According to research conducted by WWF South Africa, together with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), it was discovered that, in South Africa, an 8% land area provides 50% of the surface water, and these areas must be protected for future generations.
South Africa’s water source areas (WSAs) can be grouped into 21 areas, ranging from the seasonally flooded pans of the southern Kalahari and the perennial wetlands of the Natal Coastal Plain to the short isolated catchments of the southern coastal belt and the immense drainage basins of the Limpopo and Orange rivers. South Africa shares around 65% of its water resources with six neighbouring countries.
Water is a renewable but irreplaceable resource which is replenished annually during the rainy season. When it does not rain, however, it can lead to water shortages, and this creates problems as water cannot be replaced by any other substance.
South Africa’s WSAs are generally situated in the highest parts of the landscape that receive the most rainfall. While less than 1% of WSAs are currently mined, 70% of the areas in Mpumalanga are under either a prospecting or mining license, which represents cause for great concern. Overlap of coal deposits and water source areas is also less than 1% of WSAs, but is substantial in the Mfolozi and Enkangala Drakensberg areas.
A mere 16% of the WSAs are formally protected as nature reserves or parks, with the highest protection in the Kougaberg, Swartberg and Grootwinterhoek areas in the Western Cape with more than 70% formal protection.
South Africa’s 16 strategic nationally important WSAs form the headwaters of major river systems; they supply important downstream areas including inter-basin transfers and also play an important role in the economy. If the supply of water from these WCAs was interrupted, it would effectively turn off the taps to the economy, and would negatively impact both water and food security for the whole of South Africa.
The other 5 WSAs are of local importance; they have limited downstream dependents or impact and are found mainly on the coastlines of the Western Cape and Kwazulu Natal.
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