The WWF Water Neutral Scheme Review. Reduce. Replenish.

The WWF Water Neutral Scheme Review. Reduce. Replenish.

The Global Water Situation Globally, the availability of clean freshwater is a growing social, economic and environmental issue. It is estimated that currently around 2,2 billion people live in river basins that are under severe water stress, and that this number could grow to 4,3 billion people in the 2020s; with developing countries being most heavily impacted.

Water in South Africa South Africa is a chronically water stressed country with between 500m 3 and 1,000m 3 available per person per year. In 2000, South Africa s water surplus was only 1,4% of the country s total water supply, and it is estimated that, based on the current scenario, South Africa will have a water deficit of 1,7% by 2025. Consequently, water availability is one of the most decisive factors that will affect the future economic development of South Africa. In the past South Africa has invested heavily in water infrastructure and this is, in part, why the country has enjoyed a false sense of water security. However, the country is fast approaching full utilisation of available surface water yields, and running out of suitable sites for new dams. Superimposed onto this, climate change models predict changes to both rainfall and temperature in southern Africa, which will affect water storage negatively. In short, South Africa needs to think innovatively about new ways of reducing water demand making water available, outside of the traditional engineering solutions of infrastructure development, if it wishes to sustain economic growth and maintain healthy freshwater ecosystems. Demand management There are generally low levels of awareness about South Africa s precarious water situation among the general public and the private sector, fuelled by the false sense of water security that has prevailed. Low levels of awareness have in turn led to significant inefficiencies in water use in South Africa. Clearly, greater awareness and incentives need to be put in place to drive more efficient use of South Africa s limited water resources.

Supply management With options for dams almost fully utilised a paradigm shift is required from a onedimensional engineering view to a more holistic view of water supply management that incorporates ecological thinking. One such example of ecological supply-side management is the removal of water-intensive invasive alien plants and the restoration of riparian and catchment habitats. It is estimated that the incremental water use of invasive alien plants is some 3 300 million m 3 per year or 6,7% of the national Mean Annual Runoff (MAR). That is the equivalent of 26 large dams. The Working for Water Programme In response to this threat, South Africa established its Working for Water Programme in 1995 under the leadership of Professor Kader Asmal, then Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry. The programme has multiple objectives of reducing the impact of invasive alien plants on South Africa s water supplies, improving productive potential of land, and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems function as well as creating jobs and economic empowerment. To date, the programme has cleared 1,96 million hectares of invasive alien plants and creates some 30 000 employment opportunities per annum. Despite the obvious benefits of this programme to water security in South Africa and hence private sector interests, this programme has been funded almost entirely from government s poverty relief and public works expenditure, with almost negligible private sector investment.

Should we tackle this challenge? I do not believe that we have a choice. To take on a challenge of this magnitude will require a joint commitment by government, the private sector, labour and communities and particularly the land-owners. We have made an exceptionally auspicious start. As I have said before, and now say with renewed urgency. Phambili! Forward! Professor Kader Asmal, 1998, writing of the Working for Water Programme.

What is Water Neutrality? The concept of Water Neutrality, based on its carbon equivalent, was first coined during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. Since then the term has been loosely used, with little quantitative validation. Here we define the term water neutrality to imply a voluntary process whereby participants seek to quantitatively balance their water use accounts by both reducing their water usage and investing in projects which increase supplies of clean fresh water. Water neutrality therefore implies balancing the demand and supply of water through a deliberate intervention by the water user. The WWF Water Neutral Scheme The WWF Water Neutral Scheme is a partnership between civil society, through WWF South Africa, and government, through its Working for Water Programme that allows water users to quantitatively balance their water use account. Vision To harness private sector commitment for the security and wise-management of South Africa s scarce water resources, by reducing water demand and investing in the security of our water supplies.

R 3 Review Reduce Replenish Approach Participants are encouraged to become water neutral through a three step process (known as R 3 ) of: 1 Review: Participants are required to undertake a detailed water audit to accurately measure their operational water usage. The results of this audit, known as the company s water deficit, need to be publicly available to promote transparency and open dialogue. 2 Reduce: In partnership with WWF South Africa, corporations are required to develop and implement an ambitious, but realistic, time-bound water reduction and efficiency strategy. 3 Replenish: Corporations are then required to invest in projects that will make available new water into freshwater ecosystems, equal to their water deficit (i.e. the net outcome of Steps 1 and 2). While we believe that there may be numerous projects that could quantitatively deliver new clean water, as a start, we have concentrated our efforts on the quantification of water made available through the removal of invasive alien plants. The large amount of data available on the topic through the current and historic experiences of the Working for Water Programme made this an obvious first choice. To facilitate the calculation of how investments need to be made for a given corporation to become Water Neutral, we have developed a Water Neutral Calculator.

The Water Neutral Calculator The Water Neutral Calculator determines the investments that a company needs to make to become water neutral through the removal of invasive alien plants. The calculator is based on two principal input values: The average amount of water replenished through the clearing of a hectare of invasive alien plants and maintaining it in a rehabilitated state; and The average cost of clearing a hectare of invasive alien plants and maintaining it in a rehabilitated state. The amount of hectares of invasive alien trees that a water user would need to finance to be cleared to become water neutral, is therefore calculated by dividing the water user s water deficit by the average amount of water replenished through the clearing of a hectare of invasive alien trees (2 540m 3 /year). Water users may choose how they wish to structure their water offsets over the first 10 years of the minimum 20-year investment period. Annual payments are then calculated using a matrix model constructed in Microsoft Excel. Social benefits Based on Working for Water data we were able to estimate other social benefits that would be created through Water Neutral investments.

Implementation To our knowledge this work represents one of the first examples of a water neutral scheme that quantitatively balances a water user s account through investments in both demand and supply side management. Within the context of a chronically water stressed developing country with huge economic development pressures and social upliftment challenges, the WWF Water Neutral Scheme holds much promise in providing environmental, economic and social benefits through a voluntary marketbased mechanism. The total annual amount of water used by industrial and urban users in South Africa, the main target market for this scheme, is estimated to be 3 652 million m 3. Interestingly, this amount is very similar to the 3 300 million m 3 of water estimated to be used by invasive alien trees. Even a modest 10% market uptake of this scheme could therefore deliver significant benefits in terms of increased water yield, management of invasive alien trees, biodiversity restoration and employment creation. Some of South Africa s largest corporations, including The South African Breweries (SAB) Ltd and Sanlam, have already committed to the scheme. Professor Kader Asmal, founding father of the Working for Water Programme and previous Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, is the patron of the scheme. The scheme has therefore made an auspicious start to an ambitious undertaking.

Contact us WWF Sanlam Living Waters Partnership Tel: +27 21 888 2800 Email: waterneutral@wwf.org.za Photo credits: Thomas P. Peschak; Peter Chadwick; Working for Water; Brent Stirton; Jennifer Frost; Sarah-Leigh Paul Support The South African Breweries (SAB) Ltd are the founder sponsor of the development of this novel concept. 1986, WWF World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly World Wildlife Fund). WWF Registered Trademark owner.