The Inkomati-Usuthu Water Management Area (IUWMA) spans South Africa’s eastern border, covering the Inkomati and Usuthu River catchments, with key sectors including agriculture, mining, and ecotourism. Agriculture and forestry dominate job creation and water use, while the region’s economy, is driven by manufacturing and mining.
The Inkomati-Usuthu River basin faces multiple interconnected challenges, including inequitable access to water, energy, ecosystem services, and food resources; impacts from upstream mining on water quality; overallocation of water; and mismanagement of water treatment facilities. Additional issues include widespread algal blooms, land conversion for export crops, unreliable energy supply, and climate change effects on heat, precipitation, and biodiversity.