More than 200 participants took part in the webinar on community involvement in South Africa on 21th April 2021. Various stakeholders in the field of water use, water resources and water resources met online to discuss water scarcity and community involvement in South Africa.
The webinar presentation by Ms. T. Sigwaza, who represented the national central South African government, highlighted how important she finds community involvement in issues related to water resource management. Water users, water sources and water supplies come together as interests in a context of water scarcity.
View the webinar on community involvement
Water challenges
The Umgeni River is strategically the most important in the KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa. The river system is faced with a myriad of challenges, including alien and invasive plants, riverside erosion, streamside cultivation, agricultural effluent releases, sewage and factory discharge, unlawful dumping, illegal sand mining and broad-spectrum pollution. Fortunately, several people and organizations are confronting these challenging issues.
Community project
The Duzi Umgeni Conservation Trust made a video about their work to shape community involvement with the Amanzi Ethu Nobuntu project. A group is working on cleaning up the riverbed, removing invasive plants from the river and carrying out small-scale repairs to the sewage systems.