The transition to democracy in South Africa in 1994 catalysed new forms of governance in all sectors of society including water resource management. This paper examines the extent to which traditional governance systems have been acknowledged and incorporated into these new water management institutions and approaches. The research focused on understanding the cultural, religious and customary practices and rules relevant to water resource management as well as the roles of traditional leaders in 2 water user associations in the Eastern Cape Province. Findings from the research reveal that both state governance systems and traditional governance systems are relevant to water resource management in the study areas. However, management is predominantly guided by state-driven strategies which are based on statutory legal systems. Yet, traditional governance systems, including customary laws and cultural and religious practices, have an important role to play in achieving the purposes of the water user associations. Failure to acknowledge and incorporate aspects of these traditional governance systems may undermine the ability of government to achieve the objectives of the National Water Act.

human rights, due diligence, content analysis, public reporting, South Africa,

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There has been a general expectation that the emerging economies of South Africa and China, which are heavily dependent upon fossil fuels, could successfully leverage the potential of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). However, experience to date indicates that South Africa has significantly lagged behind China in the uptake of CDM, accounting for only 0.9 per cent of the worldwide registered annual Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), whereas China has dominated the market, generating 54 per cent of the annual worldwide CERs. This article provides a comparative analysis of the CDM experience in China and South Africa to identify the underlying drivers and obstacles to CDM in both countries. The analysis reveals that a strong industrial and energy policy in the host country plays a crucial role in the development of CDM. Our analysis indicates that policies which foster a low-carbon pathway encourage CDM uptake, rather than CDM driving a low-emission development pathway. In addition, the active engagement by key government and private sector stakeholders and the presence of a friendly business environment to uptake CDM significantly impact the utilization of the mechanism.

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