daily bulletin wednesday 07112012 - wrc bulletin wednesday... · closing plenary chair of the...
TRANSCRIPT
Wednesday 7 November
The theme for the final day of the conference
was: Adapative Water Governance and its
implementation. Ecosystem Services
Sita Vulto and Jan Saaf introduced the
CarboWet Foundation, whose main
the ecosystem valuation function of certified
carbon trading. The presenters said
providing an economic valuation for wetlands,
the value of these wetlands will increase.
Kevin Zunckel introduced the Drakensberg
Mountain Range, running through KwaZ
Natal and the Eastern Cape, as one of the few
portions in South Africa with a positive water
balance.
It was said that the importance of this area is
emphasized by the existence of reservoir and
water transfer infrastructure that must take
surplus water from this area to areas of deficit.
The benefits associated with the ecosystem
services derived from the Maloti-
Transfrontier Project out-weighs costs.
DAILYBULLETINThe theme for the final day of the conference
Adapative Water Governance and its
Sita Vulto and Jan Saaf introduced the
, whose main interest is
the ecosystem valuation function of certified
said that by
providing an economic valuation for wetlands,
the value of these wetlands will increase.
Kevin Zunckel introduced the Drakensberg
Mountain Range, running through KwaZulu
Natal and the Eastern Cape, as one of the few
portions in South Africa with a positive water
It was said that the importance of this area is
ed by the existence of reservoir and
water transfer infrastructure that must take
r from this area to areas of deficit.
he benefits associated with the ecosystem
Drakensberg
weighs costs.
Suvarna Chandrappagari introduced a number
of initiatives undertaken since 1994 by the
Government of Andhra Prasesh, India aimed at
promoting improved participatory watershed
management in this sub
studies undertaken by the Government of
Andhra Prasesh, India
finalisation of 455 watershed projects
spreading over 1.96 million hectares of
drought prone areas covering some 3
villages.
Bimo Nkhata provided
“property rights” approach to fresh water
governance. Property rights are key drivers of
ecosystem services and
sustainable development and fresh water
governance.
Investing in water security for growth and climate resilience development
DAILY BULLETIN
Suvarna Chandrappagari introduced a number
of initiatives undertaken since 1994 by the
Government of Andhra Prasesh, India aimed at
promoting improved participatory watershed
management in this sub-region of India. The
studies undertaken by the Government of
have resulted in the
455 watershed projects
spreading over 1.96 million hectares of
drought prone areas covering some 3 100
Bimo Nkhata provided an insight into a
approach to fresh water
roperty rights are key drivers of
and are central to
sustainable development and fresh water
Investing in water security for growth and climate resilience
Closing plenary
Chair of the Closing Plenary, CEO of the WRC,
Dhesigen Naidoo highlighted the fact that the
global dialogue on water is generally
unanimous that we are moving into a very
difficult water future on the back of factors
including unprecedented population growth
combined with rapid levels of economic
movement in the developing world in
particular.
Centuries of environmentally insensitive and
water wasteful mining and industrial practices
have come back to haunt us. This combined
with the newer challenges of Global Change
has defined the Water Challenge of the 21st
Century.
Over the past three days of this conference,
we have made an important start to that
global dialogue. We have converged here from
29 countries, across 5 continents to apply our
minds, experiences and insights, and engaged
these issues into five baskets: Legislation,
regulatory environments, human and
environmental rights; Markers and measures
of good governance in the water domain;
Multi-level, multi-sectoral and transboundary
governance and adaptive management; Tools
for implementation, and; The need for new
knowledge and capacity through investments
in research and development to develop and
implement better and sustainable solutions to
challenges.
This has been enormously beneficial, we have
forded a few solution streams and started on a
path of many more, and have organised
ourselves an important continuity, whereby
we will move to the next level in a series of
discipline and area specific domains, including
next year’s International Conference on Water
and Gender, and the International Conference
on Fresh Water Governance 2 in Adelaide,
Australia taking place in 2014.
The session was built on the motivation that
the existing uncertainty on how climate
change will affect water resources. However,
this should not deter investments for water
security. No and low regret investments have
the key characteristics of delivering benefits
under any future climate scenario and building
confidence in the long term sustainability of
development activities. Fast-tracking this
investment allows action to be taken despite
the large uncertainties in the future climate. At
the same time there is need to focus on
developing climate resilient infrastructure at
all levels and this requires innovative and
informed planning. This session aimed at
discussing ways of ensuring that short and
long term investment strategies aimed at
increasing water security and improving
climate resilience are prioritised at different
levels.
More systemic, more adaptive: The way forward for water governance?
The purpose of this session was to highlight
why and how systemic thinking, including
adaptive management and social learning, can
contribute to responsive, adaptive and
resilient governance arrangements at various
interconnected levels. This session was
conducted in a participative way, by
emphasizing group work and carousel stations.
Group work followed with conversational
mapping activities relating to: Systems
approaches in water resources governance.
This activity aimed at drawing on the collective
experience of participants with regard to
systems thinking and its application in water
governance. The session overall produced
some controversial discussion, with the major
challenges for adopting a systems approach
being highlighted.
What should we be taking to the world?
In his closing statement, Hastings Chikiko,
Regional Representative of IUCN in South
Africa said that the overall consensus is that
water governance is about people.
Water management is a traditionally technical
field but water management involves people
and should be driven into development debate
and plans. Water resources are a critical
enabler, or constraint, for most economic
activities and social needs so water
governance is about development and people
– hence it is about equity.
The main messages of this conference, focused
on four main topics: Legislation, regulation,
rights and accountability; The markers of good
governance; Multi-level, multi-sectoral and
transboundary governance and adaptive
management, and; Tools for implementation.
An important quote from the conference’s
opening remarks was: While serving the needs
of big business, the mines, the farmers, our
systems must ensure that Mrs Mkwanazi just
down the road here is able to access water for
productive and domestic purposes, that she
has access to sustainable sanitation services,
that she has access to a road and transport
services to get her produce to market, and
that she can make a living that enables her to
feed and educate her family, and to live with
dignity.
The four conference’s Daily Bulletins have been
compiled by Debbie Besseling of Idube Media and
Hlengiwe Cele of the Water Research Commission.
Contact details: eMail: [email protected] and
The African Water Calendar
Dr Mathole Motshekga, founder of Kara
Heritage Institute and Chief Whip of the
Majority Party, Parliament of the Republic of
South Africa presented the keynote address
for the closing plenary entitled the African
Water Calendar. Dr Motshekga highlighted the
fact that in many conferences covering the
topics of water, environment and sustainable
development, the indigenous African cultural
heritage and knowledge systems are left out of
account. The scientific or materialist concepts
used in such conferences and the resulting
literature do not make sense to indigenous
people because they do not cover the spiritual
and material aspects of water and the
environment.
These eurocentric approaches have also
rooted out African spirituality and the worship
of the Water Goddess who was (and still is)
central to water and environmental
conservation and protection. The celebration
of water festivals by Balobedu of Mudjadji the
Rain Queen and other communities in
southern Africa and the rediscovery of the
Maphungubwe heritage site which was the
first rain making shrine in southern Africa,
provides a framework for the revival of the
African Water Calendar and its use as a tool to
raise the awareness of indigenous African
communities whose culture of water and
environmental conservation and protection is
fast diminishing. The Water Goddess, Mohale,
Mwalinkulunkulu or Mwari We Denga was
(and still is) worshipped in southern Africa and
Africa and African religion has also been
recognised as one of the major world religions,
there is a conducive climate for the revival of
the African Water Calendar as a tool for the
African Cultural Renaissance.
Note: The content in this newsletter is compiled from
reports submitted by Rapporteurs timeously.