Institutions in South African International River Basins

Turton, Anthony; Earle, Anton

doi:10.1007/3-540-26567-8_7

Cited by 24 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…It is thought that the Dutch Reformed Church initiated the first irrigation system at Kakamas in 1883. Under the guidance of Reverend Christian Schröder an irrigation furrow was completed on 2 May 1885 and the missionary station was able to irrigate its gardens from the Orange River (Macdonald, 1913;Green, 1948;Hopkins, 1978, Turton et al, 2004Van Vuuren, 2012). According to Legassick (1996: 371-372 Africa (1975cited in Legassick, 1996 p. 372) 'Upington owes its prosperity mainly to agriculture and the development of irrigation along the Orange River.…”

Section: The (Hydropolitical) Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Who wants to be an agent? A framework to analyse water politics and governance

Meissner¹

2014

WSA

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The purpose of this paper is to introduce a framework to analyse water politics and governance. The framework has been constructed from a social constructivist perspective. This theory places attention on the role of normative aspects like ideology, values, interests and culture in politics. This means that a theory of international relations such as neorealism, neoliberalism or structuralism would be appropriate but limiting for the analysis of water politics, in terms of the range of actors, processes and issues focused on. The framework's niche lies in that it focuses attention on non-state actors. This carries the potential to widen the understanding of the role and involvement of such actors in water politics and governance. The framework has five components: description of the geographic area or issue; the actors involved in water politics and governance; the (hydropolitical) history of the issue; the actors' power to enable change; and the type of interaction between the actors. In order to illustrate the components, examples from South and Southern Africa, and specifically the Kunene, Limpopo, Okavango and Orange River basins are used.

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Section: The (Hydropolitical) Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Who wants to be an agent? A framework to analyse water politics and governance

Meissner¹

2014

WSA

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“…Government published the White Paper on a National Water Policy for South Africa (DWAF, 1997), and the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) (RSA, 1998) replaced the 1956 Water Act (Act 54 of 1956) (Union of South Africa, 1956;Turton et al, 2004). The National Water Act provides the legislative framework for the management of water resources in South Africa and as such presents an opportunity for the establishment of appropriate water resource management institutions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The status quo of research on South Africa’s water resource management institutions

Meissner¹,

Funke²,

Nienaber³

et al. 2013

WSA

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The South African water resource management institutional landscape has seen some dramatic changes since the new dispensation came into power in 1994. Not only have legislation and policies changed, but there has also been a significant increase in the number of non-state actors in the policy development process. Water resource governance has therefore become more complex and its regulatory component is being implemented by a number of legislative institutions: catchment management agencies, water user associations, irrigation boards, and international water management bodies. Policy development is influenced by a myriad of non-state actors, scientists included. A comprehensive literature review of research on water resource management institutions published between 1997 and 2011 shows that scientists are focusing predominantly on catchment management agencies and aspects regarding their institutionalisation and organisational functionality. There is much less of a focus on other entities, such as advisory committees, international water management bodies, irrigation boards, the water tribunal and water user associations. What the review has also revealed is that research on water resource management institutions has been conducted predominantly by scientists from the natural sciences. There is therefore an evident need for a research focus on water resource management institutions other than catchment management agencies. In addition, there should be a focus on informal aspects of water resource governance and new theoretical developments, also from disciplines other than the natural sciences, in the fields of water resource governance and politics.

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“…The hydrological context to the debate South Africa has always been a semi-arid country even before the very first European explorers started to plot a route around the southern tip of Africa (Turton et al, 2004). The very first books on the subject of water as a factor limiting economic development were written in the 1870's by an author named Brown (1875;1877).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Swart (Turton et al, 2004). The objective of the commission was to inquire, report upon and submit recommendations on all aspects of water provision and utilisation within the Republic, the broad planning of policy regarding this "with due regard to the arrangements with neighbouring States relating to common water resources" (RSA, 1970:xii).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of science in deepening democracy: the case for water in post-Apartheid South Africa

Turton¹

2009

TDSA

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South Africa is a water constrained country with a complex history of resource capture and human rights abuses. Science, as practiced by the national science councils, could play a significant role in deepening our democracy. This paper explores two possible paradigms -one where science is divorced from the national constitution, and the other where our science is embedded in the national constitution. The paper argues that the latter approach would make our national science more relevant, but of necessity would embroil it in issues of historic legacy and therefore become "messy".

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Institutions in South African International River Basins

Cited by 24 publications

References 4 publications

Who wants to be an agent? A framework to analyse water politics and governance

Who wants to be an agent? A framework to analyse water politics and governance

The status quo of research on South Africa’s water resource management institutions

The role of science in deepening democracy: the case for water in post-Apartheid South Africa

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