NO WATER NO LIFE: SHINING A LIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE WATER PRACTICES

South Africa’s first inscribed UNESCO World Heritage site, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, honours the conclusion of National Water Week that began on the 20th of March 2025 and ends on the 26th of March 2025. This week has been centred around water conservation initiatives with the hope of creating awareness on ways to protect and conserve the country's water sources. As a result, the public is encouraged to use water sparingly. Throughout the duration of this week, there have been a number of activities that advocate for sustainable freshwater resources.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park has three major freshwater lake systems namely, Lake Sibaya, Kosi Bay and St Lucia Lake. These lake systems, as well as over 220km of coastline and 970 366,57ha of ocean, form part of the Parks’ Marine Protected Area. A Marine Protected Area (MPA) is an area or ocean that is specially protected for the benefit of people and nature. In South Africa, MPAs are declared through the National Environmental management: Protected Areas Act. The biggest threat to these freshwater systems is pollution, unsustainable water practices and land use for agricultural purposes not withstanding climate change.

Water is life, therefore access to freshwater is a basic human right. Climate change is causing the planet to get hotter resulting in reservoirs vanishing rapidly. On the other hand, floods and landslides are becoming more frequent and severe, demolishing peoples’ homes, land, crops, and wiping out ecosystems. As water sources vanish, communities become more vulnerable. Park Authority is aware of the challenges faced by the previously disadvantaged communities living adjacent to the Park. In the face of water scarcity, personal and domestic use must take priority over large scale agriculture. In an effort to alleviate poverty and develop the local economy, Park Authority have implemented a land care programme, whereby 74 SMMEs have been subcontracted to perform environmental rehabilitation work and furthermore, control alien vegetation. These SMMEs are made up of community members living adjacent to the Park, thus reducing the need for unsustainable and unregulated land practices to combat the country’s unstable economy. This is how a green economy is created beyond solely relying on tourism and this initiative reflects the very nature of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority’s business, which is to conserve the Park and to create jobs and benefits for communities living in and adjacent to the Park.