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SDP Report Final.Pdf Summer Desertification Program 17 November 2013 - February 2014 Water sources, Wastewater and Solid Waste Management in the Greater Sossusvlei Namib Landscape, Namibia 1 Water sources, Wastewater and Solid Waste Management in the Greater Sossusvlei Namib Landscape, Namibia By Vistorina Amputu, Brunah N Ekandjo, Ebba Iilende, Kaoti Jackson, Lysias Kapiye, Kennedy JD Kariseb, Sinvula M Lukubwe, Tanaka D Nyatoro, Emma Shidolo, Ruben Ulbrich, Martha N Uugwanga Summer Desertification Program 17 November 2013 - February 2014 Edited by Robert Logan, Mary Seely, Kathryn Vincent 2 Acknowledgements The authors and editors of this report extend their gratitude to those who supported them and made the study possible: The Namibia Protected Landscape Conservation Areas Initiative (NamPlace) and Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF) for providing the funding for the course. The Directorate of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), namely Mr Sem Shikongo for lectures and advice during the time in Gobabeb. Family Sturm as well as Mr Karl-Heinz Oosthuizen for hosting the course during the fieldwork and the workshop. Special regards to Mr Quintin and Mrs Vanessa Hartung for the accommodation and assistance in Toekoms. All the stakeholders and their staff members of the GSNL who took their time to be interviewed and their patience to show us around on their properties as well as sharing their knowledge and experience. The team wants to give a special thanks to all guest speakers from various institutes who voluntarily gave an introductory overview of the GSNL and provided basic research techniques for the fieldwork during the first week in Windhoek. The guest speakers are listed below in alphabetical order: Rodney Amster, Dudley Biggs, Jonas Heita, Ivondia Karumendu, Gunter Lempert, Gys Louw, Tobias Mannel, Eugene Marais, Willem Odendaal, Wolfgang Schenk, John Siloiso, Friedolf Sturm and Roger Swart. The Desert Research Foundation of Namibia staff members for facilitating the course, namely in alphabetical order Ronald Kanguti, Viviane Kinyaga (director), Christerline Ndeleki and Epfania Lepaleni. Dr Gillian Maggs-Kölling and her staff members from Gobabeb Research and Training Centre for hosting the team during field preparation and data analysis. Thanks goes to Robert Logan and Kathryn Vincent for driving, assisting and discussing back and forth with the team. The SDP participants want to express deepest gratitude to Dr Mary Seely for her advice, assistance and fruitful discussions during the whole duration of the program. 3 Abstract SDP 17 conducted a study on water, wastewater and solid waste management in the Greater Sossusvlei Namib Landscape. Observations, water quality tests, GPS coordinates and interviews were conducted on 21 stakeholders and their establishments. The major findings of the research as per the four aspects namely water, wastewater, solid waste management and legal aspects of the study were as follows. All stakeholders have several boreholes on their establishments and use groundwater as the main water source. However, little is known about the aquifers’ recharge or the groundwater in the area. Other studies have emphasised that staff members have major control of water usage. Most of the small establishments use French drains and septic tanks for handling their wastewater. Few, especially medium and large establishments, are using more advanced systems like reed beds, biological wastewater systems or evaporation ponds. The majority of interviewed stakeholders sort their solid waste before the disposal and, half of the interviewed stakeholders have onsite dump sites. Others take their waste to Windhoek recycling plants and the Maltahohe dump site. The majority of stakeholders rejected the idea of a group collection centre for different valid reasons. Most of the interviewed stakeholders are not aware of required permits or licences for disposal of wastewater, solid waste or drilling boreholes nor are in possession of such permits or licences. Based on the findings of the study the following recommendations were made and further discussed in a workshop with the stakeholders with the aim of obtaining further input from them. The group identified the need for stakeholders to intensify and promote environmental awareness and training for the staff but also tourists. Further discussion of the group collection centre and a study on groundwater aquifers in the area is recommended. Moreover stakeholders need to prioritize and include water, wastewater and solid waste management as a significant part of their overall business plan. 4 List of Acronyms Acronym Meaning DRFN Desert Research Foundation of Namibia DWAF Department of Water Affairs and Forestry EIF Environmental Investment Fund GIS Geographic Information System GPS Global Positioning System GRTC Gobabeb Research and Training Centre Greater Sossusvlei Namib Landscape GSNL Hospitality Association of Namibia HAN Ministry of Environment and Tourism MET Namibia Protected Landscape Conservation Areas NamPlace Initiative NamWater Namibia Water Cooperation NWR Namibia Wildlife Resorts SDP Summer Desertification Program WW Wastewater WWS Wastewater systems WWTS Wastewater treatment systems 5 List of Figures Figure 1: Study site and interviewed establishments (Source: SDP17)...................................12 Figure 2: Catchments and rivers in GSNL (Source: NamPlace, Atlas of Namibia, Google Earth, SDP17)...................................................................................................................13 Figure 3: Number of boreholes at various depth categories in the GSNL, 2013 (n = 48).......19 Borehole Depth and Location..................................................................................................19 Figure 7: Relationship between elevation and known borehole depth in the GSNL (n = 49).20 Figure 5: Recorded boreholes with SDP ID and depth related to the elevation in the northern part of the GSNL, 2013 ....................................................................................................21 Figure 6: Recorded boreholes with SDP ID and depth related in the elevation of the southern GSNL, 2013......................................................................................................................22 Figure 8: Major catchment areas and recorded boreholes in the GSNL, 2013........................23 Figure 9: Different types of energy sources used to pump water in the GSNL, 2013, n = 58. It is worth noting that most establishments make use more than one energy source ..........24 Figure 10: Recorded boreholes with SDP ID and energy sources in the northern GSNL, 2013 ..........................................................................................................................................25 Figure 11: Boreholes with SDP ID and energy sources in the southern GSNL, 2013 ............25 Figure 12: Average depth of boreholes using various energy sources to derive water in the GSNL, 2013, n = 46 .........................................................................................................26 Figure 13: Different toilet systems used in various establishments in GSNL .........................27 Figure 14: The number of establishments that generate identified types of wastewater in the GSNL, 2013......................................................................................................................28 Figure 15: The number & size of establishments making use of the different WWS at the 21 establishments visited in GSNL, 2013 .............................................................................29 Figure 16: The number and size of establishments that have kitchen fat traps .......................33 Figure 19: Maltahohe dumpsite, SDP 17 (2014) .....................................................................43 Figure 20: Off-site facilities where 14 of the 21 establishments in the GSNL take their recyclable solid waste.......................................................................................................44 Figure 22: Comparison of the financial costs between solar pumps and diesel pump over a long term (DRFN, 2008) ..................................................................................................50 6 Figure 23: Students making paper fire bricks at NaDEET (Source: NaDEET, 2013) ............68 Figure 24: A - Garden on one of the private establishments that compost. B - A piggery on a private establishment, SDP 17 (2013) ..............................................................................69 7 List of Tables Table 2: Position of interview respondents from different establishments..............................18 Table 3: Number of recorded boreholes in different catchment areas in the GSNL and their distance from rivers ..........................................................................................................23 Table 4: Possible water usage for both the tourists and staff members at a tourist establishment ....................................................................................................................26 Table 5: Frequency of establishments using different types of showers in the GSNL, 2013..27 Table 6: The effectiveness of WWS at the different establishments in the GSNL, 2013........30 Table 7: Maintenance frequency of WWS at the different establishments in the GSNL, 2013 ..........................................................................................................................................31
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