Water Balance Programme

South Africa is a chronically water stressed country with huge economic development pressures and social upliftment challenges. Water availability is one of the most decisive factors that will affect the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of South Africa over the next decade, and its supply is already precariously limited.

In the past, South Africa has invested heavily in water infrastructure and this is, in part, why the country has enjoyed a false sense of water security. However, the country is fast approaching full utilisation of available surface water yields, and running out of suitable sites for new dams.

Water supply issues cannot be solved by simply building more dams or creating more infrastructure, but relies heavily on rehabilitating, maintaining and conserving the natural areas which form the critical catchments and “water factories” for the country. Superimposed onto this, climate change models predict changes to both rainfall and temperature in southern Africa, which will affect water storage negatively.

In short, South Africa needs to think innovatively about new ways of reducing water demand and making water available, outside of the traditional engineering solutions of infrastructure development, if it wishes to sustain economic growth and maintain healthy freshwater ecosystems.

WWF seeks to harness corporate support for the wise management of our water resources not only through their commitment to investing in the health of our water provisioning catchments, but also through engaging with corporates on the broader issues deemed vital to achieving water security in South Africa. The WWF Water Balance Programme therefore acts as just one option available to visionary corporates who recognize the precarious state of South Africa’s water supplies.