Efforts to establish water as an agenda item in its own right in climate change negotiations are gaining momentum in Durban, South Africa. Water experts say doing this will lead to a greater focus [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 06 Dec 2011

Efforts to establish water as an agenda item in its own right in climate change negotiations are gaining momentum in Durban, South Africa. Water experts say doing this will lead to a greater focus on developing policy, and attract more resources into the water sector through adaptation programmes.

As rainfall patterns change, Africa is facing major crises

“For every one of us, the first thing you use when you wake up in the morning is water, and when we are going to bed, it is water. Yet, it’s taken for granted,” says Chris Moseki, research manager at the Water Research Commission (WRC) in South Africa. WRC is a member of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) – a global alliance of organisations working on water issues.

Access to water is an urgent issue here in the Southern Africa region, where nearly 100 million people lack adequate access to water. Modelling by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa shows the region will become hotter and drier over the next 50 to 100 years, putting farms, industry, domestic water supply and natural ecosystems at risk.

International water experts and policy makers are concerned that planning for changes to water availability is not getting the prominence it deserves. Bai-Mass Taal, the Executive Secretary of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), says they are working to raise the profile of water within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“We are saying to the parties, look: we appreciate what you are doing in other sectors, but without addressing water directly, all of that will be in vain,” says Taal.

At this point, water issues are being discussed by treaty negotiators as part of wider planning, prioritising and implementing of adaptation to a changing climate.

Dr. Ania Grobicki, GWP Executive Secretary, says that with growing numbers of countries expected to experience water scarcity, the current position of water in climate talks is inadequate.

“The GDP of many countries in the least developed countries is dependent on water. More than 50 percent of food for the world will come from Africa in the future, and this is dependent on availability of water,” she says. “That is why this discussion should go beyond where it’s now.”

More than 70 percent of the Southern African Development Community’s population depends directly on farming, overwhelmingly on rain-fed agriculture. The CSIR’s projections are among many drawing attention to how predicted changes to rainfall, limited resources for adaptation and a lack of institutions and capacity to regulate river and stream flow will leave people in Southern Africa and across the continent extremely vulnerable.

Similar challenges are predicted not only for Africa, but across the world as weather patterns change, but Africa’s lack of irrigation and other infrastructure is a factor that magnifies the need for urgent intervention.

Africa’s response

As rainfall patterns change, Africa is facing major crises. Millions faced famine in Niger and Mali in 2010 after drought hit farmers and herders. This year, the Horn of Africa has been facing its worst drought in 50 years and millions are suffering from hunger. According to the U.N. World Food Programme, some 12.3 million people in the Horn are in need of emergency assistance.

Rhoda Peace, the African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, points out that when African leaders talk about climate change; they invariably talk about droughts and floods’, showing that water is already a high priority.

In 2008, African heads of state agreed to make water and sanitation a priority.

“Leaders agreed to allocate at least 0.5 percent of their national budget to water,” says Peace. “Now whether that is actually the case is another story, but some countries are doing very well and may reach their targets.”

Providing adequate access to water across Africa will cost billions of dollars. And for the many African governments which are failing to honour earlier commitments will not be able to raise the required amounts without support.

Simon Thuo, the Eastern Africa coordinator for GWP, says he is surprised that despite the clear need, even the African negotiating group’s proposals mention water only in passing. Along with other experts, he believes that if climate negotiations address management of this essential commodity specifically, it will not receive the necessary attention and funding.

By: Joshua Kyalimpa
Source: IPS

The heavy rains over the past few weeks have been a welcomed development in water-strapped parts of the country, however, the Free State Agriculture Department has warned of an imminent outbreak of Rift Valley [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 05 January 2011

The heavy rains over the past few weeks have been a welcomed development in water-strapped parts of the country, however, the Free State Agriculture Department has warned of an imminent outbreak of Rift Valley fever.

The Aedes mosquito transmits Rift Valley while feeding on farm animals

“The above average rainfall seen in this past week spells an inevitable consequence of yet another Rift Valley Fever outbreak,” said the department on Tuesday.

The heavy showers cause shallow water surfaces and water pans to become flooded. Combined with warm weather conditions, this promotes the breeding of mosquitoes, which transmit the disease.

According to the World Health Organisation, a specific species of mosquito, the Aedes, transmits this viral disease while feeding on farm animals like sheep, goats and cattle.

The disease leads to the death of newborn lambs and calves and abortions in ewes and cows.

Humans become infected by handling tissues or organs of diseased animals.

The department has emphasised the seriousness of infection in people, saying that at times, it can be life threatening. Symptoms include severe muscle and joint pains, high fever, severe headaches and blurred vision.

The outbreak of Rift Valley fever during 2010 resulted in 232 human cases, 26 of which died from the disease.

Vaccination is the only effective method to protect livestock, and farmers are advised to vaccinate their animals once a year. They should also dip them weekly to control mosquitoes and to use insect repellent sprays or pour-ons.

The public is urged not to handle any sick animals or cut up any dead animals or aborted foetuses. Protective clothing and goggles should be used when touching sick or dead animals.

Source: Bua News

The Gariep Dam, the largest dam in South Africa, is 107 percent full with an outflow of 1670 cubic metres per second.

Dept of water affairs urges caution in the vicinity of the [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 04 January 2011

The Gariep Dam, the largest dam in South Africa, is 107 percent full with an outflow of 1670 cubic metres per second.

Dept of water affairs urges caution in the vicinity of the Vaal Orange River System

The water levels of the four largest dams in the Orange River catchment were rising following heavy rains in the past day, the department of water affairs said on Tuesday.

The Vaal Dam was 103% full and three sluice gates were open, spokeswoman Linda Page said in a statement.

It had an outflow of 870 cubic metres per second.

In the Free State the capacity of the Bloemhof Dam was currently at 104% with an outflow of 1000 cubic metres per second.

The Gariep Dam, the largest dam in South Africa, was at 107 percent with an outflow of 1670 cubic metres per second which would increase to about 2900 cubic metres per second, Page said.

The capacity of the second largest dam, the Vanderkloof Dam, was at 107.7% with an outflow of 1323 cubic metres per second and would increase to about 2500 cubic metres per second.

As more rain was forecast over the next 24 hours, it was expected that changes to outflows would be made, she said.

“The department of water affairs wishes to again urge all communities to exercise caution in the vicinity of the Vaal Orange River System and affected dams,”

- Sapa

Tens of thousands of migrants pouring into Cape Town are forcing authorities to rethink the city’s water supply strategy.

Migration growth is now "16 000 households per annum" at 5 people per household

A severe drought has dropped water levels on a major Amazon tributary to their lowest point since officials began keeping records more than a century ago, the government reported on Monday, cutting off dozens [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 26 October 2010

A severe drought has dropped water levels on a major Amazon tributary to their lowest point since officials began keeping records more than a century ago, the government reported on Monday, cutting off dozens of communities who depend on the river for work and transportation.

A municipal worker cleans up garbage left behind by the receding Rio Negro river

Floating homes along the Rio Negro now rest on muddy flats, and locals have had to modify boats to run in shallower waters in a region without roads. Some riverbanks have caved in, although no injuries have been reported. Enormous fields of trash and other debris have been revealed by the disappearing waters.

The drought is hurting fishing, cattle, agriculture and other businesses, prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency in nearly 40 municipalities. Amazonas state officials said more than 60 000 families have been affected by the drought.

The government has distributed about 600 tons of food, water and medicine, much of it by helicopter to isolated villages.

“It is a difficult situation for the community,” resident Josimar Peixoto told Globo TV. “The families are struggling here.”

The government’s geological service said on Monday that the Rio Negro was measured at a depth of 13.63m the previous day near the jungle city of Manaus, the lowest since a measuring system was implemented in 1902.

Manaus, in northern Brazil, is where the Rio Negro is at its deepest and where it merges with the Amazon River – meaning some places upstream are nearly completely dry.

The previous low was 13.64m, recorded in 1963.

An engineer and hydrology expert with the geological service said rains in remote parts of the Amazon will begin raising river levels, but it will take time for that water to reach Manaus.

“The water is expected to start rising again in about three to four weeks,” Daniel Oliveira told The Associated Press.

In June 2009, the Rio Negro hit a record high of 29.71m near Manaus following months of heavy rains.

At that time, flooding across the Amazon basin left more than 400 000 homeless and killed more than 50 people. Those high waters caused the people now experiencing drought to build new, higher floors onto their stilt houses in an effort to escape the rising river.

Cycles of flooding and drought have been common in the world’s largest remaining tropical wilderness, but they have been more extreme recently, shifting from record floods to record drought in relatively short periods of time, experts say. Many suspect global warming could be driving the whipsaw changes.

A report last year from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, which tracks weather patterns, stated that its weather models forecast “rising global temperatures because of ongoing greenhouse gas emissions” and “project a decrease in rainfall across much of Brazil due to warmer waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans causing changes in wind patterns across South America”.

The document says the changes could affect Brazil’s energy sector: More than 70 percent of the nation’s energy comes from hydroelectric sources, which would be hurt by reduced rainfall.

By Tales Azzoni
Sapa -AP

Fears are growing that the current drought in the Eastern Cape may lead to poor citrus crops in the province’s Patensie and Sundays River Valley areas.

This would have a major impact on the [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 15 October 2010

Fears are growing that the current drought in the Eastern Cape may lead to poor citrus crops in the province’s Patensie and Sundays River Valley areas.

This would have a major impact on the province’s economy as the citrus industry is one of its driving forces.

Citrus Growers’ Association Patensie director Phillip Dempsey warned the industry would be in trouble if there was not sufficient rainfall by the end of November as there would be no crops available for export.

“There has not been sufficient rainfall this year, but the real problem will come in by the end of November and beginning of December as the summer months are the time that these orchards are most dependent on a lot of water,” said Dempsey.

He said about 10000ha of orchards required rain and most of the citrus fruit from these orchards was destined for the export market.

“This is where the real money for the area comes from. We export to Europe, the United Kingdom, Russia, the Middle East and the Far East. Sales to the local market are relatively small, so we rely on the export market. If the fruit looks unattractive, these markets will not buy our fruit and then we are in serious trouble,” said Dempsey.

He said not only did the drought affect the amount of fruit produced, it also affected the size, especially if there was not enough rain from December until February when the citrus required the most water.

“If there is no rain there is a chance these crops will fail and it will definitely affect the economy of the area. The water restrictions have also affected crops because we are planting fewer things like potatoes to use that water for the citrus, so there is some land which is bare, meaning we will receive no income from that land.”

He said the mood among the farmers was very negative, especially because they were uncertain about whether they would be able to sell their crops or not.

“This drought has affected the whole of the Eastern Cape, however the Sundays River farmers are not as hard hit as our farmers because they are not under water restrictions as we are. The problem is that we will not know until the end of November and by then there will not be anything we can do about it,” said Dempsey.

Sundays River Citrus Company technical manager Dave Gerber said that although the area still had sufficient water as they were supplied from the Gariep Dam, rain was still needed to ensure better quality citrus was produced.

“Production is always better in seasons characterised by good spring and summer rain, while fruit size also tends to be larger in wet seasons,” he said.

Although plentiful, Sundays River Valley water is not of great quality, resulting in the build up of salts in the soil profile. Good rains assist by leaching these salts, which are toxic to plants, out of the soil.

He said dry seasons were also characterised by higher levels of pests in the orchards, to which they migrate due to lack of food in their natural environments. These also “negatively influence fruit quality”

In an attempt to combat its water problems, Amathole District Municipality (ADM) yesterday launched a project worth R110 million to supply water to villages where dams have run dry.

The district was declared a [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 11 September 2010

In an attempt to combat its water problems, Amathole District Municipality (ADM) yesterday launched a project worth R110 million to supply water to villages where dams have run dry.

The district was declared a disaster area by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica in July last year, as levels reached a critical point. Since then, ADM has established a joint operations committee to develop a drought action plan.

ADM spokesperson Gail Pullen said: “Funding application for drought relief was made in the amount of R156 million and to date the municipality has received only R12.4 million from national Treasury in this new financial year.”

Yesterday, ADM launched its infrastructure project at Ehlobo in the Mnquma Municipality (Butterworth and surrounds), which will supply potable water to 27150 people in 38 villages.

Currently, the villages source their water from streams and springs which are subject to seasonal variations and do not provide an assured water supply. Similar projects will be launched in Amahlathi (Stutterheim and Cathcart) and Mbhashe (Dutywa and Willowvale) municipalities.

Plans by ADM to upgrade infrastructure come as various towns in the district record lower than normal dam levels. “The Butterworth and Dutywa areas have a looming water crisis as the Xilinxa Dam, which provides water to these areas, is now at 29.8percent,” said Pullen. This means only four to five weeks of water is left – unless it rains.

South African Weather Services’ Port Elizabeth-based forecaster Mandisa Manentsa said there was a 30 percent chance of rain today in the areas along the coast and adjacent areas, such as Dutywa and Butterworth, but no rainfall was expected next week.

ADM also reported that the Cathcart Dam was empty and the community now relied on borehole water. Local farmer Bruce Fletcher said the situation is bad. “There’s nothing in town and on the farms. We are praying for the big rains.”

The Bridledrift Dam, which is Buffalo City’s basic water supply, is at 19percent.

By: Xolisa Mgwatyu
Source: Dispatch Online

If global temperatures rise, fuelled by carbon-dioxide emissions, there will be long-term consequences in rainfall, crop production and wildfires, according to a new report issued Friday by the National Research Council, a non-profit group that [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 18 July 2010

If global temperatures rise, fuelled by carbon-dioxide emissions, there will be long-term consequences in rainfall, crop production and wildfires, according to a new report issued Friday by the National Research Council, a non-profit group that provides science-policy advice to the government.

Friday’s report, put out by a panel of scientists from government agencies and academic institutions, attempts to quantify the potential impact of temperature change on the environment. Carbon dioxide is the dominant gas linked to climate change and is known to linger in the environment. Not all scientists agree that man-made emissions are fueling a warming of the climate, but many are concerned about what carbon-dioxide output now could mean into the future.

The report estimates that for every one degree increase in global temperature, rainfall would rise or fall 5% to 10%, in different regions around the world, corn crops would be reduced by that same amount and the amount of area burned by wildfires will increase two to fourfold.

In order to stabilize the amount of carbon in the environment, emissions need to be reduced more than 80% from peak levels, the group calculates. But even if the level was stabilized today, global temperature likely would increase by roughly two degrees from the carbon dioxide already in existence, according to Susan Solomon, chairwoman of the committee that wrote the report and a senior scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

By: Shirley Wang
Source: Wall Street Journal

How can communities develop economically and socially without damaging the fragile ecosystems they live in?

That was the primary question at a seminar hosted at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University on Friday by the national [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 24 May 2010

How can communities develop economically and socially without damaging the fragile ecosystems they live in?

That was the primary question at a seminar hosted at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University on Friday by the national Department of Social Welfare, the UN’s Leadership for Environment and Development (Lead) programme and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

Agathosma serpyllacea - coastal fynbos, Western Cape

The seminar is one of six set to take place over the next six months in preparation for the International Training Session on Population, Climate Change and Development Conference in Port Elizabeth, in October.

One of the speakers at Friday’s event, Schalk Potgieter, assistant director of strategic planning in the municipality’s human settlement unit, said the nexus of population development and critical ecosystems was a crucial one in Mandela Bay.

Five biomes or broad indigenous vegetation zones meet here and two, coastal fynbos and thicket, are particularly fragile.

These ecosystems are vulnerable to human development and also to climate change, which will likely result in rising seas and increasingly fierce and frequent storms – putting pressure especially on impoverished communities living on marginal land.

This can result in migration by “climate change refugees” and conflict, in turn, with people in the areas where they migrate to, and greater pressure on that land.

Another predicted result of climate change, which is already being felt, is increased rainfall in the eastern part of the province – and increased aridity in the western region, including the metro.

“This means greater pressure on our drinking water supplies and on our food security. It means possible outbreaks of disease due to the arrival of vectors like mosquitos that were not prevalent here before.”

Most of all, he says, it means we must take good care of what water we have and that means we must take care of fragile ecosystems like wetlands, which purify water and stem floods, when they do come, storing and distributing it sustainably.

One of the corners of the metro where this need to protect is not being implemented is in the Chatty 3 and Chatty 4 sections, where illegal dumping of rubbish and rubble is eroding the capacity of local wetlands to carry out these important functions.

Lack of awareness of the illegality of these actions and of the importance of the wetlands is one of the reasons for this dumping, but it was also the result of a lack of services, he admitted.

The metro had to act urgently in 2005 to move families living on the Soweto-on-Sea floodplain because their shacks were in danger of being swamped by floods. In 2006, the floods came and the Zanemvula (“comes with the rain”) Project was signed off.

Three thousand four hundred people were moved across to new homes in Chatty extensions. But because it had to be done so urgently, only basic services and no clinics, schools or proper waste management were set in place.

The metro is rectifying the situation as well as building more homes for a further 7000 people who are due to move into the area.

“We have to have to ensure that simultaneous, integrated delivery takes place of houses, services and also eco-education and buy-in from the community on the need to protect their environment.”

The metro would mount a wide-scale refuse and rubble clean-up, he said.

Metro public health portfolio chairman Noluthando Mapu welcomed the seminars and the capacity they would help to build. “We need to become more informed so we in turn can reach out to our communities,” she said.

- Guy Rogers
Source: Weekend Post

India is the world’s fifth-biggest polluter, a new study confirmed on Tuesday, with its greenhouse gas emissions growing by more than 3 percent annually between 1994 – 2007.

Ganges River pollution

The Asian giant [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) - partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 12 May 2010

India is the world’s fifth-biggest polluter, a new study confirmed on Tuesday, with its greenhouse gas emissions growing by more than 3 percent annually between 1994 – 2007.

Ganges River pollution

The Asian giant is also suffering from the effects of global warming such as rising temperatures and sea levels along its coasts. The study represents the first update to an assessment of India’s air emissions that was done 16 years ago. More than 80 scientists from 17 institutions across India were involved in the study, said Jairam Ramesh, India’s environment minister.

The sectors that showed the most significant annual growth in emissions were cement production, 6 percent; electricity generation, 5,6 percent; and transport, 4,5 percent, said the study, which was released by India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests.

India’s per capita carbon dioxide emissions were roughly 1 360 kilograms in 2007, according to the study. That’s small compared to China and the US, with 4 763 kilograms and 19 278 kilograms respectively that year. The study said that the European Union and Russia also have more emissions than India.

Still, pollution is causing India’s environment to erode significantly, the study said, underscoring the need for India to take action. Continuous warming and the changing rainfall pattern “may jeopardise India’s development by adversely impacting the natural resources such as water, forests, coastal zones and mountains on which more than 70 percent of the rural population is dependent,” the study said.

Temperatures in India, which already suffers from economically debilitating heat and drought, could rise by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius (3,6 F to 7,2 F) by 2050, the study said. In addition, the study says, India’s coastal waters have risen between 1,06 and 1,25 millimetres per year over the last four decades, the study said, threatening life along the coasts.

UN scientists says greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide – emitted mostly by burning fossil fuels for electricity and transportation – are causing climate change that threatens potentially catastrophic environmental damage such as floods, droughts and rising sea levels.

A conference in Copenhagen in December failed to reach a new legally binding treaty after two years of UN-sponsored negotiations.

Last week, some 40 nations agreed to take individual steps to fight global warming but made little progress during a three-day meeting near Bonn, Germany, toward a new international climate change treaty.

- Sapa