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Protecting our ecological infrastructure, especially wetlands, is critical for water security

Kate Handley
By Kate Handley
25 Feb 2025
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Despite their vital importance, wetlands are under significant pressure from pollution, irresponsible agriculture, invasive species, climate change, and land use change more generally.

“As we forge ahead with the reform agenda, an urgent priority is to ensure a secure and reliable supply of water across the country.” This is the commitment made by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on 6 February 2025.

Indeed, the right to have access to sufficient water is enshrined in section 27 of our Constitution. As the president aptly put it, it is impossible to live without water, and it is impossible for the economy to grow without water.

The difficulty is that while the president made several commitments in terms of how the development of water infrastructure is to proceed, no attention was given to the fundamental need to protect, conserve and restore our water resources, without which the promise of water for people and industry will never be fulfilled.

That many parts of South Africa are facing a water crisis is common cause. From Cape Town’s threatened “Day Zero” to the crippling water issues facing Gauteng, it is evident that the supply of water is being compromised by ageing infrastructure, water theft, pollution and climate change, among other things.

‘Decisive actions’


Ramaphosa placed emphasis on a series of “decisive actions” to address the water crisis. These include investment into and commencement of major water infrastructure projects like Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and Umkhomazi Dam, and the Ntabelanga Dam on the Mzimvubu River.

The president also undertook to complete the establishment of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency to unlock much greater investment in water projects. The act in terms of which this state-owned company is to be established came into force on 7 February 2025.

But while investment into water infrastructure is welcome, it is concerning that sustainability of supply was not linked to the importance of protecting our water ecological infrastructure, and the concomitant role this plays in safeguarding water supply now, and for future generations.

Ecological infrastructure refers to the natural or semi-natural structural elements of ecosystems and landscapes that are important in delivering ecosystem services. Protecting water ecological infrastructure — such as wetlands — is essential for securing water supply because these natural systems provide critical services that support clean and sustainable water resources.

Here’s why it matters.

Wetlands perform a critical function in the provision of freshwater by naturally removing, filtering and absorbing pollutants, which reduces the purification load on built infrastructure, captures and stores rainwater and replenishes groundwater aquifers, and regulates water quantity and supply by releasing water at the right time to the right place.

This is in addition to other ecosystem-based adaptation services like protecting communities from storm surges and flood waters, the threat of which is increasing as we experience a hotter and hotter climate. 

According to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, wetlands play a role in supplying water that sustains 60% of the country’s population, more than 90% of urban water users, 67% of national economic activity and 70% of irrigated agriculture.

Just as with built infrastructure, it is important to manage, invest in and maintain ecological infrastructure — the nature-based equivalent. Ecological infrastructure has the potential to complement and, in some cases, substitute built infrastructure solutions for water resource management.

Cost-efficient


Investing in ecological infrastructure reduces the need for expensive artificial water storage and treatment facilities. Restoring and maintaining natural water systems is often more cost-efficient than building large-scale infrastructure like dams and desalination plants.

Investing in ecological infrastructure will not only have gains for biodiversity and water; it also creates jobs and strengthens local economies. Critically, it will also see the government fulfil its constitutional duty and Sona promise of water for the people.

There is so much potential for these natural systems to bolster the supply of freshwater so desperately needed in a water-scarce country like South Africa. But despite their critical importance, wetlands are under significant pressure from pollution, irresponsible agriculture, invasive species, climate change, and land use change more generally.

The White Paper on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of South Africa’s Biodiversity records that wetlands have the second highest overall proportion of threatened ecosystem types (79%), just less than estuaries (86%). Despite this threat status, estuaries and inland wetlands are also the least protected ecosystem types, with less than 2% of their extent in the “Well Protected” category.

This is not to say that legal and policy measures are not in place to protect wetlands and other important ecological infrastructure. Indeed, the National Water Act (1998) and National Water Resources Strategy (2023) provide a sound basis for the protection and ecologically sustainable use of water resources. The National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (2003), which creates the framework for declaring protected areas, provides another mechanism in terms of which these critical systems may be safeguarded.

What is lacking is implementation. This is recognised in the National Water Resources Strategy, which stresses that “the difficulty facing the water sector is how to implement the policies and programmes for water resource protection in a cost-effective and sustainable manner within a reasonable time frame.”

Political will


But implementation starts with impetus. There needs to be political will to catalyse conservation efforts aimed at safeguarding water ecological infrastructure and securing the ecologically sustainable use of our water resources.

This starts from the top. If protecting wetlands and other ecological infrastructure is not an imperative driven at the highest level, and if it’s not raised as a priority in fora such as Sona, then it will probably not be a priority within the departments charged with such implementation. This must change.

Protecting water ecological infrastructure is not just an environmental issue — it’s an economic, social, and public health priority. By protecting our ecological infrastructure, the government will fulfil its constitutional duty to protect and preserve our precious natural resources and make good on promises such as those made at Sona. DM

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