Download or read book Assessing the Costs and Benefits of Water Use for Production and the Potential of Water Demand Management in the Crocodile Catchment of South Africa written by Jacobus Gert Crafford and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In South Africa, precipitation is extremely variable and water is scarce. South Africa is also a country with great welfare needs. Challenging economic development targets and plans therefore need to be implemented successfully within the constraints of limited water supply and unreliable water availability. These economic development plans are underpinned by the development and growth of economic activities such as agriculture, mining, energy production and many types of small, medium and micro enterprises, which are some of the largest water using sectors in the economy. Within these activities, increased competition places pressure on water users to keep supplying their markets with competitively priced goods, while rising costs of new water supplies puts pressure on water users to allocate sufficient water to their production processes. These market forces and the relative scarcity of water as an economic production factor, impact on financial viability and imply that the economic efficiency of water use becomes increasingly important. The National Water Act of 1998 (NWA) is a legislative response to this situation, and promotes a radical shift towards efficiency and equity goals in water allocation. Water users who require water as an input to economic activities are consequently seriously revising their water use patterns in response to one of the major implications of the NWA and its related principal strategy: water demand management. Water demand management strives to adhere to the principles of equity, social justice, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability, which are central to the NWA. This study evaluates the costs and benefits of water use in order to simulate the effects of water demand management activities on a catchment economy. The results of a number of studies were combined to generate an economy-wide model: a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), for the case study area and to simulate the direct and indirect effects of water demand management on the people, the economy and the natural environment in the area. Water demand management (WDM) is defined as consisting of two phases. In the first phase, goals of full cost recovery, improving water use efficiency and allocating water optimally are targeted. The second phase of WDM arrives when a situation of absolute water scarcity is reached within a catchment. In this phase water demand outweighs water supply and water has to be allocated according to its scarcity value. Water markets play a large role here. The SAM was used to simulate the direct and indirect impacts on the economy and the environment of a number of WDM related scenarios. Water e-allocation decisions and the effects of various WDM policy instruments, such as reduction of water use subsidies and increases in water tariffs were simulated. Unintended consequences of other environmental policies on water use, in this case, carbon tax, were explored. Water scarcity predictions were done, and some of the transaction costs involved in water trading was quantified. The study concludes with a discussion on the indirect effects on the economy, the environment and people of changes affecting the agricultural (including forestry) activities. The direct and indirect impacts of WDM policies on the economy and the environment, and the importance of environmental-economic models in water cost benefit modeling are also discussed. Implications for policy and management are highlighted. This study shows specifically how, through modelling various scenarios, policy decisions aimed at managing specific variables (e.g. water use, carbon emissions) have an economic and environmental impact much wider than the sector in which the policy was targeted for. Each scenario shows how a water transaction, or a change in subsidy in the agricultural (including forestry) sector, could impact on the output of other economic sectors, and therefore the economy as a whole. It is therefore evident that policy decisions, which are implemented at a macro level, and could have a major direct impact on a wider range of economic sectors, should be carefully considered as they could have large, undesirable, unintended consequences.
Download or read book Assessing the Costs and Benefits of Water Use for Production and the Potential of Water Demand Management in the Crocodile Catchment of South Africa written by Jackie Crafford and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Analysis of the Social Economic and Environmental Direct and Indirect Costs and Benefits of Water Use in Irrigated Agriculture and Forestry written by Jackie Crafford and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Application of Economics to Water Management in South Africa written by R. I. Mirrilees and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Economics of Water Management in Southern Africa written by Glenn-Marie Lange and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a valuable new tool for water management water resource accounting which significantly advances the economic analysis of water. Water resource accounts integrate detailed information about water supply and use with national income accounts to show the economic use of water, costs and tariffs paid, and the economic value of water for different economic uses. Based on the UN s handbook for environmental accounting, this book describes the implementation and policy application of water accounts in three African countries Botswana, Namibia and South Africa and discusses how they have been used by water managers. The book compares water use across the three countries, explaining the differences in water resources and water policy. In addition to the comprehensive outline of physical and monetary water accounts for each country, the authors provide an extensive discussion of water valuation as well as addressing a number of issues of regional importance, including water accounting for an international river basin and the impact of trade on each country s water use. By demonstrating the usefulness of water resource accounts, this book makes a major contribution to the literature on water economics and management, sustainable development, and to the development of environmental accounting in general. The Economics of Water Management in Southern Africa will appeal to a wide readership including: environmental and development economists NGOs concerned with sustainable development environmental advocacy groups professionals (economists and environmentalists) working in Africa on water and sustainable development issues water professionals national accounts experts and statisticians.
Download or read book Water Demand Management written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Evaluation of historic current and future water demand in the Olifants River Catchment South Africa written by McCartney, Matthew P., Arranz, Roberto and published by IWMI. This book was released on 2007 with total page 51 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Water resource development has played a significant role in the expansion of agriculture and industry in the Olifants River Catchment. However, currently water deficit is one of the major constraints hampering development in the catchment; both the mining and agricultural sectors are producing below optimal levels because of their reliance on insufficient supplies. In this study, the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model was used to evaluate scenarios of historic, current and future water demand in the catchment. For each scenario, the WEAP model was used to simulate demand in five different sectors (rural, urban, mining, commercial forestry and irrigation) over a 70-year period of varying rainfall and hydrology. Levels of assured supply were estimated for each sector and the economic cost of failing to provide water was predicted. For the future scenarios, the impact of infrastructure development and water conservation measures were assessed. The study illustrates how a relatively simple model can provide useful insight for resource planning and management.
Download or read book The Cost of Free Water written by Roger Bate and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Econometric and Institutional Economic Analysis of Water Use in the Crocodile River Catchment Mpumalanga Province South Africa written by R. Bate and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Facing the Facts written by Hans E. Beekman and published by UNEP/Earthprint. This book was released on 2006-07-07 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Africa's high dependence upon natural resources makes the continent particularly vulnerable to changes in the availability of water as a result of climate changes. In this study, the vulnerability of water resources to environmental change is assessed on a river/lake/groundwater basin scale for the Southern, Eastern, Western and Northern African regions.
Download or read book Transforming Water Management in South Africa written by Barbara Schreiner and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-11-08 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the early set of reforms that South Africa embarked on after emerging from apartheid was in the water sector, following a remarkable, consultative process. The policy and legal reforms were comprehensive and covered almost all aspects of water management including revolutionary changes in defining and allocating rights to water, radical reforms in water management and supply institutions, the introduction of the protection of environmental flows, and major shifts in charging for water use and in the provision of free basic water. Over ten years of implementation of these policy and legislative changes mean that valuable lessons have already been learned and useful experiences gained in the challenge of effective water resources management and water services provision in a middle income country.
Download or read book Crocodile River Catchment Eastern Transvaal written by South Africa. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Management of Water Demand in Africa and the Middle East written by International Development Research Centre (Canada) and published by IDRC. This book was released on 1997 with total page 93 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Management of Water Demand in Africa and the Middle East: Current practices and future needs
Download or read book Long term Water Conservation and Water Demand Management Strategy written by City of Cape Town (South Africa). Water Demand Management and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 15 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Water Value and Demand for Multiple Uses in the Rural Areas of South Africa written by Phillipa Kanyoka and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The provision of free basic water for domestic uses and a more equal distribution of water for productive uses are seen as important instruments to redress inequities from the past and eradicate poverty in South Africa (SA). Although the government committed itself to providing free basic water for all, this result is still far to be reached, particularly in rural areas. Financing of multiple use water services was identified as an important ingredient to insure improved access to water for rural poor in SA and at the same time allow productive uses and broaden livelihood options. Recent evidence indicated the potential contribution that productive uses of domestic water might make to food security and poverty reduction in rural areas of SA. Following the principles of integrated water resource management (IWRM), efficient, equitable and sustainable investment in improved water services should be demand driven, that is, it should be based on a thorough understanding of effective demand by consumers for multiple use water services. The assessment of demand for improved water services provides the basis for micro level analysis of consumer benefits from multiple water uses. Such studies are not common in SA's rural areas, where most of the economic analyses focus on either domestic or irrigation water demand. This study attempts to fill this gap by assessing the household demand for multiple use water services in Sekororo-Letsoalo area in the Limpopo Province. Choice modelling is the approach used to identify the attributes determining demand for water services and quantify their respective importance. Households are presented with alternative sets of water services, corresponding to different levels of the attributes. In this study, the following attributes were used: water quantity, water quality, frequency of water supply, price of water, productive uses of water, and source of water. Choice modelling allows estimating the relative importance of these attributes for various strata of the studied population, and ultimately provides a measure of the willingness to pay for different aspects of water demand (attributes), including productive water uses. Results show that households in rural areas are willing to pay for water services improvements. Due to the poor quality of present water services in the area, users are primarily concerned with basic domestic uses and demand for non domestic water uses is low. Only households already relatively well served are interested in engaging in multiple water uses.
Download or read book Advances in water research written by Nhamo, L. and published by IWMI. This book was released on 2023-03-09 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Water scarcity has become one of the greatest challenges facing humankind today. Its scarcity is compounded by climate change and increasing demand from a growing population. In South Africa, over 60% of the available freshwater resources are used in agriculture, mainly in irrigated agriculture. There is an urgent need to promote sustainable irrigation technologies that optimize food production without increasing water applied and with positive environmental spinoffs. Sustainable irrigation technologies and practices could enhance water use efficiency (WUE) and productivity in agriculture and reduce environmental burdens, including energy use. This chapter highlights some of the innovative irrigation practices and technologies that enhance food production and, at the same time, reduce water use in agriculture. The chapter broadly discusses WUE and water productivity (WP) in irrigated agriculture from engineering and agronomic perspectives. The chapter further highlights some of the environmental impacts of irrigation expansion and the possible solutions. We further provide the importance of accurate spatial information on irrigated areas to inform policy on irrigation expansion. The Water Research Commission (WRC) of South Africa has been spearheading research on the sustainable use of water for the past 50 years as part of its research agenda. In Ting, D. S.-K.; O’Brien, P. G. (Eds.). Progress in sustainable development: sustainable engineering practices. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier
Download or read book The Effects of Water Conservation and Demand Management on the Growth of Urban and Agricultural Water Demands on the Western Cape System and the Timing of the Implementation of the Skuifraam Scheme written by South Africa. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. Directorate: Project Planning and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
