Water Wheel Sept/Oct 2022: Water Conservation

Abstract

Savvy showers helping SA’s top nature reserve save water The Kruger National Park is one of South Africa’s premier protected areas and provides thousands of people with the opportunity to enjoy the internationally renowned wilderness. A visit to Kruger might be the closest many will get to experiencing untamed lands but, in the process of catering to tourists, a heavy imprint is made on the conservation area. “Conservation very often involves trade-offs,” says SANParks Senior Scientist, Dr Izak Smit. “This is even more so when considering social-ecological systems where both nature and people, and their interaction with each other, are considered.” Tourists visiting parks do have some environmental impact, including the developmental footprint of infrastructure, the carbon footprint of travelling to and within parks and water usage and waste generation whilst in parks, yet at the same time, Smit says, tourists fund conservation. Today, around 80% of SANParks’ revenue is generated through income derived from tourism, which cross-subsidises SANParks’s conservation efforts.

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