Towards Sustainable Water and Ecosystem Management along the Eerste River, Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve
This CRIDA-lite scoped adaptation options and economic cost methodologies for the Cape Winelands Biosphere, gathering insights through literature, interviews, and community feedback to inform an adaptation pathway business case.
Contexte
The Cape Winelands Biosphere Reserve, located in South Africa¡¯s Western Cape, features diverse ecosystems, viticultural landscapes, and historic towns. It encompasses a range of land uses and human settlements, housing approximately 320,024 people across the region.
Actions
In August 2022, a two-day stakeholder engagement around CRIDA was held with the Idas Valley community to address water security issues. Phase I focused on understanding local water challenges and raising awareness of the need for sustainable climate change adaptation plans.
In March 2023, a stakeholder engagement focused on identifying current and future risks, threats, and stresses to the ecosystem. The aim was to build a shared understanding of its vulnerabilities, enabling collaborative development of sustainable solutions and strategies for long-term resilience.
Outcomes
The CRIDA-lite scoping provided useful insights into ongoing efforts at the national level and by the City of Cape Town. The government has already started developing an adaptation plan through the Western Cape Water Supply System. The methods used to assess water and its economic impact vary depending on the policies in place. The Biosphere can offer alternative ideas on water flow and quality that could complement, rather than duplicate, government efforts. To fully understand the situation, it's important to model adaptation options to better grasp water flow and calculate the costs of investment, as seen in full CRIDA. The Cape Winelands Biosphere plans to use these methods to raise funds for complete adaptation modeling. The next step is to understand the financial landscape and attract private sector investment using innovative financing tools.