A time to P(r)ay for Ecosystem Services?
Kouga Dam (SA): It has been two years since significant rainfall has fallen in parts of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. What was being called a ‘water crisis’ is now looming as a ‘disaster’. Farmers in the usually abundant Gamtoos Valley ‘fruitbowl’ are sitting with empty fields and lack of work for labourers. Port Elizabeth residents are experiencing severe water restrictions, increased taxes and are calling for new water sources to be found. And with the region soon expecting thousands of incoming foreign visitors to celebrate this winter’s football World Cup, many in the area believe that it is seriously time to start praying…
Nowadays, when Living Lands 
employees, interns and students finish an office day at the Learning Village and go ‘for a run up to the dam’, the sight looks increasingly grim. Kouga Dam is sitting at 38% capacity (see picture) and falling. The looming water disaster is a sober reminder that there has never been a more urgent time to take landscape restoration seriously. It is time to turn restoration research into action on-ground. Living Lands is making every effort with PRESENCE network partners to accelerate this process in the Baviaanskloof as well as in adjacent catchments (Kouga & Gamtoos). But naturally, true social-ecological restoration is more than just planting trees and re-creating wetland areas. It requires changes in mindsets and behaviour. It is a whole process of renewing our ethic towards the land. It means re-thinking the way we have always done things and aligning our thoughts and actions toward more sustainable futures. This is much more than a few organisations can do on their own. Collective efforts - from resident to farmer to researcher to government – are needed to effectively improve long-term water security and ecosystem health.
Some of those collective efforts were witnessed last weekend when 3000 people descended upon the Kouga Dam in an event not seen in recent years. Farm labourers, farmers and residents from near and far (including Patensie, Hankey, Loerie, Jeffrey’s Bay and Port Elizabeth ) joined in solidarity to pray for rain. With 500 people originally expected, the high turnout in heatwave temperatures (a high of 44.5 degrees was recorded this week in Patensie), was a remarkable sign of the shared concerns and exasperation facing the region. The gathering was guided by local pastors form the Dutch Reformed (NG) Christian Church, one who remarked, “Now we can only wait on the Lord to see if He will send us some rain.” (Source: adapted/translated from ‘Kouga Express, 11th February 2010: pg 4)
Meanwhile, in the city of Port Elizabeth, residents are demanding that other sources of water (in addition to their current three sourcing dams) be found. It is alleged that nearby Gariep Dam is overflowing at full capacity and water should be piped in from there. There are also calls for abundant fresh water supplies from artesian wells to be extracted and utilised. However, the possible ecological implications from such a move may be significant. Even on economical grounds alone, some believe that such a move makes little sense. “Why spend R10-million on geologists and drilling for water when you can spend R1-million on advertising and campaigns to encourage people to use less water?” asks Barry Martin, director of water and sanitation at Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. (Source: adapted from ‘The Herald, 27th January 2010: pg 2)
In January, rain did reach upper reaches of the Baviaanskloof valley. A tiny area experienced another flash flood during a deluge delivering over 30mm of rain in under 30 minutes. Access roads were washed away and the river flowed fiercely for a day and night before returning to its dried up state. These more extreme and unpredictable weather events seem to be more frequent in recent years. And restoration researchers and implementers must engage with the question of if and how actions such as rehabilitation of wetlands and reforestation of slopes may help in mitigating – or ‘softening the blow’ – of damage caused by such extreme weather events. Restored areas may also aid in holding the water in the area longer.
Whatever the above scenario or actions to be taken, we need to urgently look at how to we can ‘institutionalise’ an equitable incentive scheme which can reward those adopting sustainable practices in catchment management. Living Lands – through the PRESENCE network- is actively investigating viable options for implementing an incentive scheme to encourage the wise use of land, water and wetlands across the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve. So whether it is Praying or Paying for Ecosystem Services, the time is now – more than ever – for everyone to offer their “helping hands for healing lands” and secure the region’s future.
Living Lands offers the ‘Elemental Equity’ Natural Capital Fund for interested investors in landscape restoration. Elemental Equity provides investment options in Air (Carbon reforestation); Water (Invasive species tree removal); Earth (Wetland rehabilitation / erosion control) and Fire (Fire management and renewable energy options). For more information contact marijn@earthcollective.net
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Update: This week (22nd-26th February) some welcome rain has fallen in the Baviaanskloof and adjacent upstream and downstream catchments. There hasn’t been any great deluge but just gentle daily showers which have started to soften and dampen the ground and green things up a bit. At this stage, we don’t expect to see much impact on current dam levels; however more rain is forecasted for next week…
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