Mike Muller Commissioner, National Planning Commission Wits University Graduate School of Public and Development Management

Transcription

1 Mike Muller Commissioner, National Planning Commission Wits University Graduate School of Public and Development Management

2 the reliable availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems and production, coupled with an acceptable level of water-related risks to people, environments and economies. Also captures:- Destructive floods and droughts Broader environmental and biodiversity goals Water resources are a critical enabler, or constraint, for most economic activities and social needs

3 Flow Maximum flood flow Management interventions Maximum flood flow Reliable Flow Reliable Flow Time

4 Reliable supplies = More investment, greater productivity and social benefit

5 Water and development Not the only cross cutting factor (think people, environment, institutions, land, finance) But can be a binding constraint As well as an enabler Cannot in itself deliver poverty reduction or equity Present some of the diverse perspectives from the National Development Plan Consider implications for the water sector

6 NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2030 Our future - make it work 28 September 2012

7 The objective of the plan is the elimination of poverty and the reduction of inequality through Uniting South Africans of all races and classes around a common programme to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality Citizens to be active in their own development, in strengthening democracy and in holding their government accountable Raising economic growth, promote exports and make the economy more labour absorbing Focusing on key capabilities of both people and the country Capabilities include skills, infrastructure, social security, strong institutions and partnerships both within the country and with key international partners Building a capable and developmental state Strong leadership throughout society to work together to solve our problems 7

8 NDP Cycle of development: 8

9 Importance of water for development widely recognised outside the water sector The water sector has difficulty playing central role it seeks for itself, perhaps that s the bigger story This presentation illustrates how water is addressed in the NDP and then considers what this means for the governance and management of the water sector more generally. Extracts from NDP illustrate practical role of water resources in development (could do same for water services) Water flows throughout NDP, most of these extracts are not from the water section of the infrastructure chapter

10 Start with the history and the challenges The resource constraint The historical trajectory The reality Then turn to the vision The economy, underpinning a better life Water and cities Water, rural development and agriculture Living with climate change Water in the region Making it happen Success factors for the plan Some actions and targets What NPC will be doing What water sector should be doing

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12 South Africa is a dry country with limited fresh water resources. It will have to find ways of using water more sensibly and improving both the water and energy efficiency of industry.

13 Since the late 19th century, South Africa has exploited its mineral wealth with little or no regard for the environment. Changes are needed to protect the natural environment while allowing the country to benefit from its mineral deposits. In addition to significant non-renewable mineral wealth, the country s natural resources include its adjacent oceans, soil, water, biodiversity, sunshine and a long coastline.

14 There are evident binding constraints on growth, investment and employment creation.. These must be addressed much more rigorously and systematically than to date. The most urgent examples include: energy generation and distribution; urban planning approval processes; water supply and waste-water management; the logistics platform; telecommunications; and licensing for water, minerals and environmental permits. Regulatory certainty and institutional reforms will draw forth competitive outcomes in network industries.

15 Looming climate challenges

16 The effects of the planet's warming are felt mostly through water storms, floods and inundations, droughts and desertification, and rising sea levels. Experts on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warn of radical disruption and instability in a very short space of time. Unless emissions are checked soon, development will be reversed in many parts of the world, bringing major economic decline

17 The political challenge in the next two decades will be to develop policies and regulatory initiatives that prompt improved resource management and deliver substantial clean-technology industries. This will include policies that help people cope with new risks during the transition, adapting land and water management to protect livelihoods and threatened natural environments, while transforming energy systems. Although climate change is the chief ecological challenge, others closely linked also pose serious risks, such as water scarcity, pollution, food production and safety, and depleted fishing stocks. The earth and its atmosphere are an integrated ecosystem. Interaction among its different components is not well understood. humankind risks triggering dangerous inflection points if it transgresses planetary boundaries. Such points involve interactions among climate; fresh water; biogeochemical loading, affecting the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles; the destruction of biodiversity, and ocean acidification

18 After 1994, a major infrastructure expansion programme was initiated to address a long history of underinvestment, resulting in improved access to potable water. This was complemented by a greater focus on water-resource management. However, there is still much to do. Implementing broader water-resource policies that address equitable allocation and protection of the resource remains a challenge. Water restrictions due to drought have been limited in recent years but the threat remains due to delays in investment in infrastructure and a failure to moderate growth in demand. Backlogs in service provision in rural areas remain and there is pressure to upgrade urban service levels, which will require further investment.

19 There are serious concerns about the ability of the current water administration to cope with emerging challenges. The available pool of experienced water engineers and scientists is shrinking rapidly. Administrative failures and the absence of enforcement indicate that management quality is deteriorating and institutional memory is being eroded. Delays in issuing water licences are affecting economic activity, with new farmers also being affected as the administration fails to reallocate water rights in areas where demand exceeds supply, as provided for in the National Water Act (1998).

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21 By 2030, it is envisaged that effective management of water and the services derived from it will support a strong economy and a healthy environment. The country's development will reflect an understanding of available water resources and effective water planning that cuts across different economic sectors and spheres of government. All main urban and industrial centres will have a reliable water supply to meet their needs, while increasingly efficient agricultural water use will support productive rural communities. Natural water sources will be protected to prevent excessive extraction and pollution. Water will be recognised as a foundation for activities such as tourism and recreation, reinforcing the importance of its protection. Where rivers are shared with other countries, South Africa will ensure that it continues to respect its obligations.

22 Before 2030, all South Africans will have affordable, reliable access to sufficient safe water and hygienic sanitation. Service provision arrangements will vary in different parts of the country, with different approaches adopted for densely builtup urban areas and scattered rural settlements. Local governments will retain responsibility for ensuring service provision in their areas and, in many cases, will continue to manage the services directly. However, alternative solutions such as community based management, local franchising or the use of regional water utilities will be allowed if they would be more effective. Authorities responsible for water-resource management will coordinate their activities with local service providers, and monitor and support them, as discussed in chapter 13.

23 . ignorance of demographic trends can result in a serious misallocation of resources and inappropriate interventions. This makes planning for demographic changes important, especially in the face of growing pressure on food, energy and water supplies; greater population mobility; additional demands for jobs and social support; and the uncertain effects of climate change.

24 South Africa holds large global shares in platinum group metals, gold, diamonds, manganese, coal, iron ore and uranium. Yet over the past decade, domestic mining has failed to match the global growth trend in mineral exports due to poor infrastructure, alongside regulatory and policy frameworks that hinder investment. South Africa can benefit greatly from Asia s growing demand for commodities. To do so means improving water, transport and energy infrastructure, and providing greater policy and regulatory certainty to investors. This will enable the mining sector to deploy the skills, resources, know-how and capital that are available, and allow government to raise much more tax revenue than it does at present.

25 Schema for spatial targeting (includes): Resource-critical regions: These regions have natural resources that provide ecosystem lifelines to the country and may require specific policies to ensure their sustainability. They may include areas of highly valued mineral resources (the platinum belt); areas of great importance for biodiversity (the Western Cape); and critical water production areas (various catchments along the Eastern Escarpment). Regions with competition between development and environment, or between competing environmental uses (the Mpumalanga Highveld) may also fall under this category.

26 Urban Challenges Although cities are generally more resource efficient than scattered settlements, their concentration requires the development of large sources of energy and water and good transport connections which can place strains on the surrounding natural environment. If this is not resolved, cities face varying degrees of water stress, food insecurity and power shortages. Future development depends on the ability of towns and cities to become less resource intensive. The concentration of people, industries and infrastructure in urban areas presents opportunities to use resources more productively. There are also opportunities to create greener urban spaces, even in the densest areas.

27 The best form of adaptation to climate change will come from strong policies, backed by sound technical understanding and operational capacity to deal with the general development challenges in each sector. Local, provincial and national governments will need to embrace climate adaptation by identifying and putting into effect appropriate policies and measures that are well coordinated and credibly motivated. Where climate is an important factor, as in agriculture, water and infrastructure development, sectoral development must be informed by the best available climate predictions and coordinated responses promoted through an effective national planning system. South Africa should avoid development of climate-adaptation strategies that run parallel to broader national development strategies.

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29 Clarity on responsibility A recurring theme in the plan is that the accountability chain needs to be tightened. The public needs a clearer sense of who is accountable for what. There need to be systems to hold all leaders in society accountable for their conduct. Weak, poorly performing systems make it hard to attribute responsibility, with the frequent result that no one is accountable. The plan cites the example of what happens when the water in a town is found to be undrinkable. The media blame the Minister of Water Affairs. The community blames the mayor. The mayor blames the head of the water utility. The head of the water utility blames the technical engineer. The engineer says that the maintenance budget has been cut for the past three years and now the water is undrinkable. The head of finance in the municipality says that the budget was cut because personnel costs have crowded out maintenance expenditure. The mayor argues that the salary structure is negotiated at a national level by the South African Local Government Association. The association says that municipalities can opt out of these agreements if they are unaffordable. And so on.

30 Since 1994, the main challenge for rural development has been marginalisation of the poor. Combating this required changes in access to resources (land, water, education and skills), and improved rural infrastructure and other government services. As the primary economic activity in rural areas, agriculture has the potential to create close to 1million new jobs by 2030, a significant contribution to the overall employment target. To achieve this, South Africa needs to: Expand irrigated agriculture. Evidence shows that the 1.5 million hectares under irrigation (which produce virtually all South Africa's horticultural harvest and some field crops) can be expanded by at least hectares through the better use of existing water resources and developing new water schemes.

31 By 2015 Land, agriculture and water policies and strategies are reviewed at regular intervals to ensure that they continue to contribute to sustainable development approaches. By 2020 Land, agriculture and water development strategies have provided the basis for programmes of environmentally sustainable rural regeneration.

32 To expand agriculture and create 1 million jobs in the sector, the Commission makes the following recommendations: #1 Substantially increase investment in water resource and irrigation infrastructure. This should happen where the natural resource base allows. The efficiency of existing irrigation should also be improved to make more water available.

33 The opportunity to expand table and dried-grape vineyards lies mainly in the Orange River region. At present water rights are available for an extra hectares, of which about are expected to be planted for table and dried grapes over the next decade. Trade-offs and risks for agricultural expansion: In most areas, additional water can only be made available if there is a concerted programme to improve the efficiency of existing irrigation, reallocate water and ensure that new entrants use the water effectively. This will require a substantial support programme that would best be introduced in partnership with existing farmers.

34 The National Research Foundation is to establish a national facility dedicated to funding research and developing human capacity in climate change adaptation and climate modelling. The Agricultural Research Council should establish a research focus on climate change and food security. The Water Research Commission should continue its current programme to understand the potential impacts of climate change on the nation s water resources. The Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation is to include carbon intensity and emissions reductions, the intensity of water use and critical land use parameters in the national indicators that it uses to monitor and assess government performance.

35 Several of South Africa s challenges can only be addressed through regional cooperation. While South Africa is a waterscarce country, several neighbouring countries have abundant supply. There are other areas in which complementary national endowments offer opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. For example, South Africa should invest in and help exploit the wide range of opportunities for low-carbon energy from hydroelectric and other clean energy sources in southern Africa.

36 Effective regional integration is predicated on meaningful cooperation in the management of common-pool resources, on burden-sharing and on the creation of institutions to manage these processes. The NPC recommends that urgent attention be given to water scarcity in the region to promote and protect regional diversity, strengthen regional production and improve resilience. Managing southern Africa s natural resources on a regional, as opposed to a local or national basis, would help countries in the region manage climatic variability and help to maintain food security. A dry spell that reduces agricultural production in one sub-region may be addressed by production from another. Cooperative policy-making and institutional arrangements could help to make the southern African region more resilient to climatic variability. allowing countries to specialise in areas where they have the greatest advantage.

37 Developing, in a timely manner, several new water schemes to supply urban and industrial centres, new irrigation systems in the Umzimvubu river basin and Makatini Flats, and a national water conservation programme to improve water use and efficiency. But a broad definition of infrastructure Balances urban (social) and industrial, agriculture commercial and traditional, infrastructure includes demand management

38 The National Water Resource Strategy should be tabled for consultation by mid-2012 and approved by year-end to guide the development of the sector. Along with the water-resource investment programme, it should be reviewed in consultation with water users and other stakeholders every five years to ensure that it adapts to changing environmental, social and economic circumstances. Future institutional arrangements for water resource management must be defined by the end of 2012, with implementation by 2015 at the latest The institutional arrangements could include: A national water-resource infrastructure agency that will develop and manage large economic infrastructure systems. Catchment management agencies to undertake resource management on a decentralised basis, with the involvement of local stakeholders. National capacity to support research, development and operation of water reuse and desalination facilities. A dedicated national water-conservation and demand-management programme, with clear national and local targets for 2017 and 2022, and subprogrammes focused on municipalities, industry and agriculture.

39 The economy and environment Urban and rural Into the region and back Supporting society Capable institutions to make it work Water sector, DWA and institutional family, must play its part by understanding and supporting the NDP and not trying to develop a standalone strategy

40 The NPC working with DPME through existing channels - will advise departments, provinces, and local government on integrating the NDP proposals into their implementation plans. Proposals will also be included in the Medium Term Strategic Framework (5 year plan) from 2014 onwards Working with government & other social partners, the NPC will undertake piloting to test proposals, demonstrate effect & feedback into policy process Piloting new proposals & feeding lessons into policy process Integration of NDP proposals in dept implementation plans Private sector & civil society identify aspects to get involved in Transformation zone i.e. the interaction between government implementation, contribution of social partners, and lessons from pilots will bring about change. Growing this will build trust between key players and increase investor confidence The private sector, corporate foundations, labour movement, NGOs., the media and religious bodies will be mobilised to play an active role in the implementation of the NDP 40

41 We need to learn by doing through piloting We need to have the flexibility if the evidence tells us to Involve key stakeholders in a facilitated planning and design of experiments ensure high level of buy-in Ensure participants understand the current system, external context, stakeholders, components of solutions and performance Implementation requires a clear accountability framework Aim to achieve a co-designed rollout plan which takes into account the realities faced by all stakeholders Water sector needs to use similar approach! SECRET 41

42 Focused leadership over a long period of time The continued assertion that this is a plan for all South Africans, and that everyone in society has a role to play in implementing the plan The need for institutional reform More than half of the plan is dedicated to the type of institutional reform needed to raise capability to implement the plan The need to mobilise resources and agree on trade-offs The willingness to prioritise and the need for careful sequencing Clarity on responsibility in each area 42

43 Commission is half way through its term Over the next 2 years, will: Mobilise support in society for the plan Conduct research on long term priorities Advise government and the broader society on implementation of the plan Work with relevant bodies to report progress on the targets in the plan. Offered support to DWA and water sector generally to refine, strengthen and implement an actionand development-oriented national strategy

44 Thank you!