The role of accountability in the emergence of adaptive water governance

Abstract

In this article we examine the role of accountability in the emergence of adaptive water governance drawing on a case study of shifts in governance on the Pongola River Floodplain in South Africa. The case study illustrates how lack of accountability by decision makers over the years inhibited the emergence of adaptive water governance on the floodplain. An important lesson to be drawn from the case study is that although adaptive governance can offer decision makers the capacity to confront change and uncertainty, this capacity is diminished when accountability is lacking or blurred because of conflicting interests. We demonstrate the need for accountable entities (such as government and NGOs) in contextualized situations to augment the emergence of adaptive water governance. Importantly, this research demonstrates how the emergence of adaptive water governance in part depends on the capacity of other stakeholders to hold decision makers accountable for the consideration and resolution of governance trade-offs. The role of accountability in this case is broadly based on the need to sustain delivery of aquatic ecosystem services so that generations can continue to enjoy them in the present and into the future. This case analysis is aimed at informing environmental governance scholarship and policies regarding the conditions that promote or inhibit the emergence of adaptive water governance.