Workshop on Transboundary Water

Management: Orange Senqu and Zambezi

Basins. Johannesburg. 29th and 30th April 2014.

Transboundary Water Cooperation in the Orange Senqu River

Basin.

by Lenka Thamae, Executive Secretary, Orange-Senqu River Commission

(ORASECOM)

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

1. Basin Area : 1

million sq km.

2. Rainfall : 1800mm

in Lesotho

highlands to 45mm

at River mouth.

3. Population: 19

million (Earle et al.

2004).

4. Average annual

natural runoff :

12,000 mill. cub.

metres (quote

flood and drought

flows as well) less

than half of the

flow reaches the

river mouth on the

Atlantic Ocean.

5. Basin States:

Botswana, Lesotho,

Namibia and South

Africa.

Basin StatisticsBasin StatisticsBasin StatisticsBasin Statistics

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

Orange-Senqu sources in highlands of Lesotho at around 3000 metres

above mean sea level (alpine wetlands “sponges”) – very important for

sustaining flows especially in dry season and during drought periods.

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

Degradation of highland wetlands due to inappropriate land

management practices

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

09-Jun-14

Dry river bed on Molopo catchment - north west

part of the Orange Senqu River Basin

Confluence of Vaal and Orange-Senqu

Rivers

09-Jun-14

The River Mouth along the border between Namibia and South

Africa has been declared a Ramsar Site on both sides of the

border.

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

Sasol Petrochemical Plant Secunda

Produces >30% of SA’s Petrol/Diesel from coal

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

Commercial Irrigation and

Hydropower generation are

some of the main developments

in the river basin.

09-Jun-14

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

Thank YouThank You

Export grapes AussenkehrNamibia

Basin Challenges

Basin Challenges – Water Stress

Climate Climate Climate Climate –––– temperature changetemperature changetemperature changetemperature change

14

By 2050

Climate Climate Climate Climate –––– precipitation changeprecipitation changeprecipitation changeprecipitation change

15

By 2050

Changes in AgricultureChanges in AgricultureChanges in AgricultureChanges in Agriculture

16

TRANSBOUNDARY WATER

COOPERATION IN THE ORANGE SENQU

RIVER BASIN

1975

2000

Botswana

Lesotho

Namibia

South Africa

Joint Permanent

Technical

Committee

1983

Joint Permanent

Technical Commission

1986

Joint Technical

Commission

1987

Joint Permanent

Water Committee

1990

Permanent Water

Commission & Joint

Irrigation Authority

1992

Lesotho Highlands

Water Commission

1999

Joint

Technical

Committee

1978

History of Trans-boundary Cooperation in

the Orange-Senqu Basin ( … LHWP Phase II

and the Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa MOU)

The Orange-Senqu River Commission

(Est. 2000)

ORASECOM Institutional Structure

Task Teams: technical, legal, communications, finance, hydrogeology.

Institutional

establishment

Situation

Assessment

Specific

Studies

Future

Development

Scenarios

Management

Response

Options

Basin-level

IWRM Plan

ImplementationMonitoring &

Review

Sub-basin

Plans

Institutional

Common

understanding

Future scenarios

Strategy

formulation

Implementation

and Monitoring

Delivery Schematic

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

Lesotho Highlands Phase 2 MAP 032Lesotho Highlands Phase 2 MAP 03237km

4.5mØ

40m3/s

46km

4.4mØ

5.6km

3.8mØ

32km

4.4mØ

33 m3/s

38km

5mØ

16 m3/s

Mohale

145m h

Katse 185mPolihali 164m

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

(Katse dam: Central collection point for transfer of water to South Africa (Gauteng).

Katse Tunnel (85km @ 4.5m Diameter)Katse Tunnel (85km @ 4.5m Diameter)

DWAF (May 2006)

RUSTENBURG

25

Bloemhof Dam

Vaal Dam

Vaal Barrage

Proposed Polihali Dam

Katse

Mohale

Orange River System

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

Irrigation Efficiency RSA/Namibia (water conservation, stakeholder participation, climate change)

• Noordoever-Vioolsdrift Joint Irrigation Authority, Namibia and South Africa

• Water conservation and demand management, water quality issues

• Survey: water requirements, crops, areas and irrigation systems

• Field tests of irrigation efficiency

• Technical training workshops with farmers

• Review of applicable best practices

• Installation of equipment (soil moisture probes, meteorology station, flow meters)

• On line display of quasi real time data

• Drafting of Water Management Plan with JIA.

Emfuleni Water Conservation Project

(PPP, Demand Management, Climate Adaptation, Stakeholder

Participation)

Reflections

• In the Orange Senqu basin where options for new infrastructure

are limited focus on optimising operation efficiency including

joint operation of infrastructure and WC/DM are key.

• RBOs need to build and maintain robust operational and

monitoring systems (governance and field level) to maintain

complementary function to individual State structures.

• Exploring innovative partnerships and continuing to leverage

funding for priority programmatic areas remains an ongoing effort.

• Given the uncertainty faced as result of growing demand and

climate change, alignment of planning time horizons by states

sharing a transboundary river is critical and underpins joint action

at basin level.

ORASECOMBOTS

WANA LESO

THO

NAMIB

IA SOUTH A

FRICA

ORANGE - S

ENQU RIVER CO

MMISSION

Established 2000

Thank you.

www.orasecom.org

Thank you.

www.orasecom.org