GreenCape Sector Development Agency Progress Report on Strategic Project Water as a Constraint on Economic Development 2013-2014 Report

This executive summary details the first year of a GreenCape project (2013-2014) aimed at analyzing water consumption and economic productivity in the Western Cape to identify constraints on economic growth. The project shifted from its initial deliverables to develop a conceptual model and a 'framing question' to determine the optimal water sources, quality, and pricing for specific developments, with a particular focus on Saldanha Bay and the Berg Water Management Area.

• The project identified a gap in existing planning, noting that a 'linked systems analysis of the water and economics situation for Saldanha Bay planning could not be established in existing work.' This led to the creation of a central framing question: 'What are the “right” sources of water, at what quality, for the “right” developments, for the “right” price?'
• The report proposes a conceptual model for integrated planning that recognizes the 'co-dependence of economic development and water.' This model suggests that planners should start with a development scenario, determine the required water volume and quality, assess new resource interventions and their costs, and then decide if the scenario represents a 'smart' use of resources.
• Analysis of Saldanha Bay revealed that water resource interventions are typically planned using 'generalized growth percent’s' because planners often lack access to information on specific proposed developments. By using a model based on actual proposed developments, the project found a 'significant difference in the volumes of water required' across various growth scenarios and between conventional and green approaches.
• Two tools were implemented for the Berg Catchment to assess 'smart' water use: statistical water accounting (stocks-and-flows input-output analysis) and Water Footprint Assessment (WFA). The WFA was used to calculate economic productivity indices, specifically the 'rand generated per total drop (GDP / water footprint as m3), and the jobs generated per drop' per macroeconomic sector.
• The project's initial deliverables were modified; while deliverables 1 (water availability and use data) and 2 (water and economy links) were met, deliverables 3, 4, and 5 were replaced by the development of the framing question and subsequent work to answer it.
• GreenCape recommends extending the project to a 3-5 year timeframe to support strategic decision-making. Planned outputs for 2014-2015 include a cost-benefit analysis for water use in Saldanha, a systems dynamics based model of water use, and a GIS based analysis of water resource productivity.

APA

Seyler, H., & Chimboza, N. (2014). GreenCape Sector Development Agency Progress Report on Strategic Project Water as a Constraint on Economic Development 2013-2014 Report. GreenCape. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Water-Sector-Desk-Content/13004-Water-as-a-constraint-Executive-Summary-Final2.pdf

Chicago

Seyler, Helen, and Nisbert Chimboza. GreenCape Sector Development Agency Progress Report on Strategic Project Water as a Constraint on Economic Development 2013-2014 Report. GreenCape, 2014. https://greencape.co.za/assets/Water-Sector-Desk-Content/13004-Water-as-a-constraint-Executive-Summary-Final2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Seyler |first1=Helen |last2=Chimboza |first2=Nisbert |title=GreenCape Sector Development Agency Progress Report on Strategic Project Water as a Constraint on Economic Development 2013-2014 Report |publisher=GreenCape |date=14 March 2014 |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/Water-Sector-Desk-Content/13004-Water-as-a-constraint-Executive-Summary-Final2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{seyler2014greencape, author = {Seyler, Helen and Chimboza, Nisbert}, title = {{GreenCape Sector Development Agency Progress Report on Strategic Project Water as a Constraint on Economic Development 2013-2014 Report}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2014}, month = mar, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/Water-Sector-Desk-Content/13004-Water-as-a-constraint-Executive-Summary-Final2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }