Overview
The uMhlathuze Water Stewardship Partnership (UWASP) is a river basin collaboration of business, government and civil society established to address water security challenges in the uMhlathuze region of South Africa. UWASP aims to play a transformative role in the region by unlocking the value of water for social, economic, and environmental benefit.
Location:
The Mhlathuze River Catchment is on the north-east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, approximately 180kms north of Durban. The main towns in the region include Richards Bay, Melmoth and Empangeni.
Key objectives
Improving water quantity, quality, and livelihoods at a basin level, while demonstrating leadership to elevate the critical importance of water through:
- Integrated Knowledge Management, Information, data, research, monitoring, production and dissemination
- Stakeholder engagement and facilitation, communication; networking with relevant entities and processes inside and outside the catchment
- Capacity development
- Provide support to water governance structures / processes working within the catchment (CMA, WUA, CMF)
- Project identification, packaging, resource mobilisation, management aligned to strategic focus areas.
The partnership’s current focus areas are
- Enhancing the management of the freshwater coastal lakes and surface water dam that provide for uMhlathuze’s needs
- Supporting water use efficiency and reducing water loss amongst downstream users
- Facilitating agricultural water stewardship and irrigation efficiency
- Securing ecological infrastructure through invasive species clearing and wetland rehabilitation
- Developing community water-related champions, entrepreneurs and micro enterprises
Kussing Malaka
Garth Barnes
Resource library
Section 1: Partnership Background
Section 2: Reports and Quick Briefs
