Defining South Africa’s Water Source Areas

The report identifies strategic water source areas (SWSAs) across South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland, finding that just 8% of the land surface area generates 50% of the region's mean annual runoff. It assesses the land cover and protection status of these areas, noting that while 63% of SWSAs in South Africa remain in a natural condition, only 16% have formal legal protection. The document highlights threats from plantation forestry, cultivation, and mining, specifically noting that over 70% of SWSAs in Mpumalanga are under mining or prospecting licenses.

• Strategic water source areas in South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland occupy only 8% of the land surface area but contribute 50% of the region's mean annual runoff. South Africa provides 80% of this runoff, followed by Lesotho at 12% and Swaziland at 8%.
• At a national level in South Africa, 63% of water source areas are in a natural condition. The primary modifiers of natural land cover are cultivation (approximately 15%) and plantation forestry (13%).
• Formal legal protection for national strategic water source areas in South Africa is low, with only 16% of the area protected. The Western Cape has the highest protection level at 57%, while provinces like the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal have 96% and 90% of their SWSAs not protected, respectively.
• While only 0.5% of strategic water source areas nationwide overlap with coal fields, specific areas are highly vulnerable. The Phongola Drakensberg and Mfolozi Headwaters show spatial overlaps of 36.93% and 31.27% respectively.
• Mining represents a significant growing threat to water security, particularly in Mpumalanga, where over 70% of strategic water source areas are under some form of mining or prospecting license.

APA

Colvin, C., Haines, I., Nel, J., Le Maitre, D., & Smith, J. (2013). Defining South Africa’s Water Source Areas. WWF South Africa. http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/wwf_defining_sa_wsa.pdf

Chicago

Colvin, Christine, Imelda Haines, Jeanne Nel, Dave Le Maitre, and Janis Smith. Defining South Africa’s Water Source Areas. WWF South Africa, 2013. http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/wwf_defining_sa_wsa.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Colvin |first1=Christine |last2=Haines |first2=Imelda |last3=Nel |first3=Jeanne |last4=Le Maitre |first4=Dave |last5=Smith |first5=Janis |title=Defining South Africa’s Water Source Areas |publisher=WWF South Africa |date=August 2013 |url=http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/wwf_defining_sa_wsa.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{colvin2013defining, author = {Colvin, Christine and Haines, Imelda and Nel, Jeanne and Le Maitre, Dave and Smith, Janis}, title = {{Defining South Africa’s Water Source Areas}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, year = {2013}, month = aug, url = {http://awsassets.wwf.org.za/downloads/wwf_defining_sa_wsa.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }