastructure, but to take a holistic approach to the challenge of climate change by encouraging the surrounding community to take ownership of the project. It has created 59 employment opportunities, mostly for women and young people, by upskilling them as Eco-Rangers who help to preserve the natural environment and clear 128 hectares of Black Wattle.
“Black Wattle is consuming natural spring water and we are at risk of losing 46 natural springs that feed these remote communities unless we can get the Black Wattle under control,” says founder of implementing partner Environmental and Rural Solutions (ERS), Nicky McCleod. “These springs are completely pure at the eye/water source. By educating communities, securing the springs and removing the Black Wattle, we can help preserve them for future generations.”
“We look at the governance of the landscape and the wellbeing of communities as intrinsically linked,” says Samir Randera-Rees, WWF-SA Programme Manager: Water Source Areas. “We need to ensure that we protect water from the source and that communities understand the journey of water from top to tap in order to maximise the volume and purity of the water.”
Not only will the RAIN project free up millions of litres of fresh water per year into the natural water system, but there is a crucial link between Wattle clearing and livestock management for restoring this into a healthy water catchment area. More water in the area now means that communities living in the Nkasela area in Matatiele have better grazing for their cattle, ultimately improving the livelihoods of cattle farmers and their families into the future.
“By investing in protecting our country’s natural water sources, we’re helping communities protect their future and contributing to water security for millions of South Africans,” explains Asyia Sheik, Head of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability for Coca-Cola in South Africa.
In the Nchodu wetland near the Matatiele Reserve, the landscape is already being transformed. Areas cleared of Black Wattle are rapidly showing evidence of water being restored in the area. One day soon, perhaps Matatiele will once again see the return of the geese that originally inspired its name.
Backed by a $65 million-dollar commitment, The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) introduced the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN) in 2009 in response to the lack of water and sanitation faced by nearly 300 million Africans. Managed by the Global Environment Technology Fund, RAIN is TCCF’s flagship African program contributing to helping Africa achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals on clean water and sanitation access (SDG 6). RAIN aims to improve the lives of six million people in Africa through WASH and other water-based initiatives.
To date, working with more than 140 partners, RAIN has been active in over 3,000 communities across 41 African countries. The program has positively impacted over 4 million people, empowered more than 35,000 women and youth, and improved the management of over 450,000 hectares of land.