An introduction to South Africa’s Water Source Areas

The report identifies that 8% of South Africa's land area generates 50% of its surface water run-off. These Water Source Areas (WSAs) are critical ecological infrastructures that feed the country's engineered water systems. The document details 21 specific WSAs across five provinces, highlighting that 16 are of national strategic importance. Major threats to these areas include coal mining, alien invasive vegetation, climate change, and land degradation. The report emphasizes that while engineered infrastructure is extensive, water security depends on the health of these natural catchments, many of which currently have low levels of formal protection.

• A small fraction of South Africa's land is responsible for a majority of its surface water; specifically, 8% of the land area produces 50% of the country's surface run-off.
• South Africa's freshwater ecosystems are under significant stress, with 60% of river ecosystems and 65% of wetland types classified as threatened.
• The report identifies 21 Water Source Areas (WSAs), 16 of which are considered strategic because they form the headwaters of major river systems that supply the national economy and significant downstream areas.
• Formal protection of WSAs is generally low, with only 16% of these areas protected as nature reserves or parks. The Western Cape has the highest protection levels, while areas in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and parts of Mpumalanga have very low or no protection.
• Several critical threats impact water source areas, including alien invasive plants which are estimated to cause a loss of 7% of available water resources, and coal mining which leads to acid mine drainage (AMD).
• Climate change is expected to impact South Africa primarily through water-related effects, with predicted lower rainfall and reduced river run-off in the Western Cape, and more intense rainfall events leading to erosion and flood damage in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
• The Maloti Drakensberg is identified as the country's most important water source area, contributing approximately 25% of available water and supporting nearly 50% of South Africa's GDP.

APA

WWF South Africa (2013). An introduction to South Africa’s Water Source Areas. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_sa_watersource_area10_lo.pdf

Chicago

WWF South Africa. An introduction to South Africa’s Water Source Areas. 2013. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_sa_watersource_area10_lo.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF South Africa |title=An introduction to South Africa’s Water Source Areas |date=2013 |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_sa_watersource_area10_lo.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfsouthafrica2013introduction, author = {{WWF South Africa}}, title = {{An introduction to South Africa’s Water Source Areas}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, year = {2013}, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_sa_watersource_area10_lo.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }