DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH AND WELL-BEING DEPEND ON WATER

This guide by the Centre for Environmental Rights outlines the critical importance of South Africa's 22 water source areas (WSAs), which provide 50% of the country's surface run-off despite covering only 8% of the land. The document details the threats facing these areas—including mining, agriculture, and climate change—and proposes a 'legal toolbox' of statutory mechanisms to protect these essential ecological infrastructures.

• South Africa's water source areas are disproportionately productive, with only 8% of the land providing 50% of the country's surface run-off, including water in rivers, streams, and wetlands.
• Water source areas are vital to the national economy and population, supporting approximately 67% of national economic activity and 60% of South Africa's population, while supplying about 70% of irrigation water.
• Major urban centres are heavily dependent on specific water source areas: the City of Cape Town receives 98.8% of its water from the Boland Mountains and Table Mountain areas, while eThekwini and Pietermaritzburg receive 97.8% from the Southern Drakensberg.
• Despite their importance, formal protection is low; only 13% of water source areas are under some level of formal protection under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 2000 (NEMPAA).
• Water source areas face diverse threats, with cultivation (15%) and plantations (13%) being the most prominent land-uses. Other significant threats include mining, urban development, alien invasive vegetation, overgrazing, fires, and climate change.
• Mining activities pose a severe risk, particularly in Mpumalanga where there is a 70% overlap between mining and water source areas. Coal and gold mining specifically cause acid mine drainage (AMD), which contaminates water with sulphuric acid and toxic metals.
• Alien invasive plants, such as pine and black wattle, are responsible for the loss of roughly 3% of South Africa's available water resources.
• The document identifies a critical water security gap, predicting a 17% deficit between water supply and demand by 2030, with 98% of available reliable water already allocated.
• The 'Legal Toolbox' suggests several mechanisms for protection, including Section 24(2A) of the National Environmental Management Act to restrict activities like mining and forestry, and Section 49 of the Mineral & Petroleum Resources Development Act to prohibit mining rights in specific areas.
• The total size of South Africa's 22 water source areas is 12.32 million hectares, with some extending into Lesotho (1.91 million hectares) and Swaziland (0.93 million hectares).

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH AND WELL-BEING DEPEND ON WATER. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CER_Water-Source-Book_WEB-Version.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH AND WELL-BEING DEPEND ON WATER. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CER_Water-Source-Book_WEB-Version.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH AND WELL-BEING DEPEND ON WATER |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CER_Water-Source-Book_WEB-Version.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsnddevelopment, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH AND WELL-BEING DEPEND ON WATER}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CER_Water-Source-Book_WEB-Version.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }