More precious than oil and gold

This thread discusses the content article: More precious than oil and gold

Interesting thoughts Intrepid. I have heard about a concept which I feel should be getting more attention by Govt, which is quite similar to the carbon credits system. While it wouldn't allow for the lady mentioned to have piped water, it would allow for an income for her.

The thinking behind the concept is as follows:
Landowners look after their veld by applying the correct grazing pressure to keep the grass in optimal condition. Fire is applied at the recommended intervals, not annually as is currently is. In doing this, the landowners are farming not their cattle, but water! The quality of water and the length of time that the water percolates into the rivers are all improved, thereby making it more beneficial for Rand Water. The water users in Gauteng pay a couple of cents extra per month to offset their use of the water, and that money gets paid to the landowners to look after the veld. Kills 2 birds with one stone. Alleviates poverty and improves the sustainability of water supply!

Of course with every perfect solution are hurdles, and these need to be looked at as a matter of urgency. Some of these include who will audit the veld to make sure the management is happening correctly, who would receive the money and transfer it to the correct landowner without defrauding the system, can there be buy in from upper echelons cutting across various departmental sensitive toes....

Hopefully this could mean that the Mweni section would come under the management of a conservation authority which would mean it would be set aside for biodiversity conservation!

On a more personal note, I intend getting a rain water tank to use to water my garden, if nothing else. A mate has just finished installing 2 tanks at his new house, and we had a pretty good thunderstorm. He estimates there to be about 2500l collected from the 20min of rain. In other words, if we have 2 such event per month, he can be completely independent of municipal water. Of course he has taken it a step up with pumps and 3 stage filters and ozone injectors and all sorts (so his water will probably be 100% cleaner than the municipal water too...), but it can be done!

I really like that concept. If it can be made to work, it would be fantastic for areas such as the Mweni, and around Katse and Mohale Dams in Lesotho.

Bokong Nature Reserve and Ts'ehlanyane National Park where developed as part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Great idea. Thing is that they are small areas of land, and one also can't keep kicking the locals off their own land in the name of conservation. So I look forward to the implementation of the kind of initiatives that benefit the local people.

I just came across this interesting bit of info from an interview with Roger Porter, now retired from KZN Wildlife, who was instrumental in the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park being proclaimed a World Heritage Site.

Which is why the preservation of a wilderness area such as the ­Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park is ­vitally important. "It’s South Africa’s water factory," says Porter. "The Drakensberg supports over 60% of the Gross Domestic Product of this country. It provides water for the industrial heart of the country. It provides water to six ­provinces. If you turn on a tap at Sun City the water that comes out is from the Drakensberg. Wilderness areas have immense economic value."

Published in The Witness .