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Managing water risks in South Africa

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Managing water risks in South Africa

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Amazon
Area: 5888268 km2
Countries:
Brazil; Peru; Suriname; France; Colombia; Guyana; Bolivia; Venezuela; Ecuador
Cities:
Santa Cruz; Manaus; La Paz
PFAF ID:
HydroBasin Level:
Baseline Water Stress:
Water Quality Stress:
Sanitation Access Stress:
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Quick Info

Countries: South Africa
Basins: Orange
Project SDGs:
Includes Sustainable Development Goals from the project and its locations.
Water Use Efficiency (SDG 6.4)
Project Tags:
Includes tags from the project and its locations.
Water Recycling and Reuse
Progress to Date: 8% Reduction in total freshwater consumption
Services Needed: No services needed/offered
Desired Partner: Business
Language: English
Start & End Dates: Jan. 01, 2015  »  Dec. 31, 2019
Project Website: s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ungc-production/attachments/cop_2...
Contextual Condition(s): None
Additional Benefits: None
Beneficiaries: None
Planning & Implementation Time: 1-3 years
Primary Funding Source: Corporate funding
Project Source: CEO Water Mandate
Profile Completion: 82%

Project Overview

In South Africa, we manage approximately 254,000 hectares of eucalyptus and pine plantations which supply timber to our Richards Bay mill. Our plantations are vulnerable to reduced water supply and climate change may reduce rainfall and increase temperatures in coming decades, potentially affecting timber yield. Extended water shortages in South Africa also remain a concern for the operation of our mills. To manage the risks, we have reduced our total freshwater consumption …

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In South Africa, we manage approximately 254,000 hectares of eucalyptus and pine plantations which supply timber to our Richards Bay mill. Our plantations are vulnerable to reduced water supply and climate change may reduce rainfall and increase temperatures in coming decades, potentially affecting timber yield. Extended water shortages in South Africa also remain a concern for the operation of our mills. To manage the risks, we have reduced our total freshwater consumption in our South African mills by 8% and our specific water consumption in our Richards Bay mill by 4% from 2015 to 2018. This has been achieved mainly by implementing closed loops and increased recycling of water used in our processes.We also work hard to reduce the water consumption in our nurseries, which provide us with seedlings for replanting after harvesting trees in our plantations. We upgraded the greenhouse irrigation systems from the traditional misting system to a more efficient fogging system and installed a precision fertiliser dosing machine with drip irrigation in the sand beds. We also introduced rainwater harvesting, with an overall capacity to store two million litres of rain water, to reduce our dependence on boreholes and potable water sources. These measures have helped us improve water efficiency in the greenhouses.
Basin and/or Contextual Conditions: None
Project Benefits: None
Indirect or Direct Beneficiaries: None
Months & Implementing: 1-3 years
Primary Funding Source: Corporate funding

Partner Organizations


Mondi plc is an international packaging and paper group employing over 24,400 people with 102 operations across more than 30 countries, predominantly in central Europe, Russia and South Africa. Learn More

Christian Ramaseder
Primary Contact  

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