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3 eThekwini’s Green and Ecological Infrastructure Policy Landscape
talking about a local community living in a suburb; I am also talking about the multi-national
companies that are situated on that river. For me, right now, the impact of these projects is
extremely poorly understood… I think that for the Msunduzi and eThekwini [Municipalities] to engage in these projects, more studies need to be done on their social impact, and it
needs to be made more tangible and readable for the lay person… Therefore, if we say we
have saved 50,000 litres of water, and we write it in a newspaper article for the benefit of
the community, there will be a readable benefit for the community. The experts understand
the consequences and benefits of, for example, clearing three kilometres of alien vegetation.
In other words, the faculty of people in UEIP understand the benefits, or see the benefit of
an M.Sc. student studying the benefit of water quality in a particular river, but is the lack of
water quality, or high E. coli count, being translated into terms that will have an impact on
the people who are directly affected by, or who use, that resource? There is a gap! I think
there is a space for us to improve that. My scientific mind tells me that we need to not only
communicate it better, but also to understand it better. It is good to write scientific papers,
but sometimes there needs to be more.
Respondent 9 related the municipality’s plan to set up a water fund, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which is a transnational interest group.
According to the TNC, it uses science for the advancement of policies that address
the problems faced by the environment and people (TNC 2019a). Respondent 9 noted
that before one is able to establish such a fund, one needs to look at the feasibility
thereof, in terms of the sources of revenue, and whether the municipality will be
able to motivate downstream water users and beneficiaries to contribute financial
resources to the fund.
Part of that feasibility process will be to investigate whether some of the catchments are
worthy of further work. Once that feasibility study is done, one can see if it is viable, and
whether the model in its current form will work for Durban. There is a whole process linked
to that. Also, some of Durban’s catchments, in terms of water security, are quite transformed,
so you need to investigate whether investing in the ecological infrastructure will generate
the yields, from a water security perspective. (Respondent 9)
According to the TNC, the rationale behind a water fund is the utilisation of
nature-based solutions, or catchment conservation, to improve a city’s water security.
A ‘water fund is a mechanism for downstream users to directly or indirectly compensate
upstream users for activities that deliver water benefits to the payer. Public and private water
users, including businesses and local governments, invest collectively in conservation of
catchments from which they source their water. Many cities are coming to see these funds
to minimize treatment costs and reduce the chance of water shortages in the future’ (TNC
2019b).
This quote indicates that the municipality conceptualises water security in a
specific way, in that it relates only to water quality and quantity. What is also noticeable is that a water fund is a positivist and instrumental way of improving water
security.
A water fund, therefore, is a financial mechanism that is used to address the water
quantity and quality problems faced by local governments and the private sector. In
this context, water users can invest in five strategies to reduce pollution and improve
water security, namely, forest protection, reforestation, agricultural best management
practices, riparian restoration and forest fuel reduction (TNC 2019b).
3 eThekwini’s Green and Ecological Infrastructure Policy Landscape
talking about a local community living in a suburb; I am also talking about the multi-national
companies that are situated on that river. For me, right now, the impact of these projects is
extremely poorly understood… I think that for the Msunduzi and eThekwini [Municipalities] to engage in these projects, more studies need to be done on their social impact, and it
needs to be made more tangible and readable for the lay person… Therefore, if we say we
have saved 50,000 litres of water, and we write it in a newspaper article for the benefit of
the community, there will be a readable benefit for the community. The experts understand
the consequences and benefits of, for example, clearing three kilometres of alien vegetation.
In other words, the faculty of people in UEIP understand the benefits, or see the benefit of
an M.Sc. student studying the benefit of water quality in a particular river, but is the lack of
water quality, or high E. coli count, being translated into terms that will have an impact on
the people who are directly affected by, or who use, that resource? There is a gap! I think
there is a space for us to improve that. My scientific mind tells me that we need to not only
communicate it better, but also to understand it better. It is good to write scientific papers,
but sometimes there needs to be more.
Respondent 9 related the municipality’s plan to set up a water fund, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), which is a transnational interest group.
According to the TNC, it uses science for the advancement of policies that address
the problems faced by the environment and people (TNC 2019a). Respondent 9 noted
that before one is able to establish such a fund, one needs to look at the feasibility
thereof, in terms of the sources of revenue, and whether the municipality will be
able to motivate downstream water users and beneficiaries to contribute financial
resources to the fund.
Part of that feasibility process will be to investigate whether some of the catchments are
worthy of further work. Once that feasibility study is done, one can see if it is viable, and
whether the model in its current form will work for Durban. There is a whole process linked
to that. Also, some of Durban’s catchments, in terms of water security, are quite transformed,
so you need to investigate whether investing in the ecological infrastructure will generate
the yields, from a water security perspective. (Respondent 9)
According to the TNC, the rationale behind a water fund is the utilisation of
nature-based solutions, or catchment conservation, to improve a city’s water security.
A ‘water fund is a mechanism for downstream users to directly or indirectly compensate
upstream users for activities that deliver water benefits to the payer. Public and private water
users, including businesses and local governments, invest collectively in conservation of
catchments from which they source their water. Many cities are coming to see these funds
to minimize treatment costs and reduce the chance of water shortages in the future’ (TNC
2019b).
This quote indicates that the municipality conceptualises water security in a
specific way, in that it relates only to water quality and quantity. What is also noticeable is that a water fund is a positivist and instrumental way of improving water
security.
A water fund, therefore, is a financial mechanism that is used to address the water
quantity and quality problems faced by local governments and the private sector. In
this context, water users can invest in five strategies to reduce pollution and improve
water security, namely, forest protection, reforestation, agricultural best management
practices, riparian restoration and forest fuel reduction (TNC 2019b).