Abstract
Water is a vital natural resource, demanding careful management. It is essential for life and integral to virtually all economic activities, including energy and food production and the production of industrial outputs. The availability of clean water in sufficient quantities is not only a prerequisite for human health and well-being but the life-blood of freshwater ecosystems and the many services that these provide. Water resource intensity measures the intensity of water use in terms of volume of water per unit of value added. It is an internationally accepted environmental indicator of the pressure of economic activity on a country’s water resources and therefore a reliable indicator of sustainable economic development. The indicator is particularly useful in the allocation of water resources between sectors of the economy since in waterstressed countries like South Africa, there is competition for water among various users, which makes it necessary to allocate water resources to economic activities that are less intensive in their use of water. This study focuses on economy-wide changes in South Africa’s water intensity using both decomposition and empirical estimation techniques in an effort to identify and understand the impact of economic activity on changes in the use of the economy’s water resources. It is hoped that this study will help inform South Africa’s water conservation and resource management policies
Highlights
Stated, South Africa does not have enough water
South Africa’s groundwater resources are likewise scarce, as most of the country is made up of hard rock formations that do not contain major ground aquifers that can be used on a national scale
While it is agreed that decreasing water intensity and conservation efforts are the most cost-effective and simplest of the available methods for meeting South Africa’s future water needs, there is a lack of consensus pertaining to the actual drivers of economy-wide water intensity changes and the optimal policies required for the effective management of the country’s scarce water resources
Summary
South Africa does not have enough water. South Africa is ranked as the 30th driest country in the world with a mean annual precipitation of 450 mm, just over half the world average of 860 mm. While it is agreed that decreasing water intensity and conservation efforts are the most cost-effective and simplest of the available methods for meeting South Africa’s future water needs, there is a lack of consensus pertaining to the actual drivers of economy-wide water intensity changes and the optimal policies required for the effective management of the country’s scarce water resources. The engineering approach focuses on the abstraction, storage, distribution, treatment and disposal activities related to the hydrological cycle and its variability This approach gives rise to recommendations for the implementation of supply-side water resource management measures, such as infrastructure expansion and investment in reducing leakages. This study examines the economy-wide drivers of water use intensity in South Africa over the period 1980 to 2012 from an economic perspective. The final section offers a discussion of policies relevant to the management of South Africa’s water resources in the light of the study’s findings
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