South Africa Droplet

Infobox

The stamps

Minisheet

Text on minisheet

Gallery

References

Infobox

Name: International Year of Water Cooperation
Issued by: South Africa

Type: commemorative

Year: 2013

Sides: 1

Currency: N/A

The stamps

The stamps are imperforate, and are shaped like a water droplet. Each stamp is valued 'International Small Letter'.

The first day covers were postmarked in Pretoria, one of South Africa's three capital cities, on 20 March 2013.

Minisheet

The minisheet consists of two circular pieces joined in the middle. The stamps are attached to the bottom half. The top can be spun around to view an individual stamp, with it's description appearing on the opposite side. The descriptions on the minisheet are transcribed below.

The design is very unique; in the year it was issued, it won a design competition in Spain.

Text on minisheet

Water is life: conserve it, respect it, enjoy it.

Biodiversity

The Clanwilliam redfin (Barbus calidus) is one of the many small fish species from South Africa that are found nowhere else. It is severely threatened by water abstraction for agriculture, industry, pollution, urban consumption and by alien bass and trout.

The Mauve Bluet damselfly (Proischnura polychromatica) illustrated here, which was thought to be extinct, has reappeared after invasive alien plants had been removed from the banks of rivers.

Human consumption

Clean drinking water is a precious resource and is essential for human health.

Purifying tap water is an expensive process; so it is important to close taps properly after use to prevent water loss. Taking shallow baths and short showers also saves water.

Industry

The use of wind turbines as a form of electrical generation has considerable environmental benefits when compared to the traditional method of burning fossil fuels, which require a lot of water to cool the generators. Like all man-made things, wind power turbines have an impact on bird and bat species, but they stand out as water-saving sources of electricity, because they hardly use any water.

Agriculture

Water is vital for irrigation and the production of food crops. South Africa's water resources are limited and should be used sparingly.

One way to do this is to irrigate at night to prevent water loss through evaporation or to install a drip irrigation system.

Working for Water Programme

The South African Government established the Working for Water Programme to champion the fight against invading alien plants.

Invasive alien trees were removed because they waste tremendous amounts of water. shown here is a previously unemployed worker removing alien trees from a river bank.