Water

Dams and Development E-Paper Contents

p. -1 of 74 BACK | NEXT Home Page of Dams and Development Foreword I. Why an e-paper on dams and development? II. Assessing options III. Participatory processes IV. Social impacts V. Environmental impacts VI. Benefit distribution VII. Dam safety and sustainability VIII. Existing projects IX. Improving governance X. What other organizations say XI. ADB, Dams, and Development XII. References Contact Us

South African legislation - the ecological reserve

In 1998, South Africa passes a National Water Act that transformed the previous system of water rights tied to land ownership and introduced a licensing system. An major change was to introduce the concept of a 'Reserve' that has to be satisfied before any other allocations can be made (Section 16).

The Reserve comprises two components - (i) basic human needs and (ii) the ecological reserve. Ecological reserves are determined to meet a specified target class of river condition. The classification adopted by the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is:

1. Negligible modification from natural conditions. Negligible risk to sensitive species.
2. Slight modification from natural conditions. Slight risk to biota.
3. Moderate modification from natural conditions. Especially important biota may be reduced in number and extent.
4. High degree of modification from natural conditions. Intolerant biota unlikely to be present.

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