• Climate Change

The Kaalspruit river catchment, located in the Gauteng province, South Africa, faces severe challenges. Rapid urban growth, informal settlements along its banks, pollution, sediment buildup, and illegal sand mining are degrading water quality and increasing climate risks for nearby communities. In a joint effort to address urgent climate adaptation in this vulnerable area, the World Bank through the Cities Support Program, in partnership with the City of Tshwane, City of Johannesburg, and City of Ekurhuleni, in the province of Gauteng, launched the Resilient Kaalspruit Catchment Programme flagship initiative. 

The Resilient Kaalspruit Catchment Programme is a flagship regional initiative addressing urgent climate adaptation needs and targeting the highly vulnerable Kaalspruit catchment area. Primarily funded by the World Bank through Cities Support Program and implemented in partnership with the City of Tshwane, City of Johannesburg, and City of Ekurhuleni, this initiative exemplifies strong government collaboration. 

It mobilises finance to implement both structural and non-structural flood damage interventions, early flood warning systems, and long-term community safeguarding efforts. The municipalities lead practical adaptation projects, including culvert repairs, erosion control, illegal dumping prevention, wetland rehabilitation and invasive species clearing, ensuring tangible ecosystem resilience. 

The Impact of Urban Development  in the Kaalspruit River 

The Kaalspruit catchment faces significant challenges, notably rapid urban expansion, particularly informal settlements into the river riparian zones which increases the exposition to flood risks. The area suffers from pollution, sediment buildup, illegal sand mining, and agricultural runoff, all of which deteriorate water quality and the river’s ecology and ecosystem.   

Additionally, the catchment is vulnerable to climate-related threats such as intense rainfall triggering flash floods, elevated heat stress, extended droughts that threaten water security, and increased wildfire danger. These challenges underline the critical need for integrated, multi-stakeholder adaptation efforts that protect vulnerable communities and preserve vital ecosystem services.  

The Resilient Kaalspruit Catchment Programme  

The Gauteng Department of Environment, responsible to coordinate climate action across the province, is working with the World Bank to convene with key stakeholders and strengthen collective responses that build resilience in the in the Kaalspruit  catchment.  

This initiative was born in 2019, after a national effort when The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) launched a project to assist six provinces in addressing water-related climate risks. Given that water is the primary channel through which climate change impacts are felt in South Africa, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARDE) identified the Kaalspruit catchment as a priority area. This layid the foundation for today’s initiative. 

At the heart of the Resilient Kaalspruit Catchment Programme is a clear, phased Action Plan designed to address urgent risks while building long-term resilience: 

1. Implement Interventions to Minimize Flood Damage (short-term): including repairing damaged Infrastructure, desilting the Centurion Lake and build new infrastructure such as detention basins; retaining walls; weirs channel banks and sloping debris walls. 

2. Implement an early flood warning system and create awareness (short-term): including a community based and participatory GIS Mapping systems and Community Awareness Campaigns 

3. Implement climate change adaptation interventions (medium Term)-including sustainable drainage systems with green roofs, rainwater harvesting, reducing surfaces runoff and increasing soil-water storage capacity   

4. Identify and relocate critically vulnerable communities residing in flood-prone areas (long-term): by providing access to adequate housing, improve health and safety conditions, provide essential services, plan and manage land use and development.  

The way forward 

The Resilient Kaalspruit Catchment Programme is now moving from planning into action. Working together with the Cities of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane, the programme is driving the implementation of measures that will strengthen resilience across the river. The World Bank and National Treasury, through the Cities Support Programme, continue to play a vital role in financing and supporting these interventions. 

To build knowledge and exchange best practices, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has been invited to participate in the Urban River Management Study Tour in Tanzania, creating valuable opportunities to learn from international experiences and bring fresh insights back to Gauteng.  

To build knowledge and exchange best practices, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARDE) has been invited to participate in the Urban River Management Study Tour in Tanzania –  inspiring similar efforts in other regions facing river management and climate resilience challenges. 

These multi-level collaboration efforts mark an important step toward safeguarding the Kaalspruit catchment and ensuring that communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure can resist the growing pressures of climate change. 

About #RegionsVoice: In 2019, Regions4 launched the global campaign #RegionsVoice in a collective effort to bring the voice of regional governments to the major events and negotiation processes in sustainable development within the UN. The aim of the campaign is to ensure the visibility and wider recognition of the role of regional governments in sustainable development, by elevating both individual and collective messages and engaging with a wider audience during the UN Decade of Action.