Volume II - The Northern Cape Provincial Spatial Development ...

Northern Cape PSDF
Volume 2
December 2011
Key Issues and Trends in the Orange River Basin (Diederichs, O’Regan, Sullivan, Fry, Mander,
Haines & McKenzie, 2005) are the following:
a) The Orange River Basin is an international river basin with an advanced hydropolitics
regime, different legal and management capacities and frameworks for water
resource management in each of the basin states.
b) The basin is water‐scarce, with run‐off disproportionately distributed. It is a highly
regulated basin, with large dams and extensive transfer schemes. Transformation of
freshwater and groundwater systems has resulted in biodiversity loss and water
quality problems, resulting in a range of ecological, economic and human health
impacts. Infrastructure to deliver water is lacking in some rural areas, and many
households cannot afford to pay for water. Floods and droughts are common,
particularly in the middle and lower Orange River Basin.
c) Water availability is limited. The water resources in the basin are considered to be
close to maximally utilised or developed. Future water demands are likely to be met
through transfers from other river basins into the Orange River.
d) Gauteng Province, the economic hub of Southern Africa, is highly dependent on
water resources from outside the Province. Gauteng’s water supply is largely
delivered by inter‐basin transfers from other areas.
e) Water resources from the Orange River underpin the regions cereal production and
industrial sectors. Within the boundaries of the basin, 70% of South Africa’s cereal
crop is produced, and 80% of the region’s industrial activities are contained.
f) Food production in the basin contributes to livelihoods, markets, raw materials and
foreign exchange. Agriculture is a cause of water and air pollution, and
mismanagement has resulted in significant land degradation.
g) Mineral extraction contributes to economies and creates employment, but impacts
negatively particularly on groundwater resources. Owing to the region’s geology, the
basin contains fuel deposits (coal) and mineral resources of regional and global
importance.
h) Human well‐being the in the basin is highly variable. The population comprises a
diverse mix of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, a multitude of languages, and wide‐
ranging socio‐economic status. The majority of people live in the higher‐rainfall areas
in the east, with significantly fewer people living in the more arid west. High rates of
unemployment, low rural literacy, and high HIV‐AIDS occurrences have significant
consequences for livelihoods options on the basin.
i) The basin contains all seven of South Africa’s biomes, including two international
biodiversity hotspots: the Drakensberg Grasslands and the Succulent Karroo, east of
the river’s terminus.
j) Declining water quality and river health in the lower basin has recently resulted in
the RAMSAR status of the Orange River mouth being rescinded.
Office of the Premier &
Department of Rural Development & Land Reform
27
Dennis Moss Partnership