WATER SOURCE PARTNERSHIPS

This WWF South Africa fact sheet outlines the critical role of strategic water source areas (WSAs) in ensuring South Africa's water security and proposes the implementation of Water Source Partnerships to address a governance crisis and land degradation.

• South Africa has 22 strategic water source areas, which are disproportionately important for the country's water supply; only 10% of the land provides 50% of the surface water that fills dams and flows into rivers. Currently, only 16% of these strategic areas are formally protected.
• Land use within water source areas includes cultivation (15%), plantations (13%), degradation from overgrazing and poor use (3%), and mining (1%). Additionally, 70% of the water used for irrigated agriculture is sourced from these areas.
• WWF South Africa identifies a 'water governance crisis' characterized by misalignment, ineffective institutions, and threats such as climate change, over-abstraction, pollution, and alien invasive plants. While the National Water Act (1998) is considered world-leading, it has not been fully implemented.
• To combat the governance crisis, WWF is mobilizing Water Source Partnerships—community-public-private collaborations involving NGOs, private corporates, businesses, and public entities like Water User Associations. These partnerships, already active in eight of the 22 water source areas, aim to enable coordinated governance, create community opportunities, and stop land and water resource degradation.
• The strategic importance of these areas is recognized in the 2018 National Water and Sanitation Master Plan, which set a goal to ensure these areas are safeguarded by 2021.

APA

WWF South Africa (n.d.). WATER SOURCE PARTNERSHIPS. http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/wwf_water_source_partnerships_web_pdf_2019.pdf

Chicago

WWF South Africa. WATER SOURCE PARTNERSHIPS. n.d. http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/wwf_water_source_partnerships_web_pdf_2019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF South Africa |title=WATER SOURCE PARTNERSHIPS |url=http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/wwf_water_source_partnerships_web_pdf_2019.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfsouthafricandwater, author = {{WWF South Africa}}, title = {{WATER SOURCE PARTNERSHIPS}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, url = {http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/wwf_water_source_partnerships_web_pdf_2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }