Tag: south africa

Site visit to the Atlantis Special Economic Zone

Water scarcity is a serious risk for South African industries and businesses. New concepts are needed to improve water security. On the 17^th of August, NatuReS South Africa, led by representatives from the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (ASEZ), conducted a site visit to the Atlantis SEZ industrial sites and greater Atlantis industrial area. The visit followed the completion of a joint assignment on the development of a Concept and Process Analysis of Net Zero Water for the Atlantis SEZ. Net-Zero-Water means limiting the consumption of water resources and returning them back to the same watershed, so that the resource is not depleted in quantity or quality.

For Atlantis SEZ, this means ensuring water resources are collected from sustainable sources and are used efficiently and responsibly, with any produced wastewater being cleaned and reused in that catchment. The visit provided valuable insights about the location of the SEZ’s industrial sites earmarked for further construction, the proximity of the industrial sites to the community and other industrialist, the types of industries that characterize the area, as well as the current socio-economic initiatives the Atlantis SEZ is engaged with.

Prior to the site visit, NatuReS attended the validation workshop for the development of a Net Zero Water Strategy and Implementation Plan for the Atlantis SEZ. The workshop was convened by the advisory Pegasys on behalf of the Atlantis SEZ and attended by representatives from the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa, Atlantis SEZ Community Stakeholder Network, City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership. The Strategy and Implementation Plan builds on the initial Concept and Process Analysis and defines concrete pathways and actions for realizing the SEZ’s net zero water ambitions. NatuReS is supporting this initiative by serving on the project steering committee and providing strategic technical input.

The uMhlathuze River Catchment in South Africa is located on the North-East coast of KwaZulu-Natal. In the past, droughts have posed a severe risk to the catchment. However, recently also destructive floods are threatening the area. Additionally, water quality is a major concern, particularly downstream. Partners under the uMhlathuze Water Stewardship Partnership (UWASP) are working together to tackle these challenges in a collective way. However, while it is by now widely acknowledged that an integrated approach to water resource management is needed (IWRM), the success of IWRM has been hampered by factors like limited stakeholder engagement or the lack of integrative decision support systems and tools for good governance of water resources, especially due to a lack of resources and data.

The Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD) supports UWASP`s efforts for enhanced water security in the uMhlathuze River Catchment. On the 7th July 2022, AWARD and UWASP held a stakeholder workshop in Richards Bay for the launch of real-time flow tracking tools in the uMhlathuze River Catchment in support of integrated water resources management. The tools are supported by real-time data from water resources and users to assist authorities in making informed decisions on water management, while supporting stakeholder involvement in IWRM and raising awareness for a responsible use and management of water. The tools, when embedded in a robust and collaborative governance system, can support real-time flow monitoring at gauged stations. This enables compliance water monitoring and early warning systems as part of disaster preparedness and for planning and setting operating rules.

The work includes a desktop-based app as an integrated decisions-support system called “INWARDS-Lite” and the installation of additional flow monitoring equipment. It is supported by UWASP management and funding partners, including the National Business Initiative (NBI), WWF, the paper producer Mondi and NatuReS. The workshop brought together stakeholders from, or working in, the uMhlathuze River Catchment to the launch of a draft version of the “FlowTracker uMhlathuze” as well as the decision-support system “INWARDS-Lite”.

Previously to the workshop, the AWARD team, together with UWASP and Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) representatives, visited the catchment and the respective priority sites, including the gauging stations, to assess their status in person. Based on the workshop and feedback of the stakeholders, both the mobile and desktop versions will be refined. The final versions will be available in the beginning of October. The current versions of the tools can be accessed via:

• INWARDS Desktop Windows: https://uwasp.award.org.za/INWARDS.exe
• INWARDS Mac: https://uwasp.award.org.za/INWARDS.app.zip
• Android App: https://uwasp.award.org.za/flowtracker_umhlathuze.apk
• Mobile Web App: https://uwasp.award.org.za

On 31^st May 2022 the South African Department of Trade, Industry and Competition in partnership with NatuReS launched the Water Stewardship for Sustainable Water Management: Standard Operating Procedures for Industrial Parks (Water Stewardship SOPs). Launched virtually alongside key contributors and partners who were instrumental in the development, namely the Alliance for Water Stewardship, Water Witness International, the advisory firm Pegasys, the South African National Cleaner Production Centre, Free State Development Cooperation and the Atlantis Special Economic Zone, the Water Stewardship SOPs represent a turning point for sustainable water management in industrial parks in South Africa.  

Managing water sustainably in South Africa’s industrial parks

Through a four-phased approach, the Water Stewardship SOPs support industrial parks, including park tenants, to holistically view their interaction with water, establish actions for efficient and sustainable water use within the facility, as well as at a park level and beyond park boundaries into the catchment. The value of this integrated approach is that it provides a basis for engagement in collective action for the shared management of a common resource. It also offers first level guidance for responses embedded in stewardship to support the journey of industrial parks towards water security.

The water security of industrial parks is fundamentally linked to the catchment conditions in their area of operation. Therefore, it is critical for industrial parks and their associated park tenants to engage beyond their sites through actions which mitigate against shared catchment-related water security risks. By doing so, they elevate their competitiveness, while enhancing the water security of their sites and that of the catchment where their supply chain network and employees are located.

An internationally informed process

The Water Stewardship SOPs draw from the criteria and indicators within the Alliance for Water Stewardship’s ‘International Water Stewardship Standard’ and from the global Eco-Industrial Park Framework. Integrating these two instruments into the SOPs provides park managers and tenants with the confidence to internalise the SOPs with the knowledge they have already gained from these internationally recognised frameworks.

The launch of the Water Stewardship SOPs is timely, as industrial parks and other economic sites are facing increased nature-related risks and hazards. The launch event was attended by over 80 participants, representing various public, private, and non-governmental organisations active in the South African industrial park landscape, as well as an international audience. The presence of these diverse stakeholder groups underscores the cross-cutting nature of industrial parks and the importance of developing clearly articulated guidelines which aim to foster cross-sectoral collaborations and backstop the participation of stakeholders as they journey towards improved water use and shared water security. 

The Water Stewardship SOPs can be accessed through this link: Water-Stewardship-SOP_-June-amended.pdf (industrialefficiency.co.za).