Using eco-engineering systems to re-imagine an Integrated Water Resource Management Strategy

Abstract

As noted in the 2nd UN World Water Report, “key challenges of contemporary water management can only be understood within the very broad context of the world’s socio-economic systems (UNESCO 2006:3). The report notes that changing demographics and population movements; shifts in geopolitics, with new country boundaries and alliances; fast developing information and communication technologies; plus the impacts of climate change and extreme weather conditions are all making the world “a more challenging place for decision-makers” (UNESCO 2006:3). It is against this background that water managers must administer what is becoming an “increasingly scarce and fluctuating resource” (UNESCO 2006:3). The report also argues that an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach is required to consider all these factors and issues simultaneously in order to secure the equitable and sustainable management of freshwater (UNESCO 2006:3). Water resources management must recognize the differing challenges presented by the type of human settlement: human settlements vary from the very low-density scattered single dwellings typically associated with rural development, through villages and small towns, to the higher densities associated with cities and ultimately mega-cities (UNESCO 2006:10). Half of the global population and most of the world’s economic output is located in urban areas (UNESCO 2006:10). Very often these human settlements are not located in the optimal geographic location, for example, low-lying coastal areas or water-stressed areas. Johannesburg and Pretoria are cases in point: Johannesburg was developed as a consequence of the discovery of gold despite the city not having local and sustainable freshwater resources. Apart from being major consumers of freshwater resources, human settlements are also “the major polluters of water resources” (UNESCO 2006:10). Human settlements therefore provide a critical context for future water management.