South Africa is a very attractive research area for an IWRM project: On one hand, there are highly developed technologies under operation and the institutional framework is well-established. On the other hand, especially in the livelihood of refugees and rural areas, South Africa is clearly to be characterised as developing country. An IWRM model, elaborated and verified in South Africa, will, therefore, be the best option for application in other developing and transformation countries.

In close collaboration with the Water Research Commission, responsible for the national water research in South Africa, the Middle Olifants Sub-Basin was selected as pilot region, part of the Olifants River catchment basin, north of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

This arid region includes all water user groups, which make IWRM necessary, like growing industrial zones (mining, power plants, steel manufacturing ...), quickly growing settlements (including large refugee camps), large scale and small scale agriculture. The ecological importance of the Olifants River is linked to significant touristic values (Kruger National Park). Furthermore, transboundary issues and contracts have to be considered with IWRM (especially Mozambique).

After evaluating existing data and information, the following basic concept combining three modules was selected:

• Water Resources Module (WRM)
  

• Water Allocation Module (WAM)
  
• Water Intervention Module (WIM)

Objectives

The project result should be an IWRM concept, covering all relevant issues, easy in application, plus a concept and activities for stakeholders participation/IWRM stakeholders implementation, verified under the condition of South Africa and ready to be used in other developing countries.