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After South Africa’s battle with the record-breaking drought of 2015, Prof Andries Jordaan from our Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa(DiMTEC) saw room for improvement in dealing with this kind of disaster.
Drought impact
Commercial farmers who are usually net exporters of food crops and communal farmers who own the bulk of the country’s livestock, were all hit hard in 2015. Most of the latter had no resources to spare as the drought progressed. The concern about the drought’s impact on the country’s food production and availability resulted in a joint goal of preventing food scarcity during future droughts.
Prof Jordaan’s visit to the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the US, several years ago prepared him to better equip communities in South Africa to deal with drought situations. “I recognised that in spite of the impact DiMTEC has been able to make on disaster preparedness, a gap remained in disaster response in South Africa.”
Sharing knowledge
In August this year Prof Jordaan again visited the NDMC. This time he requested a few key players in South Africa’s agriculture and disaster response communities to join him. With him were Janse Rabie, head of Natural Resources at AgriSA, a nonprofit organisation that functions as an interface between the government and about 28 000 South Africa farmers, and Moses Musiwale Khangale, director of Fire Services for the South African Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
The South African delegation met with and learnt from climatologists, geospatial technologists, and outreach and planning analysts.
Water use on campus
2015-12-14
Report water wastage on the campuses.
High temperatures and the fact that no rain was falling, puts pressure on the existing water supply. The Free State is one of the most arid areas in the country, and the province was also declared a drought area by the government.
It is therefore very important that the UFS community will use water sparingly – both where you live and in the workplace.
Report water wastage on the campuses by sending an email to news@ufs.ac.za or phone 051 401 3422.
Tips to use water sparingly in the workplace:
- Set up an inventory regarding water use and identifiable water management goals in your department. Control this to indicate progress.
- Keep a bottle of tap water in the fridge to avoid running the tap until the water is cold.
- Fill the kettle with water according to your needs.
- Sweep paving with a broom instead of washing it with water.
- Apply mulch to your garden, as it can reduce water use by up to 70%.
- Don’t rinse glasses and other dishes under running water. Plug the sink and reuse the water in the garden.
- Where possible, recycle water. Support projects making use of recycled water.
- When waiting for hot water to come out of the tap, place a bucket under the tap so that the cold water can be used later.
- Don’t let water run wild. Make sure all taps in the kitchen or bathroom are closed when leaving the office/residence.
Tips to use water sparingly at home:
- Showering can use up to 20 litres of water per minute. Take short showers, less than 5 minutes.
- Turn the tap off between washing your face, brushing your teeth or shaving
- Ensure that you have a full load of washing when using the washing machine.
Source: water tips: Rand Water, Bloem Water.