The African continent is the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to its dependence on rain-fed agriculture but can harness the potential for hydropower, said Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 28 Nov 2011

The African continent is the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change due to its dependence on rain-fed agriculture but can harness the potential for hydropower, said Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa on Monday.

Africa currently uses only 10% of its hydropower potential

“The challenge for Africa is to decouple economic and social development from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation to an extent which has no precedent in the developed world,” said Molewa, who is leading the SA’s negotiation team at COP17 in Durban.

Water shortages caused by climate change threaten agriculture and human health in Africa, she said. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted yields from rain-fed agriculture to shrink by half by 2020.

“This will spell famine for many,” she said.

Water shortages have already affected the agriculture and livestock industries in Kenya, she said, and African nations that currently have water surpluses will shift to water scarcity before 2025.

But Africa’s water resources could also rescue the continent from the effects of climate change in the form of renewable energy, she said. The continent currently uses only 10% of its hydropower potential.

“A national, regional and international effort towards unlocking this potential is an example of how African societies could go from being amongst the most vulnerable to become climate resilient,” she said.

Molewa repeated the SA government’s support of the “polluter pays principle”, imploring developed nations to fund green projects in developing nations, since they are responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Africa contributes only 4% of global GHG emissions, but SA is responsible for almost half of that.

Molewa also highlighted the Africa Pavilion at COP17, which presents opportunities for green-development projects on the continent.

The effects of climate change on Africa are “unacceptable” and climate-change talks must “produce a credible, fair, equitable and balanced outcome” in the coming weeks.

Source: Business Live

Water and Environment Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has angered activists by allowing an Australian company to resume mining on the doorstep of the Mapungubwe World Heritage site.

Coal of Africa pleaded with Molewa [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 24 Oct 2011

Water and Environment Affairs Minister Edna Molewa has angered activists by allowing an Australian company to resume mining on the doorstep of the Mapungubwe World Heritage site.

Coal of Africa pleaded with Molewa to be allowed to continue mining

The Save Mapungubwe Campaign, a coalition of seven groups, said the minister’s decision was “contrary to the ordinary procedure stipulated in the National Water Act.”

The mining licence, granted to UK-listed Coal of Africa in March, was suspended in July following a Water Tribunal appeal lodged by the coalition citing discrepancies in the granting of the licence.

Coalition spokesman Hayley Komen said the minister’s discretion to lift the suspension should be exercised only in extraordinary circumstances, which in this instance did not apply.

The coalition fears that Molewa’s decision will enable other companies to apply to have the suspension of their licence rescinded.

But Water Affairs spokesman Linda Page said Coal of Africa had pleaded with Molewa to be allowed to continue mining because the appeal against the suspension might take a long time. The lengthy suspension would have a negative effect on mining operations, revenue and the workers, she said.

Page said that the coalition’s concerns were covered by the licence conditions and it would be involved in the monitoring of the water resources during mining operations.

By: Sipho Masombuka
Source: Times Live

Agricultural methods need to be radically overhauled to ensure food production rises to meet increasing demand but that water resources are not depleted further by doing so, research showed on Monday.

An average [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 05 Sep 2011

Agricultural methods need to be radically overhauled to ensure food production rises to meet increasing demand but that water resources are not depleted further by doing so, research showed on Monday.

An average 2,000-3,000 litres of water per day is needed to produce food per person

A radical overhaul of agriculture could create farms that enhance, rather than degrade, the world’s ecosystems, said a report led by the United Nations’ Environment Programme and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

“Managing water for food and ecosystems will bring great benefits, but there is no escaping the urgency of the situation,” said David Molden, deputy director general for research at IWMI.

“We are heading for disaster if we don’t change our practices from business as usual,” he added.

Water limits are close to being “reached or being breached” in areas such as northern China, India’s Punjab and western United States, said the report, entitled ‘An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water and Food Security’.

It warns that the number of people living in conditions of water scarcity could rise to 2 billion from 1.6 billion if the intensification of agriculture is not changed.

“People underestimate the amount of water used to make food. An average 2,000-3,000 litres per day is needed to produce food per person, compared to 200-300 litres for household use per day,” Molden told Reuters.

“On a global scale, we are likely to produce (enough) food but that doesn’t solve the environmental problems and locally, we are already seeing the crunch.”

The world’s population is forecast to rise to over 9 billion by 2050 from its current 6.9 billion, putting more strain on resources.

“We need to double food production if population goes up by a third, because people eat more meat and vegetables. And if we don’t change water practices, we need to find 70% more water,” Molden said.

To achieve both food and environmental security, governments need to provide incentives to farmers to adopt more sustainable agricultural practices, he added.

Farmers need to think about their business as more than just food production, while consumers need to demand good agricultural methods.

There are many opportunities to use trees on dry-land farms to intensify the amount of food produced per hectare of land while improving the local ecosystem, the report found.

By integrating trees and hedgerows, farmers can prevent runoff and soil erosion and preserve more water for feeding their crops.

Last month, a separate UN report said a sharp move away from large-scale, intensive systems of agriculture was essential if growing environmental and land degradation was to be halted.

Source: Moneycontrol.com

Environmental rights groups have expressed concern about the state of the country’s rivers following a report made to Parliament last week.

Those who use rivers for recreation, consume the water, or water crops [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 24 Aug 2011

Environmental rights groups have expressed concern about the state of the country’s rivers following a report made to Parliament last week.

Those who use rivers for recreation, consume the water, or water crops all face health risks

Briefing parliament’s Water and Environmental Affairs portfolio committee, water affairs acting chief director for water resources information management, Moloko Matlala, listed the main problems affecting the quality of the country’s river water.

Microbiological tests in June found that KwaZulu-Natal’s river systems were badly affected by pollution, he said.

Those who used rivers for recreation, consume the water, or used it to water crops all faced health risks.

“Water from these rivers, if drunk untreated, poses a high risk to those consuming the water due to the presence of Escherichia coli (more commonly known as E.Coli),” he said.

The Waterval, Blesbokspruit, Natalspruit and Klip rivers were also affected by effluent from waste water treatment plants and industries, he said.

Matlala said the Umgeni River had high phosphate levels due to poultry farms, effluent from cattle feed lots and informal settlements without sanitation facilities along its banks and feeder streams.

The Umlazi River was also heavily affected by sewage discharged into it.

Head of Greenpeace International Kumi Naidoo said saving the rivers required more involvement on the part of the community.

“If people put more pressure on the local government and help in the clean up of rivers and they work together, the rivers can be saved,” he said.

Implementation of policy, he said, sometimes required a push from the people.

A research assistant and Masters Student in Environmental Science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Kamleshan Pillay, agreed with Naidoo, saying it was possible for the rivers to be rehabilitated.

“In time these systems are able to heal themselves – our duty at this stage is just to make sure they are not polluted further,” he said.

Bobby Peek, of the environmental group Groundwork, said the problem was bigger than managing the pollution.

“The government needs to make sure it provides functional sanitation facilities to people in informal settlements so that untreated waste does not make its way into rivers,” he said.

Industry discharging effluent into rivers also needed to be policed more strictly, he said.

Duzi Umgeni Conservation Trust chairman Dave Still said his organisation was aware of the pressure rivers were facing.

“More investment in the refurbishment and building of infrastructure is needed to contain and manage the problem,” he said.

The department’s acting deputy director-general for water resources management, Mbangiseni Nepfumbada, was unable to say whether the health of the country’s rivers was improving or getting worse.

“The water quality of some areas are not monitored regularly, or not at all, due to human and financial constraints.”

He said it “needed to be looked at”, adding that little data was immediately available.

Source: IOL

It is imperative that renovations comply to the Water By-law

Aspects of the updated City of Cape Town Water By-law has raised some queries amongst residents.

With the ever changing weather patterns associated [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 26 July 2011

It is imperative that renovations comply to the Water By-law

Aspects of the updated City of Cape Town Water By-law has raised some queries amongst residents.

With the ever changing weather patterns associated with climate change, Cape Town remains a water scarce region and the City has a responsibility to ensure its water resources are managed effectively, efficiently, affordably and sustainably. Thus, the City is continually looking for ways to improve and enhance water and wastewater management and service delivery to ensure the availability and reliability of its water resources.

All consumers in water scarce areas should be empowered to save water and reduce their water losses/wastage. The City does this in a combination of different ways:- by providing information through various channels (media, bills, community engagement etc.); by utilising legislation (By-laws, policies) to guide or impose certain limitations; and by direct engagement with water users across the city.

There are some 620 000 domestic water connection points in the city. An ideal situation would be that every one of these premises are visited and inspected to indentify and eliminate water leaks and the discharge of stormwater into the sewers. However, the City does not have the resources to do this for every property.

The Water By-law was updated through a fair and open process, which included public participation. During one of these sessions a member of the public recommended that premises be inspected on transfer of ownership for water wastage. This was very well received as, in the long term, this process will help the City to reach all properties and this is why it was incorporated into the Water By-law.

The requirement that a certificate of compliance needs to be provided by the seller is a great benefit to the buyer as they will have peace of mind that their new home/business/office will be leak free and also free from stormwater to sewer discharges, thus helping them to effectively manage their own water use.

Questions have been raised as to why this certificate of compliance is still required when transfer of ownership is from two owners to one, as in the case for example of a divorce?

“The reason why, is that the property may have had several renovations or changes made to it since the original purchase date and, even if the property will be remaining within the family, it is imperative to ensure that this work complies to the new Water By-law requirements,” explained Councillor Shehaam Sims, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Utility Services.

“The ‘trigger’ for the certificate of compliance is the passage of transfer through the Deeds Office and all premises, whether domestic, commercial or industrial, now require a certificate of compliance inspection. In these cases any costs incurred to achieve water compliance should be offset over a relatively short period and the transferee, as well as saving water, will also have peace of mind that the property is water compliant,” Sims added.

Any retrofitting or renovation work involving water fittings must be undertaken by a qualified and registered plumber and in compliance with the new Water By-law.

A copy of the by-law (By-law Water 2010) can be found on the City’s website http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/Services/Pages/default.aspx
under By-laws.

Over time therefore, when properties are sold, obtaining a certificate of compliance for water installations will become standard practice.

Source:  City of  Cape Town

Boosting cooperation between countries sharing the waters of the Amu Darya, Central Asia’s longest river, could be key to future peace and security in the region a new report launched today by the United [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 11 July 2011

Boosting cooperation between countries sharing the waters of the Amu Darya, Central Asia’s longest river, could be key to future peace and security in the region a new report launched today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says.

The Aral Sea, which relies in part from water from the Amu Darya, remains severely degraded. Estimates indicate that "the volume and surface area of the sea have decreased tenfold"

Big hydropower projects planned upstream, demand for irrigated agriculture downstream and growing concern that climate change is shifting weather patterns are emerging as major natural resource challenges for the four main nations involved – Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The new report, prepared by UNEP on behalf of partners in the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC), points out that water resources in the region are already impacted by decades of often unsustainable development dating back to the era of the Soviet Union.

Large-scale engineering projects dammed and diverted substantial flows from the Amu Darya river basin into activities such as cotton, wheat and fodder farming in arid and desert regions. Such projects have also contributed to increased land degradation and damage to soils.

The Aral Sea, which relies in part from water from the Amu Darya, remains severely degraded with the report’s estimates indicating that “the volume and surface area of the sea have now decreased tenfold”.

Water levels in the southern part have dropped by 26 meters and the shoreline there has now receded by several hundred kilometers, says the report Environment and Security in the Amu Darya Basin.

Across the Amu Darya basin there is growing concern over declining water quality with and implications for human health including increased incidence of kidney, thyroid and liver diseases. This is being linked with chemicals run off from cultivated land and the washing of soils in the winter to reduce salt levels.

The report notes that between 1960 and 1990 the average salt content of water in the lower Amu Darya basin more than doubled and “has not improved since”.

Pollution from mining, metals, petroleum and chemicals activities along the river system and air pollution in the form of dust and salt from dried out parts of the Aral Sea are also pinpointed as challenges to human health.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: “As early as 1994, research identified the Amu Darya delta as an environment and security hotspot and these concerns are increasing rather than receding”.

“From a security perspective climate change, water, energy and agriculture constitute the main areas of interest for this report as they reveal the potential for increasing instability and even confrontation as more flows are impounded upstream reducing those water availability and quality downstream,” he added.

“Trust building, re-thinking agricultural production including irrigation systems and fostering cooperation on shared resources and infrastructure will be key to sustainable development in this part of Central Asia. The report sets out clear recommendations on how this can be achieved in a partnership between the countries concerned and the international community,” said Mr Steiner.

The new report details persistent, new and emerging stresses which will require environmental diplomacy to boost cooperation, especially around flashpoints between the nations sharing the Amu Darya.

Climate Change

“Temperatures are projected to rise by 2-3 degrees C in the next 50 years. Such an increase in temperatures could lead to significant environmental changes, some of which are already happening,” says the report based on the special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability.

For example there has been a significant loss of glaciers in the mountains of Central Asia since the latter part of the 20th century which is continuing. Many large glaciers have retreated by several hundred meters and hundreds of small glaciers have vanished altogether.

Along with snow melt and rainfall, the glaciers in locations such as the Pamir Mountains are key to river flows in the Amu Darya.

“With rapid population growth in Central Asia, rising demand for water in agriculture may produce a situation of water scarcity in rivers shared by several countries,” says the report, adding that reduced water flows could also lead to further challenges including impacts on biodiversity, increased silting up of reservoirs and more widespread land degradation.

Irrigated Agriculture

The report notes that water use, a great deal of which is used for irrigated agriculture, is high. Yet only a fraction of the 7,000-12,000 cubic meters per hectare is actually reaching the fields and crops.

Indeed it is estimated that more than half is lost due to, for example, leaks in canals and evaporation.

Countries are acting. Uzbekistan for example has launched several multi-million dollar projects to re-build its part of the irrigation network including pumping stations with the aim of improving the prospects for over 200,000 hectares of irrigated land.

Meanwhile the country is also drafting new water laws and investing in advanced irrigation systems and automated water management technologies to cut consumption.

The report suggests improved ‘hydro-meteorological’ monitoring and forecasting in the upper Amu Darya basin and closer ties in terms of water use between Afghanistan and the other key countries. Currently Afghanistan is outside the regional water management framework.

“Increasing land under irrigation by 20 per cent would increase total Afghan extraction to five-six cubic kilometers. The amount of water extracted – although still slight – is far from negligible particularly in the context of dry years,” says the report.

Meanwhile, part of Afghanistan’s long-term reconstruction plans involve increasing the amount and reliability of energy supplies via new hydropower developments with implications for water supplies downstream.

Hydropower

The report says that “recurrent extreme climatic conditions such as drought and extreme winter temperatures, combined with an increase in domestic and regional energy demand, have convinced upstream countries that it is necessary to develop their energy resources, especially hydropower”.

Afghanistan and Tajikistan for example are discussing plans to build the large 4,000 MW Dusht-i-Jum hydropower station on the Panj River, a tributary of the Amu Darya.

Tajikistan has also has resumed development of the Rogun dam on another tributary, the Vakhsh River, which will add 3,600 MW to the country’s installed energy capacity.

“These projects have prompted a strong reaction from downstream countries,’ says the report.

Recommendations

The report acknowledges that governments in the region are starting to move on many of the challenges but that a great deal more can be achieved to promote cooperative sustainable development and reduce tensions over finite natural resources.

It suggests that a good first step would be for relevant nations to ratify the UN Economic Commission for Europe’s Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.

This would serve the objective of establishing a legal framework and accountability for the collective management of the Amu Darya basin’s resources.

The report also calls for more exchange of information between countries on proposed transbounary projects that may impact the Amu Darya as one important mechanism for building trust and promoting cooperation.

Countries in the region should consider burden sharing in terms of maintaining water infrastructure while also promoting water efficiency measures and technologies.

Consultation on the costs and principles underpinning a fair, properly operated and balanced water systems should be carried out by the riparian states.

Modernization of regional energy systems and electricity grids should continue which, backed by improved energy efficiency and the development of alternative energy sources could reduce the need for increased hydropower projects.

Source: UNEP

With climate change now widely recognised as the major environmental problem facing the world, the South African government is taking awareness to schools with plans to incorporate more environmental studies into the school curricula.

By: Sarah Wild – guest of Royal Dutch Shell in Wyoming

Having seen a natural gas extraction facility that works — and, despite its problems, Shell’s onshore natural gas development in Pinedale, Wyoming, works [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 15 June 2011

By: Sarah Wild – guest of Royal Dutch Shell in Wyoming

Having seen a natural gas extraction facility that works — and, despite its problems, Shell’s onshore natural gas development in Pinedale, Wyoming, works — it is not certain whether natural gas extraction will be the holy grail of energy and the employment cash cow that SA expects it to be.

Wyoming’s Pinedale anticline raises new concerns about natural gas extraction

The country has been divided since it became public that Shell and several other energy companies had fixed their gaze on the Karoo and the shale gas reserves far beneath its surface.

Some have argued that it will solve SA’s energy crisis, ensuring a fuel supply for about 200 years; help the country move away from its dependence on coal; and create “unprecedented” employment.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, SA has technically recoverable shale gas resources of 13,7-trillion cubic metres, which could allow it to be energy independent.

The 1,1-trillion cubic metres of natural gas from the Pinedale Anticline can supply 10-million homes with electricity for more than 30 years.

Others have said natural gas would simply reinforce SA’s dependence on fossil fuels and cause irreparable environmental damage to an area with world- renowned biodiversity.

The Pinedale facility debunks a number of the myths but raises new concerns about natural gas extraction, including the contentious technique of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”.

A natural gas well costs about $3m to drill and frack, depending on its depth. Perhaps the most important aspect of natural gas exploration is that the techniques used — from drilling to the composition of the chemicals — vary according to the geography, geology and temperature, among other variables, of the area. A well, which can be up to 2km deep, is drilled into the ground, with a mixture of diesel-based lubricants, biocides and water to reduce friction.

Most of the “flowback” — a fluid containing the drilling mixture, natural gas and solids — is regurgitated back into the drill hole. At Pinedale, this flowback is filtered and reused.

Once the well has been dug, cylinders with explosive charges are lowered into the hole. The charges are detonated, perforating the rock. Only then does the fracking occur. A water solution of fracking chemicals and sand is injected into the well under high pressure, making fissures in the rock about 3cm wide. Once again, flowback emerges from the well. Shell engineers say nearly all of this fluid is recovered over time.

Both of these processes — drilling and fracking — require fresh water. This is the first major, and possibly insurmountable, hurdle for natural gas exploration in SA. The Pinedale facility uses ground water for drilling. Although it is filtered after use, it cannot be recycled for drinking; it can only be reused in the drilling and fracking processes.

While the Pinedale area has about 1500 lakes as well as rivers running through it, the Karoo is semi-arid. In fact, SA as a whole is considered semi-arid, with its water resources under stress.

One fracking stage can use up to 20000 barrels of water — about 2,3-million litres — and a well can have up to 14 fracking stages, which could translate into 32-million litres of water. Moreover, in SA, Shell alone has applied to drill 24 wells, eight wells on three different sites.

That translates into a possible 772,8-million litres of water, about 300 Olympic swimming pools.

In Pinedale, Shell points out that 60% of the water it uses is recycled from previously used fluid. However, natural gas development has been taking place in Pinedale for more than 60 years, with Shell occupying rigs for more than 10 years.

There is well-developed infrastructure — kilometres of piping, water treatment facilities — that allows it to recycle its water, as well as economies of scale that make it feasible.

SA does not have this, and, yes, it would be able to build it up over time, but the country does not have the water to waste.

The first step in natural gas development is exploring for the gas, which requires the wells to be drilled. This means that the water used in these initial stages — the millions of litres of water — would not be salvageable.

Perhaps the largest myth surrounding natural gas exploration in SA is that it would be an engine of job creation.

Shell’s Pinedale facility, which houses 425 wells, has a staff of 66. Most of its work — drilling, fracking, water filtering — is outsourced to specialist companies. SA, which does not have a natural gas industry, would have to bring in foreign skills .

There is the possibility of secondary job creation, but that would start to gain traction only after the initial exploration phase, which takes about three years. However, those jobs may come at the expense of other s as it may not be possible for agriculture and tourism — the revenue generators in the Eastern Cape — and mining to co-exist. But that would become apparent only after production had begun.

As would be the unintended consequences of natural gas development. Citizens in Pinedale have experienced spiking ozone levels as a direct result of natural gas development. These cause respiratory problems in children and the elderly. An engineer on the Pinedale site said the problem could not have been foreseen since it was unique to the area.

This raises the question: if the techniques and chemicals used in natural gas exploration vary according to location, is it possible to rule out that exploration on each new site could result in unexpected and possibly fatal consequences?

However, since natural gas exploration has been taking place in the US for decades, it is fairly well regulated. The federal government employs two staff members who take readings daily from different locations around the anticline, monitoring fugitive gas emissions and water quality.

The question then is whether SA has the capacity to monitor natural gas exploration with the vigilance it requires.

Even before that, SA needs regulation to govern the exploration and development of these resources. Then the country can decide whether Shell and the other hopeful companies meet the necessary criteria — rather than the other way round.

Natural gas exploration works in some places, but it is uncertain — given the lack of a natural gas industry, water scarcity and the absence of regulation — whether it will work here.

Source: Business Day

Climate change will have major impacts on the availability of water for growing food and on crop productivity in the decades to come, warns a new FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 09 June 2011

Climate change will have major impacts on the availability of water for growing food and on crop productivity in the decades to come, warns a new FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations] report.

Loss of glaciers will eventually impact the amount of surface water available for agriculture

‘Climate Change, Water, and Food Security’ is a comprehensive survey of existing scientific knowledge on the anticipated consequences of climate change for water use in agriculture.

These include reductions in river runoff and aquifer recharges in the Mediterranean and the semi-arid areas of the Americas, Australia and southern Africa — regions that are already water-stressed. In Asia, large areas of irrigated land that rely on snowmelt and mountain glaciers for water will also be affected, while heavily populated river deltas are at risk from a combination of reduced water flows, increased salinity, and rising sea levels.

Additional impacts described in the report:

An acceleration of the world’s hydrological cycle is anticipated as rising temperatures increase the rate of evaporation from land and sea. Rainfall will increase in the tropics and higher latitudes, but decrease in already dry semi-arid to mid-arid latitudes and in the interior of large continents. A greater frequency in droughts and floods will need to be planned for but already, water scarce areas of the world are expected to become drier and hotter.

Even though estimates of groundwater recharge under climate change cannot be made with any certainty, the increasing frequency of drought can be expected to encourage further development of available groundwater to buffer the production risk for farmers.

And the loss of glaciers – which support around 40 percent of the world’s irrigation — will eventually impact the amount of surface water available for agriculture in key producing basins

Increased temperatures will lengthen the growing season in northern temperate zones but will reduce the length almost everywhere else. Coupled with increased rates of evapotranspiration this will cause the yield potential and water productivity of crops to decline.

“Both the livelihoods of rural communities as well as the food security of city populations are at risk,” said FAO Assistant Director General for Natural Resources, Alexander Mueller. “But the rural poor, who are the most vulnerable, are likely to be disproportionately affected.”

Responding to the challenge

FAO’s report also looks at actions that can be taken by national policymakers, regional and local watershed authorities, and individual farmers to respond to these new challenges.

One key area requiring attention is improving the ability of countries to implement effective systems for ‘water accounting’ – the thorough measurement of water supplies, transfers, and transactions in order to inform decisions about how water resources  can be managed and used under increasing variability.

“Water accounting in most developing countries is very limited, and allocation procedures are non existent, ad hoc, or poorly developed,” the report says. “Helping developing countries acquire good water accounting practices and developing robust and flexible water allocations systems will be a first priority.”

At the farm level, growers can change their cropping patterns to allow earlier or later planting, reducing their water use and optimizing irrigation. Yields and productivity can be improved by shifting to soil moisture conservation practices, including zero- and minimum tillage. Planting deep-rooted crops would allow farmers to better exploit available soil moisture.

Mixed agroforestry systems also hold promise. These systems both sequester carbon and also offer additional benefits such as shade that reduces ground temperatures and evaporation, added wind protection, and improved soil conservation and water retention.

However, FAO’s report also stresses that small-scale producers in developing countries will face an uphill struggle in adopting such strategies.

“Farm size and access to capital set the limits for the scope and extent of adaptation and change at farm level,” it warns, noting that already today many developing world farms produce yields far below their agro-climatic potential.

Zooming in on hotspots

FAO also warns that far too little is known about how climate change impacts on water for agriculture will play out at the regional and sub-regional level, and where farmers will be most at risk.

“Greater precision and focus is needed to understand the nature, scope and location of climate change impacts on developing country water resources for agriculture,” the report says, adding: “Mapping vulnerability is a key task at national and regional levels.”

Source: FAO

At the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs of South Africa Edna Molewa, Chairman of Nestlé and Chairman of the Water Resources Group Peter Brabeck-Letmathe announced [...]]]> Posted by: Saving Water SA (Cape Town, South Africa) – partnered with Water Rhapsody conservation systems – 05 May 2011

At the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs of South Africa Edna Molewa, Chairman of Nestlé and Chairman of the Water Resources Group Peter Brabeck-Letmathe announced today a Declaration of Partnership.

Water demand is expected to rise by 52% within 30 years while supply is sharply declining

Recognizing the critical role that water plays as a catalyst for both economic growth and social development, the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) of South Africa forges a partnership with the Water Resources Group (WRG), an influential public-private global network on water supported by the World Economic Forum and the International Finance Corporation.

This new public-private group, chaired by the director-general of the DWA, will oversee the activities of a partnership called “South Africa Strategic Water Partners Network” to address critical water issues in South Africa: water conservation, demand management and developing more sustainable management of groundwater resources.

“This new partnership between the Government of South Africa and the Water Resources Group will help identify how South Africa’s plans for growth can be met with the water it has safely available. The foresight and leadership of Minister Molewa in this regard should be applauded” remarked Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of Nestlé and Chairman of the Water Resources Group.

In South Africa, water demand is expected to rise by 52% within the next 30 years while the supply of water is sharply declining. If current trends of leakage from aged and poorly maintained municipal infrastructure and the loss of wetlands persist, this growth in demand will intensify competition for water resources across all sectors of the economy (agriculture, energy industry and domestic).

Should status quo in management practices remain, a gap of 17% between water demand and supply is forecast by 2030. This gap will have serious social and political implications and strongly impact South Africa’s plans for economic growth.

“The Water Resources Group partnership will enable South Africa to access best practice economics, projects and policies in water management from public, private and civil society sectors around the world, enabling officials to field-test and replicate actions for implementation domestically,” explained Dominic Waughray, Senior Director, Head of Environmental Initiatives at the World Economic Forum, and member of the Water Resources Group.

The group will focus on key areas:

• Water conservation and demand management: increasing water use efficiency (in agriculture, industry and households) and reducing leakage from distribution networks (municipal and others, including irrigation)
• Diversifying the water mix: increasing the reuse of effluent and desalination (sea water and acid mine drainage), and developing more sustainable management of groundwater resources, in particular for rural areas

The partnership will deliver two primary outputs: first, it will assist the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) in developing sector strategies (agriculture, energy, industry) related to the key areas. Each sector strategy will:

• Identify a pipeline of potential projects and access its collective potential to close the water volume gap if implementation takes place
• Identify challenges for project replication
• Recommend a strategy to overcome challenges, including incentives for widespread adoption and contributions by each stakeholder to enable replication

Second, the partnership will provide expert support to help the NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF) consult with domestic stakeholders and design these pilot projects. Expertise provided from the WRG network will help NBF to:

• Develop joint public-private expert collaborations to structure and take forward the pilot projects
• Highlight the DWA-WRG partnership at COP 17 in Durban as a practical example of what South Africa is doing to manage its water security and adapt to climate change

Clear government ownership of the process is crucial to success and the inclusion of domestic public and private stakeholders. To this end, a public-private expert leadership group, chaired by the director-general of the DWA, will be formed to oversee the work. This new group will formally be called the “South Africa Strategic Water Partners Network”. Stakeholders to be invited will include:

• Department of Water Affairs (chairperson: the director-general)
• Industry (key economic sectors such as food/beverage, mining and metals, energy)
• Other governmental departments (national treasury, national planning commission, local government)
• Development finance institutions (Development Bank of Southern Africa, Industrial Development Corporation, International Finance Corporation)
• Business organizations (NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF), Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), National Business Initiative (NBI)
• Civil society organizations (including WWF South Africa)
• Multilateral and bilateral development agencies working in South Africa
• A senior representative of WRG

Key partners of the WRG include The Coca-Cola Company, International Finance Corporation, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Veolia Environment.

The Water Resources Group (WRG) is a public-private platform for collaboration. It mobilizes stakeholders from the public and private sector, civil society, centres of academic expertise and financing institutions to engage in fact-based, analytical approaches and coalition building initiatives that help governments to catalyse sustainable water sector transformation in support of their economic growth plans.

WRG engages with those governments who invite it to work on a comprehensive water sector reform strategy and then it provides a public-private approach to support them.

Source: World Economic Forum