Founded by Michael Heuermann, The 4Rivers Initiative is a registered Public Benefit Organisation focused on promoting cross-sectoral collaborative action to support biodiversity conservation and water security, to sustain human and non-human well-being.

Source watersheds are a nexus for action for those working to build resilient cities, improve water security, drive sustainable development, and create a stable climate. Beyond the Source: The Environmental, Economic & Community Benefits of Source Water Protection, The Nature Conservancy.

In the Western Cape of South Africa, in particular water and water security require urgent attention.

At a Landscape Level
Healthy source watersheds are critical natural infrastructure for cities worldwide.
Thus, the protection, restoration, and sustainable management of source water must be a local, national, and global priority.
The most significant way to improve the health of watersheds is by removing invasive alien vegetation.

These plants alter soil ecology, increase wildfire risks, and affect river flow and aquifer recharge. In South Africa, a water-scarce country, securing water supply requires multiple initiatives. In the Western Cape, over two-thirds of the sub-catchments that provide water to the Western Cape Water Supply System are impacted by invasive plant species (2. Greater Cape Town Water Fund, Business Case, Nov 2018).

Invasive alien plants, such as pines, acacias, and eucalyptus, dominate large areas, especially in inaccessible mountain catchments.
Despite considerable government efforts, invasives continue to spread faster than they are being controlled. The long-term threat they pose to water security is profound. If left unchecked, species like pines, wattles, and hakea could lead to a collapse in water security.

As Dr. Guy Preston noted in his foreword to Henderson's Invasive Alien Plants in South Africa: South Africa will need the active engagement of its citizens to contain the threat of invasive species. Without increased awareness and coordinated action from governments, businesses, and civil society, we are unlikely to meet the SDGs, and water security will remain at risk.

While few of us can directly access the necessary finances or drive policy changes, we can engage in efforts on a local level in catchments that matter

Our particular "catchments that matter" are those of the Krom, Elandspad, Molenaars and Kraalstroom rivers in the Dutoitskloof mountains on the Hawequa Mountain Catchment.

This area is one of our Water Towers and deliver all four Ecosystem Services (ES): Supporting, Provisioning, Regulating, and Cultural Services.
The most direct way to improve the health of these watersheds and maintain, their ecological function is to ensure they are free of invasive alien vegetation.

Much of this land falls within the Hawequas Nature Reserve, managed by Cape Nature. Despite efforts by various government departments and organizations like WWF, the resources to address this problem are limited. Shifting priorities and limited capacity mean that this iconic area is not receiving the attention it requires we want to help.

On the Social Landscape
Clearing on the land can be a simple matter of getting out there with the appropriate equipment. However, clearing at scale and on the scale we need to, requires functional engagement between multiple stakeholders across various governmental agencies, the private sector and civil society, without which progress is hampered and initiatives are at odds with each other. So attention also needs to be given to the Social Field. Much hasn't worked an a shift in approach is needed. We also engage in at te systems level with an awareness based approach to leading change as coaches, facilitators and particpants in a regional network.
Our approach is informed by Theory U, an awareness-based method for changing systems, that blends systems thinking, innovation, and leading change--from the viewpoint of an evolving human consciousness. It draws on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) tradition of action research and learning by doing, Theory U has evolved over two decades of experimentation and refinement by a global community of practitioners.

Theory U draws our attention to the invisible source dimension of the social field, to the quality of relationships that we have to each other, to the system, and to ourselves. "In order to operate in the complexity of this century we have to do some inner work.

• Otto Scharmer, Senior Lecturer at MIT, Founding Chair of Presencing Institute. Author of Theory U: Leading from the Future As it Emerges. https://www.u-school.org/theory-u