Ervarings van water-voogdyskap in die Wes-Kaap

The document outlines a water stewardship approach for farmers in the Western Cape, specifically within the Breede River catchment. It identifies key water risks—physical, social, regulatory, and reputational—and promotes the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) standard as a tool for sustainable water management. Through case studies of nine farms, it demonstrates how technology, nutrient management, and community engagement can mitigate these risks. The guide also addresses broader catchment-level challenges, such as invasive plant species and sanitation issues in growing urban areas like Prince Alfred Hamlet.

• Water risks for farmers in the Breede River Valley are categorized into four areas: direct physical risks (availability, reliability, and quality), social risks (community access and theft/vandalism), regulatory risks (water allocation and licensing changes), and reputation/market risks (ecological and social impacts of water use).
• The Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) standard is presented as an international framework that helps farmers move from individual on-farm improvements to collective action and catchment-wide water risk management through a six-step process.
• Case studies demonstrate that adopting specific technologies can optimize water use; for example, the farms Esperanto and Welgemeen shifted to flow-based water supply, while Waboomskraal used soil moisture probes to optimize irrigation.
• The Romansrivier farm reduced fertilizer use by 25kg/ha during the 2013-2014 season after discovering that nutrient levels in runoff water were increasing, which contributed to downstream eutrophication risks.
• Social risks, including theft and vandalism of irrigation equipment, were addressed at Denou farm by redesigning pipelines and moving control valves to a secure, centralized location away from the town.
• Invasive plant species in South Africa are estimated to consume approximately 3.3 billion cubic meters of water annually, representing about 7% of river flow.
• Rapid urban growth in Prince Alfred Hamlet has created sanitation challenges that threaten the water quality of the Wabooms River, a tributary of the Breede River.
• The National Water Act of 1998 shifted water ownership in South Africa from private possession to a national asset managed by the government, creating regulatory risks for users who exceed their allocated amounts.

APA

Kristensen, A. (n.d.). Ervarings van water-voogdyskap in die Wes-Kaap. WWF South Africa. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/water_stewardship_afr_final.pdf

Chicago

Kristensen, Anette. Ervarings van water-voogdyskap in die Wes-Kaap. WWF South Africa, n.d. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/water_stewardship_afr_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kristensen |first1=Anette |title=Ervarings van water-voogdyskap in die Wes-Kaap |publisher=WWF South Africa |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/water_stewardship_afr_final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kristensenndervarings, author = {Kristensen, Anette}, title = {{Ervarings van water-voogdyskap in die Wes-Kaap}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/water_stewardship_afr_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }