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Chapter 7: Working with Water
83%
OF SOUTH AFRICAN
WDP COMPANIES SAID
THEY ARE EXPOSED TO
WATER RISK
WATER DISCLOSURE PROJECT
In South Africa some of the corporate companies listed on the JSE have
responded to the Water Disclosure Project, which is part of the global Carbon
Disclosure Project (CDP).
Respondents to the CDP’s Water Disclosure Project list how they are improving
water efficiency in their operations and reducing their water impacts. This year
South Africa had the highest number of respondents in the world reporting
water risks. About 83% of respondents reported that their direct operations
are exposed to water-related risks, the highest of any sample in the world, with
more than half of these risks expected to manifest within the next three years.
THE FUTURE
Water risk highlights the need to do ‘business unusual’
Water is a resource under increased stress, and according to the World
Economic Forum, it is now ranked as the number one impact risk to
business continuity and growth. As a result of South Africa’s 2015/16 drought, the
private sector is more interested in understanding its water risk and in working with
others to mitigate shared risks.
WWF’s Water Risk Filter, the first tool to quantify water-related risks for all
industries in all countries, helps farmers and businesses understand how their water
risk varies across the South African landscape and gives them guidance on best
practice and how to implement it.
Water is a constant traveller. Water stewardship requires you to look at where water
comes from, how you use it and where it goes to.
Working together
A water-secure future will require strong cooperation between the public and
private sectors to address our significant, accelerating water challenges. Matters of
water governance, scarcity and pollution are becoming more pressing realities for
agriculture, industry and other sectors, and functioning within these growing risks
requires responsible water management practices.
Water stewardship
requires you to look
at where water
comes from, how
you use it and
where it goes to.
Good water stewardship
The concept of good water stewardship serves to unite a wide set of stakeholders to:
• Use water responsibly in-house, as well as throughout the wider catchment; and
• Use and share water fairly, sustainably and in a manner that is economically
beneficial.
Due to the transient nature of water and the fact that it flows through large areas of
land, its stewardship requires local and catchment-scale levels of interaction.
Water stewardship is gaining increasing interest and attention in South Africa, and
a wide variety of sectors (fruit, forestry, hops) and catchments (Breede, Gouritz,
uMgeni) are currently engaging around water stewardship.
Water Facts & Futures: Rethinking South Africa’s Water Future | Page
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