Day zero: what have we learnt?

In lieu of ‘day zero,’ the city of Cape Town implemented a number of water resource management measures in order to avoid a situation whereby the city would need to cut off their main water supply. While Cape Town may be the first major city in the world to potentially run out of water, water scarcity and water insecurity are issues experienced across South Africa and globally. Through this water crisis, Cape Town has managed to reduce their water demand by more than half. This article explores some of the most effective methods that were used to create more sustainable water usage and highlights some of the precautionary measures that other cities could potentially adopt and employ before a water crisis point is reached.

Measuring green growth in South Africa

Despite South Africa’s efforts in transitioning to a green economy, measuring the success of the transition is hampered by lack of available indicators. While measuring the progress of green growth is not only an issue faced by South Africa, but globally, it is a critically important to enable an assessment of the impact of green policies. The transition towards a green economy is likely to provide growth opportunities, however, there may be trade-offs in terms of realising socio-economic priorities. Clear definitions, robust performance metrics, and adequate data to enable performance measurement are crucial for providing evidence of whether policies have been successful. This is particularly important for South Africa which continues to try and combat unemployment, poverty and equality while simultaneously trying to strive towards environmental sustainability.