TRANSFORMING CATCHMENTS

BUILDING RESILIENCE

AWARD uses a range of innovative approaches to inform the development and implementation of a number of programmes that build social and ecological resilience.

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From Crisis to Flow

Governance in Drought-Stricken Waters

Through strategic management decisions and innovative tools, AWARD supported decision makers, ensuring rivers endure as vital lifelines, even in the harshest of droughts.

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The Association for Water and Rural Development

AWARD uses a range of innovative approaches to inform the development and implementation of a number of programmes that build social and ecological resilience. Current programmes include: RESILiM-O; Networks for Farmers; Wise Use of Wetlands; Wetlands and Livelihoods in Craigieburn. Through these programmes, we are building institutional, community and individual capacity to manage and restore water, land and biodiversity sub-systems in the context of climate change. Current areas of engagement include the upper, middle and lower Olifants catchment as well as regional and national initiatives on water governance. To enhance our work we are constantly improving our monitoring, evaluation, reporting and learning (MERL) processes within the organisation. A broad selection of resource materials have been, and continue to be developed and adapted through the various project activities.

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Our Programmes

RESILIM-O

Funded by USAID

AWARD’s RESILiM-Olifants Programme is funded by USAID and focuses on resilience-building in the transboundary Olifants River Basin, shared between South Africa and Mozambique. The Olifants is the largest contributor of water to the Limpopo basin.

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NETWORKS FOR FARMERS

Funded by DKA

This project’s main objective is to support increased capacity, agency and resilience of smallholder farmers in targeted communities in the middle and lower catchments of the Olifants River. These farmers face multiple challenges including climate change.

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SAVE THE SAND

Funded by the WRC

The Save the Sand Programme (SSP) promoted the practices of Integrated Catchment Management and Land Care in South Africa, using the Sand River Catchment as a test case. The objective was to address the rehabilitation of the Sand River and its tributaries in a holistic manner through effective and integrated catchment management.

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WISE USE OF WETLANDS

Funded by the DFFE

The original objective for Wise Use was to develop and test a framework for assessing the feasibility of Working for Water rehabilitation leading to wise use, through exploring the resilience and adaptive capacity of the socio-ecological system.

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The Giyani Local Scale Climate Change Resilience Programme (GLSCRP)

Funded by the WRC

The GLSCRP is a three-year community-led programme scaling Multiple Water Use Systems and solar energy to develop, research and demonstrate practical and sustainable water and climate adaptation solutions in the Giyani municipal area.

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The Agriculture Support Initiative

Funded by DKA

The Agriculture Support Initiative (AgriSI) project aims to reduce vulnerability to climate change and other factors by supporting collective action informed adaptation strategies, practices and tenable institutional arrangements.

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National Dam Siltation (NatSILT) Programme

Funded by DWS and WRC

The development and piloting of four qualifications supported by an e- learning platform for the empowering of a new cohort of skilled professionals to enhance and improve the efficiency of dam siltation management in South Africa.

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BIO-SMART

Funded by the JRS Biodiversity Foundation

Biodiversity Systems Management and Analytics for the Restoration of Transboundary Rivers Integrating freshwater biodiversity data across the Lowveld’s catchments in and around Kruger National Park. This initiative enhances decision-making and conservation efforts by merging biodiversity with key environmental drivers. Join us in advancing water resource management and protecting our precious biodiversity.

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Integrating water quality & health

Funded by the WRC

The focus of this project is on exploring and clarifying the links between declining water quality and human and biotic health and making this information available to managers and stakeholders in an easily-accessible format for decision-making and action.

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ecosystem-based adaptation (EBA) in the Crocodile Catchment

Funded by GiZ

The aim of the work was to contribute to enhanced water governance arrangements for mitigating water quality deterioration and impacts through planning for ecosystem-based adaptation in the Crocodile Catchment with a focus on the City of Mbombela (CoM) footprint within the Ehlanzeni District Municipality (EDM).

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uMhlathuze Real-time Tools

Funded by GiZ and NBI

The collaborative development of INWARDS and FLowTracker for Enhanced Water Security. The main objective was to provide stakeholders with real-time data for informed water resource management. This project also set out to enhance the skills of managers and stakeholders, to support them in making strategic decisions effectively.

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Complaince Monitoring

Funded by the IUCMA

The project aimed to assist the IUCMA in developing tools that support compliance monitoring and reporting. This included creating dashboards for both flow and water quality, as well as a simplified water quality licensing model and dashboard.

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A holistic Early Warning System for climate-induced water insecurity in the transboundary Inkomati River Basin (RiSK project)

Funded by Munich Re Foundation fieldtrip

Growing water insecurity in the Inkomati River Basin places the burden of risk on the poor, leading to increased livelihood insecurity. These communities face health risks that are unknown to them, especially from water quality contaminants, highlighting the need for a holistic early warning system (EWS) for disaster preparedness.

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uMhlathuze Real-time Tools

Funded by GiZ and NBI

The collaborative development of INWARDS and FLowTracker for Enhanced Water Security. The main objective was to provide stakeholders with real-time data for informed water resource management. This project also set out to enhance the skills of managers and stakeholders, to support them in making strategic decisions effectively.

More info

Complaince Monitoring

Funded by the IUCMA

The project aimed to assist the IUCMA in developing tools that support compliance monitoring and reporting. This included creating dashboards for both flow and water quality, as well as a simplified water quality licensing model and dashboard.

More info

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Implementing capacity development for disaster risk reduction as a social learning system

Abstract: Climate change can lead to changes in the frequency, intensity, spatial extent, duration and [...]

A fifth of countries worldwide at risk from ecosystem collapse as biodiversity declines

Among G20 economies, South Africa and Australia top the rankings of fragile Biodiversity and Ecosystems [...]

Help Needed for Vulnerable Households in rural areas of ‘The Oaks- Mametja’ (Limpopo Province)

South Africa has been in lockdown since late March and we have started to see [...]

AWARD Launches the RESILIM [Olifants] RESOURCE PACK!

AWARD is approaching closure of the USAID:RESILIM O programme this month. As a celebration of [...]

2021 World Food Summit in Jeopardy: Civil Society Calls for A Review

Since the 1996 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation’s (FAO’s) World Food Summit [...]

Drought Update: Flows in the Lower Olifants River reach alarmingly low levels

Flows in the lower Olifants River are declining rapidly and have reached alarmingly low levels. [...]

Mpumalanga Wetland Forum Newsletter

Each year, 2 February is celebrated as World Wetlands Day to mark the adoption of [...]

Expect higher than normal temperatures

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) remains in a moderate El Niño state and the forecast [...]

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