Abstract
Mountain regions of the world are experiencing multiple pressures from climate change and anthropogenic activities. While climate change is driving variations in water availability, increases in water demands due to societal dynamics (e.g. urbanization, tourism and agriculture expansion) can make societies vulnerable to future impacts in case of reduced water availability. The interaction of biophysical and socio-economic factors makes water management particularly complex especially in areas with limited capacity for sustainable water management. Therefore, identifying and characterizing the main water user demands, their upstream-downstream interactions and future development is fundamental in developing effective adaptation strategies to build climate resilience into social-ecological systems. . Within this context, the AquaMount project (financed by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – innovation, research and universities department) aims to support decision-making processes in water management within the context of changing climate- and socio-economic conditions.
Focusing on the Drakensberg mountains in the Free State Province (South Africa), we carry out inductive research to characterize water demands from the main water users, identify their vulnerability factors, and explore the dynamics involved in past and recent water scarcity impacts. Moreover, we apply participatory activities with key water users and local stakeholder to identify and characterize controversial water management dynamics and their potential future worsening, especially in case of reductions in water availability or increases in socio-economic water demands.
Results provide insights on local information on the main macro-users (e.g. agriculture, hydropower and domestic), the vulnerability factors that played a critical role in impacts of past water scarcity conditions, their interactions as well as water demand hotspots to inform local decision-makers on critical areas and factors to leverage adaptation strategies to future conditions. Finally, this application aims to support cross-fertilisation with other African mountains for knowledge transfer and improvements on adaptation strategies to deal with future water scarcity conditions.