SOUTH AFRICA'S RESERVE: CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICIES

2006 ◽  
Vol 08 (01) ◽  
pp. 61-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALISON BODURTHA QUA-ENOO ◽  
KATE SCHENDEL ◽  
NEVIL QUINN
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Key Issues

South Africa introduced a visionary policy for water resource management in 1998. The South African National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) contains several innovative mechanisms with the potential to transform water resource management within the country and abroad. The Reserve is one of these innovations, guaranteeing a basic water requirement for both human needs and ecosystem health. This article discusses the process of Reserve determination and implementation in South Africa and identifies challenges and opportunities for successful implementation. Based on the perceptions of 28 water managers, consultants, and researchers, the key issues and recommendations for improving implementation are presented. The major findings indicate that political support, the capacity of the implementing organization, supporting policies, strong linkages between policy actors and effective monitoring programs are key issues in the successful implementation of sustainable development policy mechanisms.

scholarly journals Perspectives on integrated water resource management and its relevance in understanding the water-energy-climate change nexus in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 11-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Matome Mathetsa ◽  
Mulala Danny Simatele ◽  
Isaac T. Rampedi ◽  
Gerhard Gericke
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Integrated Water Resource Management ◽  
Development Goals

It is increasingly acknowledged that the water-energy-climate change (WECC) nexus is one of the synergies that pose a significant risk to achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs), specifically numbers six, seven and thirteen. There are suggestions that climate change outcomes such as increased temperature and drought episodes have implications for water availability, which in turn affects energy production in countries dependent on hydropower, pump-storage or coal-generated electricity, including South Africa. This development therefore calls for improved understanding of how to effectively manage the challenges that arise from this nexus, to mitigate the impacts it may have on achieving the associated SDGs. This study, which is based on an in-depth appraisal of existing developments, assessed the potential of the integrated water resource management framework in understanding the WECC nexus and its implications for South Africa’s sustainable development endeavours, particularly in the context of water resource management and utilisation. The study revealed South Africa’s lack of integrated, effective, and efficient institutions and policy framework to comprehensively manage the challenges emanating from this nexus. It identified an urgent need to develop systems and processes through which South Africa can handle the challenges as well as capture the benefits that may be obtained from this nexus.

scholarly journals INTEROPERABILITY OF INFORMATION SYSTEM COMPONENTS FOR MONITORING OF SEWAGE AND INTELLIGENT ANALYSIS OF WATER RESOURCES / INFORMACINIŲ SISTEMŲ KOMPONENTŲ SĄVEIKUMAS VYKDANT NUTEKAMŲJŲ VANDENŲ STEBĖSENĄ IR INTELEKTINĘ VANDENS IŠTEKLIŲ ANALIZĘ

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalė Dzemydienė ◽  
Saulius Maskeliūnas ◽  
Ignas Dzemyda
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Information System ◽  
Decision Support ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Web Services ◽  
Decision Support System ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Support System ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Main Components

The interoperability problems of distributed databases are important in the developing of the operatively working web services aimed for all sectors of public administration. The following web services are designed for solving tasks in water resource management and contamination evaluation sector with a due attention to the international environment protection context. The paper is devoted to problems of developing the component‐based architecture of the integrated decision‐support system that afford ground for the monitoring and intellectual analysis of water management. Such investigations are made according to the requirements of European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive, Sustainable development Directives and EIONET ReportNet infrastructure. The main components of decision‐support system are analyzed by using different knowledge modelling and web service development techniques. The structure of water resource management information system (WRMIS) becomes the core of the decision‐support system in which web services are implemented. The main components for evaluation of processes of contamination and water monitoring are represented by data warehouse structures. The solutions to satisfy the interoperability requirements are demonstrated by architectural design decisions of the system, integrating the distributed data warehouses and geographical information system means. The web services are based on common portal technology. The organizational and political arrangements require deeper and stronger participation activities by all member states of EU in reporting, understanding the importance of sustainable development problems and risk evaluation possibilities. Santrauka Vandens išteklių valdymas ir nutekamojo vandens kokybės vertinimas yra viena svarbiausių problemų, susijusių su aplinkos apsaugos ir žmonių sveikatos uždaviniais. Vanduo yra vienas iš pagrindinių išteklių visiems biologinės įvairovės gyvavimo ciklams egzistuoti. Vandens kokybės reikalavimai daro įtaką daugeliui darniosios plėtros reikalavimų. Aplinkos apsaugos principai susideda iš daugelio tarpusavyje sąveikaujančių komponentų. Didelių įmonių, institucijų ir organizacijų veikla turėtų būti grindžiama įvairiopa atsakomybe už daromos veiklos ir žalos aplinkai padarinius. Nagrinėjami informacinių sistemų, vykdančių vandens užterštumo stebėseną ir analizę, sąveikumo užtikrinimo klausimai. Informacijos perteikimo metodai yra svarbūs kuriant konsultacines sistemas, kurios padėtų spręsti daugelį sprendimų priėmimo problemų, vertinant kompleksinius aplinkos taršos procesus. Šiame straipsnyje analizuojami pagrindiniai sprendimų paramos sistemos kūrimo komponentai aplinkos vertinimo sektoriuje, leidžiantys efektyviau spręsti šias problemas naudojant E-tinklus (vertinimo tinklus, t. y. Petri tinklų praplėtimą). Modeliai, leidžiantys atvaizduoti ir vertinti sprendimų priėmimo procesus, projektuojami keliais detalumo lygmenimis, taikant semantinio informacijos struktūrizavimo ir imitacinio modeliavimo priemones. Taršos procesai stebimi vykdant monitoringą, pirminius duomenis fiksuojant daugiamatėse duomenų saugyklose ir perteikiant vartotojams sprendimų paramos sistemos analizės priemonėmis. Aprašomi vandens išteklių ir nuotekų kontrolės duomenų analizės modeliai ir gauti rezultatai. Straipsnyje analizuojami pagrindiniai sprendimų paramos sistemos komponentai ir spendimams priimti svarbūs vandens ir aplinkos vertinimo rezultatai.

Sustainable development - assessment of water resource management measures

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.B. Weigert ◽  
C.E.W. Steinberg
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Water Resource Management ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
Management Measures ◽  
The Status ◽  
Development Assessment

An approach is presented which supports decision makers in the field of water resource management to create and evaluate alternative strategies in the context of goals based on in sustainable development. The broad range of water resource management activities demand a highly structured methodology. The building blocks of the assessment procedure range from the characterization of the status quo to the development and application of assessment aids to perform exemplary evaluations.

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