Securing Strategic Water Source Areas in South Africa towards enhancing adaptation to climate change exacerbated water scarcity

The project aims to protect 22 surface Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs) that supply 50% of the region's water. It proposes a $20 million investment ($10 million from GCF) to implement climate-responsive mapping, strengthen regulatory frameworks, rehabilitate catchments upstream of water infrastructure, and develop natural capital accounts. The initiative targets 5.8 million direct beneficiaries and seeks to mitigate risks from increasing droughts, rainfall variability, and invasive alien plants.

• South Africa is the 30th driest country in the world and faces a water crisis driven by climatic variation, erratic rainfall, and insufficient infrastructure investment.
• Twenty-two surface Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs) occupy 10% of the land in the South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland region but provide 50% of its water supply.
• SWSAs are critically under-protected, with only 13% of their land area formally protected, despite supporting 51% of South Africa's population and 64% of its economy.
• Invasive alien plants cover approximately 20 million hectares (16% of the country's surface area) and cause an estimated annual loss of R6.5 billion in water-related ecosystem services.
• Climate change has caused South Africa's mean annual temperatures to increase by more than 1.5 times the observed global average (0.7°C) between 1960 and 2010.
• The project identifies several barriers to adaptation, including a lack of climate-responsive mapping tools, inconsistent data quality from gauging weirs, and limited institutional capacity within Catchment Management Agencies.
• The proposed project consists of four components: climate-responsive mapping, safeguarding the resource base through regulation and equity, rehabilitating upstream catchments, and increasing the use of natural capital accounts in decision-making.
• The project expects to provide direct benefits to 5.8 million people, primarily through employment in environmental public works programmes such as 'Working for Water' and 'Working for Wetlands'.
• The total estimated project cost is USD 20 million, consisting of a USD 10 million grant from the GCF and USD 10 million in in-kind co-financing from the South African government.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2020). Securing Strategic Water Source Areas in South Africa towards enhancing adaptation to climate change exacerbated water scarcity. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/25230-securing-strategic-water-source-areas-south-africa-towards-enhancing-adaptation-climate-change.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Securing Strategic Water Source Areas in South Africa towards enhancing adaptation to climate change exacerbated water scarcity. 2020. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/25230-securing-strategic-water-source-areas-south-africa-towards-enhancing-adaptation-climate-change.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Securing Strategic Water Source Areas in South Africa towards enhancing adaptation to climate change exacerbated water scarcity |date=10 August 2020 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/25230-securing-strategic-water-source-areas-south-africa-towards-enhancing-adaptation-climate-change.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2020securing, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Securing Strategic Water Source Areas in South Africa towards enhancing adaptation to climate change exacerbated water scarcity}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/25230-securing-strategic-water-source-areas-south-africa-towards-enhancing-adaptation-climate-change.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }