Nature-Based Solutions Are Protecting Cape Town’s Water Supply
www.nature.org
In early 2018, the name Cape Town became synonymous with water scarcity after a three-year drought drew the city dangerously close to “Day Zero”—the day when the citizens’ taps would run dry.
While that doomsday never came—due to strict water-use restrictions and much-needed rain—this close call
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Summary
🌍💧 **Cape Town's Water Crisis**: After a severe drought in 2018 nearly led to "Day Zero," Cape Town launched the Greater Cape Town Water Fund (GCTWF) to secure its water supply through nature-based solutions.
🌱 **Nature-Based Solutions**: The GCTWF focuses on removing invasive tree species that consume excessive water, recovering approximately 15.2 billion liters annually for the region's water catchment.
👩🌾 **Community Impact**: The initiative has created 722 green jobs, with nearly half held by women, and provides training for individuals in various environmental disciplines.
🏛️ **City Support**: The City of Cape Town has invested R125 million (about $5.2M) in invasive tree removal and supports the integration of nature-based solutions in its water strategy.
🔄 **Future Expansion**: The GCTWF aims to avoid water losses of up to 100 billion liters by 2050 and is serving as a model for new water funds in South Africa, with additional projects underway in other regions.
Top Highlights
- In early 2018, the name Cape Town became synonymous with water scarcity after a three-year drought drew the city dangerously close to “Day Zero”—the day when the citizens’ taps would run dry. While that doomsday never came—due to strict water-use restrictions and much-needed rain—this close call also served as a wake-up call about the need for n...
- What Is a Water Fund? While the current global focus has been on “grey” infrastructure—such as desalination, recycling waste-water and tapping groundwater supplies—to combat water scarcity, “green,” nature-based solutions have the potential to produce significant water supply improvement at far lower cost. Water Funds are public-private partner...
- Five Years of Success The GCTWF is celebrating five years of successful operations since its launch in November 2018. A key component of the GCTWF is removing invasive trees—including acacia, pine and eucalyptus—from remote, hard-to-access areas. These invasive trees use huge amounts of water compared to the natural plants, reducing the amount ava...
- Securing Local Support for Big Change The City of Cape Town supports innovative approaches for water security as seen by its inclusion of nature-based solutions, alongside engineering options, in its water strategy launched in 2019. The city further demonstrated its commitment to water security by contributing R50 million (approximately $2.6M) from...
- A Focus on Fynbos Clearing invasives also supports the region’s unique flora and fauna. The Cape Floral Region (fynbos) holds more than 20 percent of Africa’s plant life, and 70 percent of the plants here are found nowhere else on Earth. Unmanaged invasive plants can quickly replace other native species and threaten this unique plant life. They als...
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