7_annexure_7_partnership_setup_table_mountain_water_source_partnership-20d01149e375e9f3.pdf

This report by WWF South Africa documents the formation and evolution of the Table Mountain Water Source Partnership, a multi-stakeholder initiative designed to improve collaborative groundwater governance in the Table Mountain Strategic Water Source Area. It details the transition from a project-led initiation funded by AB InBev and the Royal Danish Embassy to a self-governing partnership with a rotating chairperson and a dedicated secretariat.

• The Table Mountain Water Source Partnership was catalyzed by three primary factors: a national policy framework supporting the security of water source areas (WSAs), WWF's internal 2025 strategy to develop community-public-private partnerships for WSAs, and the urgency created by the Cape Town 'Day Zero' drought.
• The partnership's establishment followed a phased funding model, beginning with a pilot project (October 2018 to October 2020) funded by AB InBev (SAB - AB InBev), followed by support from the Royal Danish Embassy for the partnership secretariat and priority project activities.
• The governance structure evolved from a WWF-proposed draft to a self-governing model. By the partnership launch on 15 November 2021, the Steering Committee (SC) became the founding members, and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) was elected as the rotating chairperson to shift power away from WWF.
• A critical operational lesson was the need to separate the long-term partnership from the short-term projects that establish it, ensuring the partnership takes a supervisory role to maintain sustainability and independence.
• The partnership faces ongoing challenges regarding community representation and top-level government buy-in. While community engagement occurs at the project level, achieving meaningful representation on the Steering Committee is difficult due to Cape Town's diverse urban population.
• The use of an external Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team was identified as a key success factor, providing neutral facilitation that helped the Steering Committee address tensions and transition from donor-managed to collective management.
• Securing continuous funding for the secretariat and partnership maintenance remains a primary constraint, as most funders prefer to support specific project cycles or 'net positive water targets' rather than ongoing governance work.

APA

WWF South Africa (n.d.). 7_annexure_7_partnership_setup_table_mountain_water_source_partnership-20d01149e375e9f3.pdf. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/7_annexure_7_partnership_setup_table_mountain_water_source_partnership.pdf

Chicago

WWF South Africa. 7_annexure_7_partnership_setup_table_mountain_water_source_partnership-20d01149e375e9f3.pdf. n.d. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/7_annexure_7_partnership_setup_table_mountain_water_source_partnership.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF South Africa |title=7_annexure_7_partnership_setup_table_mountain_water_source_partnership-20d01149e375e9f3.pdf |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/7_annexure_7_partnership_setup_table_mountain_water_source_partnership.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfsouthafricand7annexure7partnershipsetuptablemountainwatersourcepartnership20d01149e375e9f3pdf, author = {{WWF South Africa}}, title = {{7\_annexure\_7\_partnership\_setup\_table\_mountain\_water\_source\_partnership-20d01149e375e9f3.pdf}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/7_annexure_7_partnership_setup_table_mountain_water_source_partnership.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }