Contested water rights in post-apartheid South Africa: The struggle for water at catchment level

Kemerink, JS; Ahlers, Rhodante; Zaag, Pieter van der

doi:10.4314/wsa.v37i4.16

Cited by 22 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Since Black South Africans could not own land, except in specially designated 'homeland' areas, this system favoured white commercial farmers, who had the right to use water to which they had access (Dollar et al, 2010;Kemerink et al, 2011). The National Water Act (NWA, No.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water footprint assessment to inform water management and policy making in South Africa

Pahlow¹,

Snowball²,

Fraser³

2015

WSA

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One method to inform decisions with respect to sustainable, efficient and equitable water allocation and use is water footprint assessment (WFA). This paper presents a preliminary WFA of South Africa (SA) based on data for the period 1996-2005. Crop production was found to contribute about 75% of the total water footprint of national production. The total water footprint of crop production is mainly composed of five crops: maize, fodder crops, sugarcane, wheat and sunflower seed, which account for 83% of the crop water footprint. The average water footprint of a South African consumer is 1 255 m 3 /yr, below the world average of 1 385 m 3 /yr, and is dominated by the consumption of meat (32%) and cereals (29%). About one fifth of this water footprint of consumption is external to SA. While SA is a net virtual water importer, the virtual water trade analysis revealed that a large share of blue water consumption is related to export. Sustainability concerns are that the major river basins face severe blue-water scarcity for extended periods of the year, and that water pollution levels related to nitrogen and phosphorus were found to be unsustainable in all river basins in SA. Efficient allocation and use of water is investigated by means of comparing the consumptive water footprint to global benchmark values, as well as the economic green-and blue-water productivity and the economic land productivity of the crops cultivated in SA. Furthermore, crops with specific potential for biofuel production are assessed. Lastly, recommendations to address the identified issues are given.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water footprint assessment to inform water management and policy making in South Africa

Pahlow¹,

Snowball²,

Fraser³

2015

WSA

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“…This study shows that when we identify ecosystem services and associated property rights it exposes the complexity of stakeholders thereby avoiding the tendency to regard users as a necessarily a 'united community' (see also Kemerink et al 2011). When these links are made explicit it becomes easier for individuals and groups to claim their rights.…”

Section: Factors Driving the Property Rights Regime Shiftsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As Kemerink et al (2011) claim, the local water com-mittees and the traditional authority were too weak to sanction law breakers particularly as they had the support of central government. The pluralistic form of the property rights regime that emerged undermined the traditional property rights regime.…”

Section: Post-impoundment Era (Phase 2: Post 1986)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In certain instances, such temporal variability can lead to institutional 'fuzziness' which can create problems for collective action and governance in the provision of ecosystem services (see Kemerink et al 2011). Property rights regime shifts occur in tandem with societal expectations and the context in which the associated rules are applied.…”

Section: Institutional Regime Shifts and Property Rightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Property rights, institutional regime shifts and the provision of freshwater ecosystem services on the Pongola River floodplain, South Africa

et al. 2017

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This paper proposes a property rights perspective to interpret institutional regime shifts in the provision of freshwater ecosystem services. Institutional regime shifts are conceived as persistent changes in the structure and function of a system. Property rights are viewed as an important component of institutional regimes. The paper draws on a case study of flow regulation on the Pongolo Floodplain in South Africa to illustrate the central role of property rights in mediating institutional regime shifts. The case study illustrates that there are many combinations of property rights that underpin institutional regime shifts in the provision of freshwater ecosystem services. It provides useful insights into the consequences of failing to recognize, establish and enforce bundles of rights. A major thrust of the case study is that the nature and context of property rights are important in determining the long-term provision of these services. By examining the configurations of property rights that have governed the Pongola River flood- plain over the years, the paper demonstrates the importance of explicitly defining and categorizing the range of rights.Keywords: Property rights, institutional regime shifts, freshwater ecosystems services, common pool resources, provisioning, Pongola floodplain, South Africa Acknowledgements: We wish to acknowledge the funding contributions of the Water Research Commission of South Africa and the International Water Security Network. The International Water Security Network is funded by Lloyd's Register Foundation, a charitable foundation helping to protect life and property by supporting engineering-related education, public engagement and the application of research. We thank Jackie Crafford for constructive critique of the draft manuscript and Victor Bangamwabo for preparation of the map.

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“…This paper attempts to explain this unforeseen response to, and outcome of, the water reform process, and critically analyses the consequences for access to water in the catchment. In this way, the paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on the implications of water reform processes for rural African waterscapes (Wester et al, 2003;Zawe, 2006;Swatuk, 2008;Kemerink et al, 2011;Komakech et al, 2011;Van Koppen et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Jumping the water queue: changing waterscapes under water reform processes in rural Zimbabwe

Kemerink-Seyoum

Chinguno

Seyoum

et al. 2017

WSA

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This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion on the implementation of water reforms in rural African waterscapes and explores how farmers in a tertiary catchment in Zimbabwe react to these reforms. It shows how privileged farmers have jumped the water queue by moving their agricultural activities upstream where they illegally divert water straight from the river, while downstream, in the smallholder irrigation scheme, farmers resort to rainfed farming. This unforeseen consequence of the 1998 water reform process, implemented during the economically unstable decade that followed, is explained by adopting a socio-nature approach. Empirical field data as well as processed satellite images are presented and the politicized implications of water reform processes in the Zimbabwean context are discussed. Besides the need to critically examine the content of water reform processes, more attention is needed for understanding what happens to the water that escapes stipulated plans, prescribed rules of control and visible decision-making arenas.

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Contested water rights in post-apartheid South Africa: The struggle for water at catchment level

Cited by 22 publications

References 38 publications

Water footprint assessment to inform water management and policy making in South Africa

Water footprint assessment to inform water management and policy making in South Africa

Property rights, institutional regime shifts and the provision of freshwater ecosystem services on the Pongola River floodplain, South Africa

Jumping the water queue: changing waterscapes under water reform processes in rural Zimbabwe

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