FEEDBACK TUTORIAL LETTER ASSIGNMENT 2 SECOND SEMESTER 2018 DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT [DRM712S]

Transcription

1 FEEDBACK TUTORIAL LETTER ASSIGNMENT 2 SECOND SEMESTER 2018 DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT [DRM712S] 1

2 DRM721S SECOND TUTORIAL FEEDBACK LETTER 2018 SEMESTER 2/ ND ASSIGNMENT Dear Student, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for submitting your final assignment for Disaster Risk Management. I m glad that we are done with all the assignments for the year; and only left with the examination. As is always the case this tutorial letter aims to give you general feedback on the outcome of marking your assignment. Thus, the purpose of this tutorial letter is to discuss important matters arising from marking your assignment. I provided comments in your respective assignments. These comments are meant to correct you and rectify errors you made. Please read and ensure that you understand these comments; and if you do not understand, do not hesitate to contact me. These comments are made to help you in your academic journey and to ensure that you learn and at the same time get good marks. Assignment Question On 13 th February 2018, the South African government declared the drought affecting Cape Town and some other parts of the country as a national disaster (enews Channel Africa (enca)). In the same vein, in 2016, the Namibian government also declared drought as a national disaster. These incidents are not unique to Namibia and South Africa. In fact, many disasters that happened during the past 20 years were hydro-meteorological or water related. Given the above, discuss how can the City of Cape use an Integrated Water Resources Management approach to manage the water crisis and at the same time adapt to climate change? Additionally, discuss what Namibia can learn from the City of Cape Town water crisis.

3 The above question asked how the City of Cape Town could have managed the water crisis using the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach and at the same time adapt to climate change. Define the concept of IWRM First, you needed to define what Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) is. You also needed to define what climate change adaptation is. After that you then needed to describe the three principles of IWRM namely: social equity, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. From thereon, you then need to discuss how the City of Cape Town could have used IWRM to manage the water crisis. Additionally, you needed to discuss lessons to be learned by Namibia from what happened in the City of Cape Town given that Namibia had a similar problem in 2016 with Windhoek being the most hit even though it was not as severe as Cape Town. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is defined by the Global Water Partnership (GWP) cited in The International Water Association (2018) as "a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems." Cap-Net (2014) defines IWRM as a systematic process for the sustainable development, allocation and monitoring of water resource use in the context of social, economic and environmental objectives. The implementation of this approach differs from place to place as different governments across the world find water related solutions that fit their contexts and conditions. Principles of IWRM According to the International Water Association (2018), there are three principles of IWRM as follows: Social equity This principle refers to availing water to all members of the society on an equal basis in terms of quality and quantity. Disadvantaged and poor people in the community should be considered during this stage in terms of affordability and availability. This

4 principle looks at water as a basic right to all human beings and as a necessity to be used for recreational purposes and also as a mean to generate an income. Therefore, IWRM consider social equity issues in the management of water. Water should be provided at an affordable price considering the use. For example, water for domestic and industrial or business should be provided at different rates. Economic Efficiency IWRM uses this principle to ensure that water is used as efficiently as possible. In other words, water and financial resources should be used to bring about the greatest benefit to the greatest number. In this case, the most economic efficient option should be selected. This principle should not just focus on the current social and environmental costs and benefits, but it should also focus on the future social and environmental costs and benefits. Ecological or environmental Sustainability This principle ensures that the environment is protected in order to enhance and maintain its natural conditions. In addition, this principle ensures that development that lead to ecosystem degradation is prevented or mitigated. Sustainable development is also part of IWRM and falls under this principle. Benefits of IWRM According to the Local Government for Sustainability, African Secretariat (2008), the following are some of the benefits local authorities can gain when they adopt an IWRM approach: 1. Reduced leakage 2. Reduced operational costs 3. Low public expenditure on water related health issues 4. Reduced water pollution 5. Few cases of disasters since cities and towns are prepared. 6. Financial sustainability can also be improved through increased revenue through improved payment for reliable services and better access to water for productive uses and increased opportunities for economic development 7. Reduced unaccounted water.

5 These benefits will enable the city or local authorities to prevent water crises like the one that happened in Cape Town. For example, reduced leakages and unaccounted water will enable the city to have more clean water for some other important activities. These benefits can also be obtained by adapting to climate change. Let s quickly look at what climate change adaptation is. Climate Change Adaptation Climate Change Adaptation refers to anticipating the adverse effects of climate change and taking necessary measures to mitigate or completely avoid the damage that climate change may cause. It is also concerned with exploiting the opportunities that climate change may bring. It is advisable to adapt to climate change now in order to save lives and money now and in the future than waiting for the changes and respond to them. Climate change adaptation helps individuals, communities, organisations and natural systems to deal with those consequences of climate change that cannot be avoided. It involves taking practical actions to manage risks from climate impacts, protect communities and strengthen the resilience of the economy. Adaptation can involve gradual transformation with many small steps over time, or major transformation with rapid change (Australian Department of the Environment and Energy, 2018). Examples of climate change adaptation measures include: using scarce water resources more efficiently, enforcing building codes that are resilient to future climate conditions and extreme weather events, building flood defences and raising the levels of dykes and developing drought-tolerant crops. The City of Cape Town can use water more efficiently by harvesting rain and flood water; and recycle or reuse the water. These are all climate change adaptation measures. In the same vein. the Namibian National Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan of 2013 defines Adaptation as any adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities (harness any beneficial opportunities). Climate change adaptation involves government, agencies, private sector, civil society and even households actions towards the changing climate. Climate change adaptation empowers community and capacitate them to cope with the resulting climate change impacts whether positive and negative.

6 Climate Change Adaptation and IWRM share common features. For example, using scarce water wisely and growing crops that are drought resistant or flood resistant which is an adaptation measures is related to water conservation which is part of IWRM. Some of the IWRM approaches that will also enable the City of Cape Town to adapt to climate change are: water demand management and waste water treatment. These strategies are in line with climate change adaptation. Thus, if the City of Cape Town implement the Integrated Water Resource Management approach, it will at the same time adapt to climate change. How the City of Cape Town could have managed the Water Crisis The City of Cape Town at least managed to avert Day Zero, the date in which taps where supposed to be turned off and residents queue up to get water from the City authority. Averting Day Zero which was predicted to be on 12 th April which was later postponed to 16 th April and then 21 st April and finally 11 th May 2018 was made possible through the measures below as introduced by the City of Cape Town: Introduction of severe household water restrictions In January 2016, the City of Cape Town adopted level 2 water restriction. Level 2 was incrementally stepped up to level 6B in 2018, which included a ban on using any drinkable water for gardens, and limiting personal water usage to 87 litres per day. This later went down to 50 litres per person. Monitoring was done and those found to be in contravention were fined. Washing cars was banned No cars were supposed to be washed and the city authority conducted regular patrols and fined those found washing vehicles. Installation of water management devices More than 18,000 water management devices were installed at residential homes with continued excessive water usage. This particular device automatically cut off water supply if a household used more than 350 litres of water per day.

7 The city "throttled" water supply to all suburbs The water pressure was reduced in order to save water. The introduction of "Day Zero" "Day Zero", is the day taps would be turned off and residents would have to queue for water. Residents were updated weekly on the water situation in the city. These updates were accompanied with water saving tips. A city-wide media campaign was launched The City of Cape Town adopted an aggressive media campaign to sensitise the public to save water. On social media, on bill boards, on TVs, radios and newspapers, residents and visitors alike were informed to save water. Filling up swimming pools was banned. All public swimming pools were closed, and no household could use municipal water to fill up their pools. Some residents got water from other places in South Africa to fill their swimming pools. Businesses were rallied to save water Meetings with big businesses were held to design water saving strategies. Restaurants were encouraged to sell bottled water (imported from other parts of South Africa), while some companies introduced hand sanitisers for employees and turned off their taps. Aircons, which use water, were intermittently switched off and hotels plugged all baths. Residents volunteered to be water ambassadors On Facebook and other social media, residents formed water saving committees where they shared ideas how to save water. Some of the solutions included waterless toilets, gray water harvesting, and ways to decrease household washing. Lessons to be learned from the Cape Town water crisis According to Winter (2018) there are several key lessons to be learnt from the Cape Town water crisis as follows.

8 1. Adaptation to climate change Cape Town was not prepared for the drought and is also not adapting to climate change. The City of Cape Town need to adapt to climate change to be able to exploit benefits of climate change and minimize its adverse impacts. Adaptation mechanisms the City of Cape Town can venture into include: water harvesting, waster water reuse or recycle and construction of desalination plants. According to Winter (2018), for a city to be water resilient, it needs to diversify its water supply sources to include supplies from groundwater, storm water, reused water, treated effluent and desalination. Resilient, water sensitive cities also integrate the whole urban water cycle into its water resource management system. This means, for example, being smarter about capturing rainfall across the city, in storing storm water underground, and in reusing treated effluent for a variety of purposes not necessarily for drinking purposes. This is also part of IWRM because all different uses of water are considered together. 2. Local authorities should take the lead in managing their water Local authorities are in a better position to manage their water resources considering all water users at the local level, be it residents and businesses. Though local authorities need to lead, the national government need to have proper legal and policy framework to enable local government to manage their areas of jurisdiction. 3. Monitoring and evaluation Monitoring and evaluation will help to collect accurate data on water demand and supply and provide a solution before a crisis hit. 4. Awareness raising Residents need to be educated on water conversation strategies. It is the duty of the city to inform its residents on how to save water to prevent crises like the Cape Town water crisis. When people are educated on the impact of their actions and why they should conserve water, they are likely to save water because they know the consequences of their action. 5. Be prepared for future and uncertainty For a country or city to manage crises, they need to be prepared for the future or hazards they are prone to. For example, Cape Town is prone to floods and droughts, it

9 needs to have strategies in place to prevent these hazards becoming disasters or if they happen they at least need to mitigate the impacts. Additionally, for cities to be resilient to climate related disasters, they need to adapt to climate change. Lessons to be learned by Namibia from the water crisis The same lessons stated above, are the same lessons Namibia can learn from the Cape Town water crisis. For example, for Namibia to address flood and drought hazards, it needs to adapt to climate change and implement the Integrated Water resources Management Plan for Namibia of This is more or less what I expected from you. Guidelines for exams Below are the units to be covered for our exams, both first and second opportunity: 1. Unit 1-5 and; 7 and 8 2. Sustainable Development Goals: focus on the goals 3. Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: focus on the priorities for action. 4. The National Disaster Risk Management Act (Act 10 of 2012): focus on the declaration of national, regional and local disasters and the National Disaster Risk Management System or institutions. 5. The National Disaster Risk Management Policy of 2009: focus on the strategies and objectives. I have included several documents for the exam purposes. I wish you all the best of luck for the exam. For more information or enquiries, do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely Ms. M. Shakela mshakela@nust.na Tel: 061: