We need to recognise the value of water, the need for sustainable management of this scarce resource and the critical role water plays in sustaining life, eradicating poverty and supporting development in South Africa.

Children
Every citizen in South Africa has a responsibility to ensure the integrity of our water resources and its efficient use. Caring for our water resources and the ecosystems that support their continuous provision is a critical part of our future. Simple everyday things we can all do will help to protect our underground aquifers, streams, rivers, coasts and estuaries, upon which we all depend for our livelihoods.

When you look out to sea it is difficult to imagine that water is a scarce resource. Although 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water, less than 1% of this is suitable for our consumption. The planet is a closed system in this regard. This means that the total amount of water across the earth remains more or less constant. The amount of fresh water available to us today is approximately the same amount we had a thousand years ago. Its availability does not increase with the growth of our population, nor can technology generate ‘more’ water. As the population grows, so the per capita availability diminishes and technology can only help us manage the resource better.

South Africa is a water-scarce country. Our average rainfall per year at 450 mm, is nearly half the world average of 860mm per year. The natural availability of fresh water across our country is uneven and to date, most river systems in SA have been negatively transformed due to poor land and water management and unsuitable development within their catchments. Land management practices influence what happens to water after it falls as rainfall. If these practices are not sustainable this leads to higher runoff, flooding, erosion, salinity and acidification. A multitude of different activities and ecosystem uses continue to threaten aquatic habitats and reduce the amount of water available to us. Overgrazing, alien plant infestations, unplanned settlements, industrial and agricultural pollution (i.e. chemical run-off from fertilised land), and poor riparian activities (e.g. sand mining, cultivation on river floodplains) all threaten aquatic habitats and associated biodiversity, as well as the water resource itself.

The degradation of inland aquatic ecosystems has far-reaching effects. The flow of water from the source catchment areas to the sea not only affects the river and wetland habitats, it significantly impacts on marine and coastal biodiversity. Healthy aquatic communities depend on a suitable quality and quantity of water which in turn depends on healthy river systems and wetlands all the way from the mountains to the sea. Sensitive coastal ecosystems such as estuaries, which represent the interface between freshwater and seawater, are critical to protect as they play a particularly important role in maintaining the populations of many of our most important marine fisheries and other marine life. Protecting our scarce water resources from ‘source to sea’ requires that we care for the health of the ecosystems that support the sustainable flow of water along its entire pathway.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) is working with Barloworld and other concerned individuals and organisations to raise awareness about the importance of maintaining the integrity of one such essential ecosystem, the Knysna Estuary. Considered South Africa's primary estuary in terms of conservation importance, the Knysna Estuary has one of the highest biodiversity levels of any estuary in South Africa. Relentless development pressures are however, threatening the health of the estuary. Poor land management in the catchment and development-related pollution from the immediate basin are eroding the functionality, beauty and value of the Knysna Estuary. As one of only four estuarine bays in South Africa and a tourism gem, the Knysna estuary is critically important not only ecologically but also economically and socially. Ensuring the health and continued value of the estuary will require dedicated and integrated management processes that include the rigorous application of sustainable development principles, sound catchment management, and innovative conservation solutions. Our water resources sustain us all and must be managed on behalf of all.

Jennifer Smith
Head: CSI
Barloworld Limited
Tel +27 11 445 1268
Fax +27 11 445 1581
Cell 082 808 5911

This page was updated on 3 August, 2007

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