Water is South Africa's lifeblood and scarcest resource. The country's average annual rainfall of 497mm is well below the world's average of 860mm. At current levels of supply and demand, South Africa will run out of water by the year 2030. Without sufficient water we cannot produce enough food, support industrial growth or develop a tourism industry. Our economy is therefore totally dependent on a continual supply of water of sufficient quality and quantity.

Paradoxically, wetlands are one of the most threatened habitats in the world today. It is estimated that more than 50% of South Africa's wetlands have been permanently damaged, mainly through agricultural development and inappropriate land management. Those that remain constitute the country's most threatened natural areas. That this amounts to a national crisis – and a fundamental obstacle to achieving the goals of poverty alleviation and sustainable development – is not in question. The challenge now is to implement effective solutions.

One solution is to conserve water catchment systems. The Baviaanskloof Conservation Area in the Eastern Cape, for instance, is the sole catchment for the thriving agro-economy in the Gamtoos Valley and is the major source of water for the rapidly growing Port Elizabeth/Uitenhage metropole. The Table Mountain Fund funded a report on the importance of the area to attract the interest and participation of national and international conservation and funding agencies in supporting a development plan for it.

Funding has also been made available, by the National Parks Trust of South Africa, through WWF-SA, to achieve integrated water resource management for the Blyde, Sand and Klaserie river systems. This will conserve the water resources and unique biodiversity of the area while catalysing socio-economic development and contributing to local poverty alleviation.

For conservation, management and impact assessment purposes, it is important to be able to make judgments about the conditions of each of South Africa's wetlands. The Green Trust* therefore funded a pilot project to evaluate the proposed South African Wetland Classification System and The Table Mountain Fund has taken this further by funding a project that will serve to start a detailed inventory wetlands for the Western Cape.

WWF's freshwater goal globally? Says Jamie Pittock, Director of WWF's Living Waters Programme: 'To secure water for people and nature by conserving the world's sources of water – freshwater ecosystems, ensuring people's access to water and sanitation, and improving the efficient use of freshwater.'

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