Sabine Stuart-Hill

Universität Koblenz-Landau · Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences

Even with the manifold challenges of the uMngeni River and its catchment the system continues to provide the resources required to sustain the economy of this growing region, supporting human wellbeing, economic development, social needs and ecosystem services. The critical question facing the catchment is how to sustain and enhance water security in the catchment. The role of ecological infrastructure (EI) in enhancing and sustaining water and sanitation delivery in the catchment has been recognised. The overall aim of this project was to identify where and how investment into the protection and/or restoration of EI can be made to produce long-term and sustainable returns in terms of water security assurance. In short, the project aimed to guide catchment managers when deciding “what to do” in the catchment. The research is funded by the Water Research Commission of South Africa.

The WEF Nexus is argued to be valuable for understanding complex systems, and for decision making to achieve macro-scale sustainable development. However, the ultimate measure of success for achieving sustainable development is measured at a different scale, namely, the improved livelihoods and wellbeing of individuals and households. Nexus research has so far remained weak in identifying how the Nexus is interlinked with livelihoods. In the South African context, a deeper understanding is needed of how the Nexus framework can assist in building livelihood resilience across the socio-economic spectrum, and in shifting towards a sustainable economy. The research is funded by the Water Research Commission of South Africa.

The overall objective is to develop an evidence-based integrated framework and prototype “investment case” for strengthening water-related Ecological Infrastructure (EI). The project will generate new knowledge by combining livelihoods and value chain analysis with the EI approach to water management and next-generation hydroclimatic modelling at optimum spatial resolution. The research design is based on an inter- and transdisciplinary approach pursuing integration and scaling up across the Berg-Breede and Greater uMngeni catchments in South Africa. The catchments contain strategic water sources upstream and large cities downstream (Cape Town, Durban) with strong rural-urban linkages. Both catchments have a maximized engineered water supply system with deteriorating water quality and no further options for engineered or built (‘hard’) infrastructure (BI). The project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.