Crucial to protect our wetlands
As a water-scarce country, SA needs to guard its precious water resources
SOUTH Africa has more than 2 400 wetlands that have been mapped already, with more being identified on a finer scale as research continues. We have over 161 000km of rivers, based on the 1:500 000 scale with more than 300 estuaries around the entire coastline. There are more than 500 deep dams built and managed by the Department of Water and Sanitation.
The country is also blessed with less developed and less quantified groundwater. These natural (except the dams) resources support our social, economic and environmental needs for more than 56 million citizens, still growing. None of these water resource types are safe from pollution – in fact, all are threatened well beyond 50% each. Our heritage is threatened by various sources, besides climate change.
There is strong scientific evidence that water scarcity will pose a major threat to the attainment of aspirational development and economic goals carried in the National Development Plan (NDP): 2030; Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): 2030; Africa Agenda 2063 as well as society and ecosystem resilience. The World Economic Forum (WEF-2017) global risks report, identified a water-supply crisis as one of the most important risks faced by many countries. This is primarily linked to an increasing population.
South Africa is projected to experience a shortfall of 17% water supply vs demand by 2030. Currently, about 98% of our water resources are allocated as evidenced by the increasing number of inter-basin water transfers due to over-allocation in some catchments. With already frightening unemployment proportions, abject poverty and inequality, water becomes a constraint to meeting the developmental goals.
South Africa is characterised by rapid urbanisation with an estimated 71.3% of the population expected to live in towns and cities by 2030 (UN 2014). Urban centres provide important pull factors such as perceived job opportunities, better access to education, infrastructure and services.
The challenge with urbanisation is the lack of municipality preparedness to meet the escalating demands of growing populations in cities. Marginalised urban dwellers are forced to occupy informal settlements in marginal areas, leading to overcrowding.
The devastating impact of landuses on aquatic ecosystems have been developing over several decades during which environmental legislation was “absent”. In the mid-20th century, the rate of aquatic ecosystem degradation escalated due to land uses in close proximity of riparian areas.
The early industrial and mining practices (1886) in South African urban areas set the scene for environmental degradation over the years.
The establishment of numerous informal settlements increased rapidly after the end of apartheid in the 1990s. The mushrooming of informal settlements on sensitive ecosystems has been blamed on past legislations that sought to segregate and exclude most of the people from planned settlement structures. Past legislation such as the Black (Urban Areas) Act 21 of 1923 and others laid the foundation for the establishment of “locations” for black people on the peripheries of cities.
In addition to their environmentally precarious locations, the informal settlements were not provided with water and sanitation services, a situation that exacerbated the degradation of the aquatic ecosystem.
Given South Africa’s discriminative practices of the past, the post-apartheid Constitution has made provisions to address the plight of those with poor settlement dwellings. National legislation stresses that once informal settlements have any form of structure that residents call a home, these residents can only be relocated to another area if the owner of the land or the responsible authority can provide suitable alternative shelter.
The Prevention of Illegal Eviction and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (No 19 of 1998) requires due process to be followed before implementing any eviction. These new legislative measures have favoured the continued existence of some settlements that are located in riparian areas, an unintended consequence.
Apart from informal settlements, formal settlements are also a source of aquatic ecosystem degradation. Historically, formal planned settlements in urban areas were located close to water sources. These settlements expanded until they covered large riparian areas with paved surfaces reducing infiltration.
During developments in these areas, most of the rivers were canalised, piped or blocked to form dams. Underground water pipes were also laid to drain the wetland areas and accommodate the construction of buildings, roads and other urban infrastructures. This resulted in major hydrological changes to many rivers, loss of riparian areas, loss of ecosystems.
Further damage in planned settlements has come from industrial and wastewater treatment plant effluents, and in some cases return flows from gardens and irrigation lots. Wastewater treatment works are one of the most polluting establishments. Bonani Madikizela is a research manager at the Water Research Commission