Environmental Profile of the Inkomati River Basin First published in Kenya in 2010 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Nairobi Convention Secretariat Copyright © 2009, Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs of Mozambique (MICOA) and UNEP/Nairobi Convention Secretariat Copyright notice: This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder provided that acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEP/Nairobi Convention Secretariat would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose without prior permission in writing from MICOA and UNEP/Nairobi Convention Secretariat. Disclaimer: The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of UNEP. The designations employed and the presentations do not imply of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the UNEP, or of any cooperating organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, of its authorities, or of the delineation of its territories or boundaries. For additional information please contact: UNEP/Nairobi Convention Secretariat Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental United Nations Environment Programme Affairs United Nations Avenue, Gigiri, Av. Acordos de Lusaka, 2115, P.O Box 47074, Nairobi, Kenya C.P. 2020, Maputo Tel: +254 20 7621250/7622025 Tel: 258 21 46 64 07 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 258 21 46 58 49 Principal Authors: Dr. A.M.Hoguane; Dr. F. Taucale; Dr. E. Magaia and Dr. L. Bydekerke Technical Editors: Dr. Johnson Kitheka, Dr. Peter Scheren and Otula Owuor For citation purposes this document may be cited as: UNEP/Nairobi Convention Secretariat (2010): Environmental Profile of the Inkomati River Basin, UNEP, Nairobi Kenya, 82p 2 Acknowledgement The authors wish to express appreciations to Dr. Policarpo Napica- the former National Director of Environment at the Ministry of Coordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA) for coordinating the preparation of this report in Mozambique, as well as Dr. Rogerio Wamusse, the current Director. Authors also wish to thank Mr. Dixon Waruinge of the Nairobi Convention Secretariat under whose framework the preparation of this report was undertaken as part of the Mozambique’s obligations to the Nairobi Convention. Dr. Peter Scheren and Dr. Johnson Kitheka of UNEP-GEF WIO-LaB Project Management Unit are thanked for providing the necessary technical support in the preparation of this report. The National Inter-institutional Technical Committee for Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Mozambique is also thanked for its review and contributions. This report was compiled by the following persons: Dr. A.M.Hoguane-Eduardo Mondlane University School of Marine and Coastal Sciences, P.O. Box 128, Quelimane – Mozambique Tel: 258 - 24 – 900500/1 Fax: 258 - 24 – 900502 E-mail: [email protected] Dr. F. Taucale - Eduardo Mondlane University, Department of Geography, University Main Campus, P.O. Box 257, Maputo – Mozambique, Tel: 258 - 82 – 7039130 E-mail: [email protected] Dr. E. Magaia - Eduardo Mondlane University, Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering, University Main Campus P.O. Box 257, Maputo – Mozambique Tel: 258 - 82 – 5805970 E-mail: [email protected] Dr. L. Bydekerke Corluylei 31, 2510 Borsbeek, Belgium Tel: 003238255874 E-mail: [email protected] i Table of Contents Acknowledgement ........................................................ i Acronyms ……………………………………………….. iv List of Tables .................................................................. v List of Figures .................................................................. vi Executive Summary ………………………………......... viii 1. Introduction ………………………………………….. 1 1.1 Background …………………………………… 2 2. Geographical location and physical characteristics of the basin …………………………………………. 2 2.1 Location ………………………………………….. 2 2.2 Basin size …………………………………………. 3 2.3 Climate …………………………………………… 3 2.4 Geomorphological characteristics ……………… 4 3. Hydrological characteristics of the basin ………… 6 3.1 River flow …………………………………………. 6 3.2 Groundwater sources …………………………...... 8 4. Physical and ecological features of the Mozambique part of the basin …………………………………….. 10 4.1 Geological features ……………………………….......... 10 4.2 Climate ………………………………………………..... 10 4.3 Agro-climate ………………………………………........ 12 4.4 Soils and vegetation ……………………………………. 13 4.5 Fauna …………………………………………………… 19 4.6 Estuarine environment ……………………………...... 21 4.7 Potential for agriculture in the Mozambique part of the Inkomati River Basin ……………………………… 24 5. Socio-economic aspects of the Inkomati River Basin 26 5.1 Population density in the entire basin …………... 26 5.2 Population density in the Mozambique part of the Inkomati River Basin ........................................ 26 5.3 Historical overview of the socio-economic activities 27 ii 5.4 Agricultural activities in the Inkomati River Basin 28 6. Water demand ……………………………………… 34 6.1 Water demand for domestic and municipality services ……………………………………………. 34 6.2 Water demand for irrigation ……………………. 35 6.3 Water demand for exotic plants irrigation ……… 35 6.4 Water demand for industry ……………………... 36 6.5 Basin water transfer ……………………………… 36 6.6 Ecological water demand ………………………... 36 7. Institutional and legal framework ………………… 39 7.1 Institutional framework …………………………. 39 7.2 International agreements ……………………….. 41 8. Water related environmental problems ………….. 42 8.1 Flow augmentation or diversion ………………… 42 8.2 Saltwater intrusion ……………………………… 43 8.3 Chemical pollution ……………………………….. 44 8.4 Eutrophication …………………………………… 44 8.5 Microbiological - sewage and domestic solid wastes 46 8.6 High suspended solids and sedimentation of the outlet 47 8.7 Erosion in the estuary …………………………… 49 8.8 Human health …………………………………… 49 8.9 Potential for conflict …………………………….... 50 9. Causal chain analysis ………………………………. 51 9.1 Immediate and root causes ……………………… 51 9.2 Challenges and constraints ……………………… 53 9.3 Measures taken favouring or mitigating the issues … 57 10. Towards Integrated management of shared river … 58 10.1 Principles of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) …………………………… 58 10.2 Potential benefits of ICARM ……………………. 59 10.3 Equity in water use ……………………………… 60 10.4 Monitoring program …………………………….. 61 10.5 Capacity development …………………………… 61 10.6 The regulation of water resources and the need for transboundary response ………………. 62 10.7 Summary of actions required ………………. 62 References …………………………………………….... 64 iii List of Abbreviations and Acronyms ARA Regional Administration of Waters ARA-SUL Southern Regional Administration BWB Bushbuckridge Water Board CENACARTA Centro Nacional de Cartografia e Teledecção (National Center for Cartography and Remote Sensing) CNA Conselho Nacional de Águas (National Council for Water) DNA Direcção Nacional de Águas (National Directorate for Water Affairs) DNFFB Direcção Nacional de Floresta e Fauna Bravia (National Directorate for Forestry and Wildlife) DPCN Department for Natural Disasters EIA Environmental Impact Assessment FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation GPA Global Plan of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment INIA National Institute for Agriculture Research IRG Inkomati Reference Group ICARM Integrated Coastal Area and River Basin Management IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature KOBWA Komati Basin Water Authority JIBS Joint Inkomati Basin Study JWC Joint Water Commission MICOA Ministry for Co-ordination of Environmental Affairs MISAU Ministry for Health MOPH Ministry of Public Works and Housing NEMP National Environmental Management Programme NGO Non Governmental Organisation NIDMP National Irrigation Development Master Plan PAP/RAC Priority Actions Programme Regional Activity Centre PRONAR National Rural Water Programme SADC Southern Africa Development Community SADC-HYCOS Southern Africa Development Community – Hydrological Cycle Observing System TIA Tripartite Interim Agreement UGBI Unity of Management of Inkomati Basin UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNHCR/UNDP United Nations High Commission for Refugees/United Nations Development Programme WHO World Health Organisation WHYCOS World Hydrological Cycle Observing System WIO-LaB GEF funded Land-based Activities in the Western Indian Ocean Project iv List of Tables Table 1: Water generation in the Inkomati River Basin, by Country (Mm3 per annum) Table 2: Freshwater fish species observed in Inkomati River and Chuali Lake Table 3: Mean nutrients concentrations with the tides at the Estuary-Bay boundary Table 4: Population density in the Inkomati River Basin Table 5: Distribution of population density in the Mozambican part of the Inkomati River Basin per district Table 6: Area under irrigation in the Inkomati River Basin Table 7: Maize, sorghum and livestock statistics for 1990 and 2004; Source: FAO Country Statistics for 1990 and 2004 Table 8: Exotic tree plantations in the Inkomati River Basin (ha) Table 9: Areas under irrigation in the Mozambique part of the Inkomati River Basin in 2007 (Tauacale et al., 2007) Table 10: Estimated water use for different purposes in the Inkomati River Basin per country (in Mm³ yr-1) as per the year 2002. Table 11: Water quality at the Station- E23 (Inkomati River, Ressano Garcia - Moamba) Table 12: Number of cases of waterborne diseases reported in coastal provinces