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In South Africa we have a semi-arid climate with variable rainfall in certain areas. This means
that South Africa faces some important problems. They are as follows:
- Water is scarce. Many places, particularly in the Karoo, do not know when they will have rain again because of the irregular rainfall.
- Much of the water in our country is of poor quality, because of the reliance we have on underground water, or polluted surface water. All the rivers in Gauteng, for example, are polluted in some way.
- A lack of water means that as a nation, we have to budget for and plan for storage of water, to be supplied on demand. We have more than 550 Government dams and countless private dams already in operation (DEAT 2000). These dams are important because they store precious water, regulate the flow of rivers (and so prevent flooding), reduce flood damage and can at times even assist in cleaning rivers through a filtration process.
Dams also bring about huge environmental and financial problems, because they cost a great deal to build and maintain, and they can result in ecological and social disasters. In the long term, South Africa cannot stop building dams, but an alternative to storing water will have to be found. - South Africa uses too much water. This is mostly a result of people not realizing that water is a precious substance. The demand for water now far exceeds the supply. It has been calculated that should current consumption levels continue, there will not be enough water to meet the needs of the people (Umgeni Water, 1997)
The solution to this is to ensure that water is put to optimal use. At the moment the agricultural
sector uses about 52% of the water compared to 1985 when the agricultural sector used almost 69%
of the water in South Africa.
Until recently, the agricultural sector has had a greater access to water in South Africa. For example the landowners had riparian rights which meant that any water on their land could be used for irrigation. Also farmers did not have to pay for the water they used, or if they did they paid very little. The National Water Bill is intended to change all this. The bill will ensure that
all South Africa's ground and surface water will be owned by the government, for the people of
South Africa. This means that all the water will be controlled by the Department of Water
Affairs and Forestry (DWAF).
Droughts in South Africa:
Another big problem in South Africa is drought. Drought is defined as water stress
or a lack of rainfall. But lack of rain is only one of the causes of drought. Water stress can
also be caused by a lack of adequate water storage facilities, or from the over consumption of water
This means that people can and do cause drought. Wars, for example, generate refugees, who having
nowhere else to go, move onto land that is probably not suited to maintaining a community.
There are different kinds of drought.
No matter what the cause, droughts are usually not pleasant times. It is always hot, dry and dusty, the animals are weak and the vegetation is usually dead or dying. Soil erosion often results from this.
Drought has many effects:
Physical Effects:
The oceans play a vital role in generating weather. There is a direct connection between the ocean and the atmosphere as it is the atmosphere's wind currents that control the currents of the ocean.
The oceans are fast becomming a dump for waste generated by humans. International Trade results in
massive oil spills for example the Treasure disaster off Cape Town in mid 2000. Cities deposit sewage and other
pollutants into rivers and even directly into the ocean. All pollution reaches the sea in
some form or another. The biggest problem with ocean pollution is that it is very seldom able to be
localized. There are also often knock-on effects, for example, if a coral reef gets destroyed it,
will negatively affect fishing. Man also often tries to blame other sources for depletion of a
certain species. For example, some people tried to blame whales for the lack of fish in the ocean.
Also ocean currents spread pollutants very quickly and easily, which means that ocean pollutants can
only be addressed on a global scale.
Social, cultural and economic effects:
The Oceans and Us
The oceans are a very important to man. Not only do they play a vital role in the generation of weather,
but they also provide us with the following: Food: we eat many different kinds of fish and other
kinds of sea creatures; they provide us with a means of transport; a supply of minerals; and they
generate tidal power. They can also provide us with drinking water if we desalinate it (a very costly
process), it also provides us with table salt. It is because of all the things that the ocean has
to offer that it is over-exploited in the form of over-fishing and pollution.
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