Sustainable water management

Barbara Bieldt and Philip Swart, MPO managers of market development and protection and member services, respectively, met with representatives of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) on Friday, 6 November 2015. The aim of the meeting wat to introduce the MPO’s strategic objective of proactive environmental stewardship and wise use of natural resources by all dairy farmers and obtain the support and cooperation of DWS in achieving this objective. One of the steps in achieving the objective is the development of a national agreement, which is a commitment to South Africa by dairy farmers to manage water use sustainably. The MPO wants dairy farmers to be informed about legislation such as the Water Act, be clear about the minimum standards required from them and continuously improve water use management.

The DWS welcomes and supports the initiative and will cooperate with and assist the MPO in this regard. The MPO views the DWS workshops on the registration and authorisation of water users from 16 November 2015 in the Eastern Cape as the first step in creating awareness about the requirements of sustainable water management.