South Africa’s water scarcity demands urgent action and cannot be treated as ‘business as usual’, says Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo, calling for bold innovation, cross-border collaboration and sustainable practices to tackle the escalating global water crisis.

“There is ample evidence showing how semi-arid our country is, and that it cannot be business as usual. That is why the Department of Water and Sanitation and government published the [third iteration of the] National Water Resource Strategy,” he told delegates at the third International Conference on Earth and Environmental Sciences (ICEES), held in KwaZulu-Natal last month.

The strategy aims to reassess the water deficit, investigate new technologies, such as water desalination, and pursue partnerships with higher education institutions for research to improve existing water sources – including groundwater and effluent reuse – and assess the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of these options.

He highlighted the importance of integrating indigenous research and practices into solutions, presenting indigenous knowledge systems as a form of science that modern technology can build upon.

“Communities are not passive beneficiaries; they are stakeholders. Their lived experiences of droughts and floods, and their land management practices, hold vital lessons for building lasting resilience,” he added.

Mahlobo also challenged the scientific community to ensure that its research informs governance and decision-making instead of remaining in academic silos.

“Being a scientist or engineer does not mean stepping away from governance. Choose to be part of the main table where critical decisions are made, or risk being sidelined while the future of shared prosperity is shaped without your input,” he said.

The three-day ICEES, organised by the University of Zululand in partnership with China’s Chang’an University, convened leading researchers and experts to confront pressing challenges, such as climate change adaptation, groundwater management, pollution control and sustainable development.

His comments came as more than $10-billion was committed to priority water projects across dozens of countries during the three-day inaugural African Union-Africa Water Investment Programme-hosted Water Investment Summit, held in Cape Town, also last month.

Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina is confident that more investments will follow, highlighting 80 priority water investment projects from 38 countries which have already attracted between $10-billion and $12-billion in yearly investments.

The inadequate investments in water have undermined progress across all the Sustainable Development Goals on water and sanitation, and the critical role that water plays in climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as the goals of Agenda 2063.

Committed focus was promised for the governance, finance, capacity and data gaps that were in the water sector during the summit, Majodina continued, adding that a pipeline of bankable water and sanitation projects was showcased to prospective funders and investors.

“We are making a call to governments to help level the playing fields in order to attract investment. Let us eliminate long and unnecessary red tape which undermines and discourages investment,” she said.