Redressing ©฀PER-ANDERS฀PETTERSSON—GETTY฀IMAGES by฀Nikki฀Funke,฀Karen฀Nortje,฀Kieran฀Findlater,฀ Mike฀Burns,฀Anthony฀Turton,฀Alex฀Weaver,฀and฀Hanlie฀Hattingh Inequality SOUTH฀ AFRICA’S฀ ฀ ฀ ฀ NE W฀ WATER฀ POLICY In 1994, the฀ fledgling฀ democratic฀ government฀ of฀ South฀Africa฀ sought฀ to฀ redress฀ the฀ inequities฀ of฀ apartheid’s฀ legacy฀ by฀ setting฀ revolutionary฀ water฀ reforms฀ in฀ motion.฀ Thirty-five฀percent฀of฀South฀Africans฀had฀ no฀ access฀ to฀ a฀ basic฀ water฀ supply,฀ and฀ fifty-three฀ percent฀ lived฀ without฀ proper฀ sanitation.1฀ The฀ reforms฀ also฀ aimed฀ to฀ manage฀ South฀ Africa’s฀ water฀ scarcity฀ situation฀ as฀ efficiently฀ as฀ possible.2฀ The฀ resulting฀policies,฀namely฀the฀Water฀Services฀Act฀of฀19973฀and฀the฀National฀Water฀ Act฀ of฀ 19984฀ are฀ world-class฀ pieces฀ of฀ water฀ legislation,฀ especially฀ in฀ light฀ of฀ South฀ Africa’s฀ turbulent฀ and฀ repressive฀ political฀ history.฀ (See฀ Figure฀ 1฀ on฀ this฀ page฀and฀page฀13฀for฀a฀timeline฀of฀South฀ African฀ history฀ as฀ it฀ relates฀ to฀ water฀ politics.)฀However,฀the฀process฀of฀drafting฀ and฀ implementing฀ water฀ reforms฀ has฀ not฀ been฀ smooth฀ sailing.฀ The฀ South฀ African฀ government฀ has฀ had฀ to฀ face฀ many฀ challenges฀to฀date,฀particularly฀those฀inherited฀ from฀its฀apartheid฀predecessors.฀ The฀Khoisan฀and฀Water The฀Khoisan,฀consisting฀of฀pastoralists฀ (Khoikhoi)฀ and฀ hunter-gatherers฀ (San),฀ predominantly฀ lived฀ in฀ dry,฀ arid฀ areas฀ in฀ southwestern฀Africa.5฀Due฀to฀the฀low฀rainfall฀in฀that฀region,฀the฀Khoikhoi฀gradually฀ adopted฀a฀mobile฀way฀of฀life฀and฀roamed฀ the฀country฀with฀their฀cattle,฀following฀the฀ local฀rainfall฀patterns.฀The฀San฀were฀even฀ more฀ mobile฀ because฀ they฀ subsisted฀ on฀ hunted฀game฀and฀food฀gathered฀from฀the฀ veld฀(the฀open฀country฀that฀characterizes฀ much฀ of฀ southern฀Africa).฀ These฀ subsistence฀ patterns฀ uniquely฀ suited฀ the฀ landscape฀ as฀ all฀ land฀ and฀ natural฀ resources,฀ including฀water,฀were฀communally฀owned฀ and฀people฀were฀free฀to฀use฀them.6฀However,฀with฀the฀arrival฀of฀Jan฀van฀Riebeeck฀ and฀ the฀ Dutch฀ East฀ India฀ Company฀ in฀ 1652,฀who฀introduced฀their฀formal฀system฀ of฀private฀land฀ownership,฀the฀Khoisan’s฀ altruistic฀ ways฀ of฀ reciprocity฀ in฀ relation฀ to฀ their฀ land฀ and฀ natural฀ resources฀ were฀ increasingly฀placed฀under฀pressure. Dutch฀Rule:฀The฀Khoisan฀ Lose฀Everything฀ Arrival฀of฀the฀Dutch฀ (1652) British฀Occupation฀ (1805) SOURCE:฀Compiled฀by฀Kieran฀Findlater,฀2007. ENVIRONMENT฀ When฀ Dutch฀ rule฀ ended฀ in฀ 1805,฀ the฀ British฀ government฀ took฀ over฀ the฀ Cape฀ Colony฀and฀began฀an฀extended฀process฀of฀ water,฀land,฀and฀institutional฀reform.฀Two฀ new฀developments฀that฀arose฀were฀a฀permanent฀land฀tenure฀system฀and฀the฀formalization฀ of฀ the฀ riparian฀ principle—which฀ was฀slowly฀being฀incorporated฀into฀policy฀ and฀practice฀over฀the฀first฀few฀decades฀of฀ British฀influence.10฀A฀particular฀focus฀was฀ also฀placed฀on฀the฀importance฀of฀irrigation฀ and฀ agriculture,฀ which฀ culminated฀ in฀ the฀ promulgation฀of฀the฀1912฀Irrigation฀Act.11 Irrigation฀Act฀(1912) Union฀of฀ South฀Africa ฀(1910) Gold฀on฀the Witwatersrand฀(1886) 12฀ Under฀the฀British฀Crown฀ Many฀ changes฀ were฀ brought฀ about฀ when฀the฀Dutch฀East฀India฀Company฀took฀ power฀along฀the฀Cape฀of฀Good฀Hope,฀one฀ of฀which฀being฀strict฀control฀of฀the฀water฀ and฀land฀the฀Khoisan฀had฀previously฀used฀ for฀subsistence฀purposes.7฀The฀Dutch฀East฀ India฀Company’s฀burghers฀(settlers)฀gradually฀took฀up฀all฀land฀as฀freehold฀(an฀estate฀ in฀land฀held฀for฀life฀either฀through฀tenure฀ or฀ through฀ inheritance)฀ along฀ the฀ area’s฀ rivers,฀and฀many฀Khoikhoi฀were฀forced฀to฀ work฀on฀Dutch฀East฀India฀Company฀farms฀ soon฀ afterwards฀ as฀ they฀ no฀ longer฀ had฀ access฀to฀land฀or฀water฀for฀their฀cattle.8 Figure฀1.฀South฀African฀history฀and฀water฀politics The฀ settlement฀ of฀ land฀ by฀ the฀ Dutch฀ East฀ India฀ Company฀ was฀ legally฀ formalized฀when,฀around฀1685,฀certain฀burghers฀ were฀ granted฀ land฀ ownership฀ based฀ on฀ court฀ rulings.฀ Those฀ burghers฀ who฀ were฀ fortunate฀ enough฀ to฀ benefit฀ from฀ such฀ rulings฀ now฀ also฀ had฀ control฀ of฀ any฀ permanent฀ water฀ supply฀ source฀ that฀ flowed฀ across฀ their฀ piece฀ of฀ land.฀ (This฀ would฀ subsequently฀become฀known฀as฀the฀“riparian฀principle.”9)฀ Subsistence฀ for฀ the฀ San฀ had฀ always฀ depended฀on฀the฀hunting฀of฀wild฀animals.฀ However,฀ because฀ these฀ animals฀ were฀ drawn฀to฀permanent฀sources฀of฀water฀(now฀ controlled฀by฀the฀burghers),฀their฀traditional฀ way฀ of฀ life,฀ like฀ that฀ of฀ the฀ Khoikhoi,฀ suddenly฀was฀also฀a฀thing฀of฀the฀past. Democracy (1994) National฀Party฀ Elected฀(1948) South฀ Natives฀Land฀Act฀ African฀ (1913) War ฀(1899-1902) VOLUME฀49฀NUMBER฀3 The฀discovery฀of฀gold฀in฀1886฀led฀to฀the฀ settlement฀of฀a฀large฀number฀of฀hopefuls฀ in฀ the฀ mining฀ town฀ of฀ Johannesburg.12 The฀Rand฀Water฀Board฀was฀established฀in฀ 1903฀to฀satisfy฀demand฀for฀water฀supply฀ and฀sanitation฀services฀in฀the฀greater฀Witwatersrand฀ area฀ (a฀ low฀ mountain฀ range฀ near฀ Johannesburg),฀ and฀ legislation฀ was฀ passed฀ soon฀ afterwards฀ to฀ allow฀ for฀ the฀ granting฀of฀water฀rights฀to฀mining฀operations฀with฀priority฀over฀other฀uses.13 While฀ the฀ government฀ went฀ to฀ great฀ lengths฀ to฀ supply฀ the฀ mineral-rich,฀ financially฀ lucrative฀ areas฀ of฀ South฀ Africa฀ with฀ water,฀ vast฀ numbers฀ of฀ rural฀ South฀ Africans฀ were฀ neglected.฀ This฀ situation฀ worsened฀over฀time,฀particularly฀with฀the฀ apartheid฀ government’s฀ creation฀ of฀ official฀ “non-White฀ areas”฀ in฀ South฀ Africa,฀ including฀ so-called฀ “independent”฀ homelands,฀ where฀ millions฀ of฀ Black฀ people฀ were฀ forced฀ to฀ resettle.฀ (See฀ the฀ box฀ on฀ page฀ 14฀ for฀ information฀ on฀ the฀ classification฀ of฀ different฀ races฀ in฀ apartheid฀ South฀Africa.) After฀ the฀ First฀ World฀ War฀ delayed฀ water฀ resource฀ development฀ for฀ a฀ short฀ time,฀ a฀ struggling฀ economy฀ and฀ labor฀ strife฀in฀the฀1920s฀heralded฀the฀start฀of฀the฀ Depression.฀ The฀ government฀ responded฀ by฀ fast-tracking฀ a฀ number฀ of฀ large-scale฀ waterworks฀ to฀ provide฀ employment฀ to฀ destitute฀Whites,฀who฀had฀been฀a฀point฀of฀ concern฀ for฀ authorities฀ since฀ the฀ middle฀ of฀the฀nineteenth฀century.14฀This฀situation฀ APRIL฀2007฀ ©฀JON฀HICKS—CORBIS was฀partly฀the฀result฀of฀the฀scorched฀earth฀ policy฀employed฀by฀the฀British฀during฀the฀ South฀ African฀ War฀ (1899–1902),฀ which฀ had฀ led฀ to฀ the฀ destruction฀ of฀ numerous฀ farms฀ owned฀ by฀Afrikaners฀ (White฀Afrikaans฀ speakers)฀ and฀ also฀ included฀ confining฀ noncombatants฀ to฀ concentration฀ camps,฀ where฀ they฀ lived฀ under฀ appalling฀conditions.15฀While฀the฀government’s฀ waterworks฀employment฀initiative฀proved฀ to฀ be฀ successful฀ for฀ a฀ while,฀ it฀ was฀ not฀ South฀African฀flags฀fly฀at฀the฀V&A฀Waterfront. sustainable,฀ and฀ in฀ the฀ late฀ 1930s฀ the฀ Department฀of฀Labour฀(DoL)฀was฀forced฀ providing฀and฀allocating฀water฀for฀develto฀ hire฀ a฀ great฀ number฀ of฀ Colored฀ and฀ opment฀ in฀ the฀ agricultural฀ sector,฀ where฀ Black฀laborers฀to฀complete฀the฀projects.16 a฀large฀part฀of฀the฀NP’s฀support฀base฀was฀ After฀ the฀ National฀ Party฀ (NP)฀ came฀ to฀ located.19฀ The฀ government’s฀ policy฀ of฀ power฀ in฀ 1948,฀ introducing฀ apartheid฀ as฀ pursuing฀ economic฀ development฀ to฀ the฀ the฀government’s฀raison฀d’être,฀a฀series฀of฀ exclusive฀benefit฀of฀White฀South฀Africans฀ prime฀ ministers฀ promoted฀ an฀ increase฀ in฀ continued฀to฀expand฀in฀the฀following฀years฀ the฀number฀and฀size฀of฀large฀water฀resource฀ and฀was฀given฀a฀decisive฀boost฀when฀the฀ projects฀to฀spur฀economic฀development฀in฀ government฀ announced฀ its฀ independence฀ South฀Africa.17฀A฀number฀of฀small฀Acts฀of฀ from฀ Britain฀ and฀ the฀ Republic฀ of฀ South฀ Parliament฀in฀the฀1930s฀and฀1940s฀gradu- Africa฀was฀created฀in฀1961.฀Under฀apartally฀ increased฀ government฀ control฀ over฀ heid,฀Black฀people฀in฀South฀Africa฀(who฀ water฀resources,฀culminating฀in฀the฀prom- were฀officially฀denied฀the฀right฀to฀citizenulgation฀of฀the฀1956฀Water฀Act.18 ship)฀had฀very฀few฀basic฀rights,฀a฀situation฀ that฀ was฀ legalized฀ by฀ the฀ promulgation฀ of฀ several฀ discriminatory฀ policies.20฀This฀ The฀1956฀Water฀Act:฀ also฀affected฀their฀access฀to฀potable฀water฀ A฀Tool฀of฀Deprivation฀ and฀ sanitation฀ as฀ the฀ DWA฀ continued฀ to฀ Under฀Apartheid฀ control฀ the฀ apportionment฀ and฀ development฀ of฀ South฀Africa’s฀ water.฀ Instead฀ of฀ The฀ Water฀ Act฀ of฀ 1956฀ gave฀ rise฀ to฀ being฀ able฀ to฀ provide฀ their฀ people฀ with฀ the฀Department฀of฀Water฀Affairs฀(DWA),฀ these฀basic฀rights,฀the฀independent฀Black฀ predominantly฀mandated฀with฀the฀task฀of฀ homelands฀ had฀ to฀ negotiate฀ to฀ obtain฀ water฀ rights฀ and฀ use฀ permits฀ in฀ competition฀ with฀ other฀ users฀ outside฀ of฀ their฀ territories.21฀ Water฀ thus฀ clearly฀ became฀ New฀Constitution฀(1996) a฀ very฀ effective฀ weapon฀ in฀ the฀ apartNational฀Party฀ Republic฀of฀South฀Africa฀ heid฀ government’s฀ arsenal฀ of฀ oppression฀ Democracy Elected฀(1948) (1961) and฀control.฀ (1994) The฀ construction฀ of฀ large-scale฀ government-funded฀water฀schemes฀increased฀ through฀ the฀ 1960s,฀ 1970s,฀ and฀ 1980s,฀ Water฀Act฀(1956) while฀ droughts฀ in฀ the฀ late฀ 1980s฀ and฀ Water฀Services฀Act฀(1997) early฀1990s฀forced฀the฀implementation฀of฀ Group฀Areas฀Act฀(1950) emergency฀ water฀ schemes.฀ These฀ develNational฀Water฀Act฀(1998) opments฀ had฀ the฀ purpose฀ of฀ ensuring฀ the฀ continued฀ operation฀ of฀ power฀ sta- ENVIRONMENT฀ 13 tions฀ and฀ industry,฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ the฀ provision฀ of฀ water฀ for฀ urban฀ uses฀ (which฀ signalled฀a฀move฀away฀from฀the฀strong฀focus฀฀ on฀irrigation).22฀ During฀ the฀ 1980s,฀ however,฀ it฀ was฀ becoming฀ increasingly฀ evident฀ that฀ the฀ unsustainable฀ way฀ in฀ which฀ water฀ had฀ been฀managed฀so฀far฀had฀resulted฀in฀worrying฀ levels฀ of฀ degradation฀ of฀ many฀ of฀ South฀ Africa’s฀ primary฀ water฀ resources. In฀ addition,฀ the฀ global฀ trend฀ toward฀ the฀฀ recognition฀and฀incorporation฀of฀environmental฀concerns฀into฀water฀resource฀management฀added฀pressure฀for฀change.23฀ The฀Dawn฀of฀฀ South฀Africa’s฀Democracy Following฀the฀first฀democratic฀elections฀ in฀South฀Africa฀in฀1994,฀the฀new฀government฀ embarked฀ on฀ a฀ quest฀ to฀ change฀ the฀ country’s฀ philosophy,฀ priorities,฀ and฀ approach฀ to฀ water฀ resource฀ management.฀ The฀ provision฀ of฀ basic฀ water฀ supply฀ and฀ sanitation฀to฀the฀majority฀of฀South฀Africa’s฀ people,฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ the฀ need฀ for฀ equity฀ in฀ the฀allocation฀of฀water฀and฀the฀benefits฀of฀ water฀use฀were฀suddenly฀given฀high฀priority฀ on฀ the฀ political฀ agenda.฀ The฀ National฀ Water฀Act฀of฀1998฀was฀a฀key฀milestone฀in฀ the฀government’s฀water฀reform฀process฀and฀ is฀ bound฀ to฀ have฀ far-reaching฀ effects฀ on฀ social฀and฀economic฀development฀as฀well฀ as฀ environmental฀ management฀ in฀ South฀ Africa฀during฀the฀course฀of฀its฀implementation฀over฀the฀next฀few฀decades.24฀ The฀Revolution฀in฀Water฀Law The฀ Constitution฀ of฀ South฀Africa฀ provides฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀ the฀ country’s฀ progressive฀environmental฀legislation฀by฀guaranteeing฀ South฀Africans฀ the฀ right฀ to฀ a฀ safe฀ environment.25฀South฀Africa,฀in฀fact,฀is฀the฀ first฀country฀in฀the฀world฀to฀have฀adopted฀ national฀water฀legislation฀that฀serves฀as฀a฀ tool฀in฀the฀transformation฀of฀society฀based฀ on฀ social฀ and฀ environmental฀ justice.฀ In฀ 14฀ ENVIRONMENT฀ combination,฀the฀Water฀Services฀Act฀and฀ the฀National฀Water฀Act฀were฀designed฀to฀ achieve฀the฀following: [...]redress฀ the฀ inequalities฀ of฀ racial฀ and฀ gender฀ discrimination฀ of฀ the฀ past;฀ link฀ water฀management฀to฀economic฀development฀and฀poverty฀eradication;฀and฀ensure฀ the฀preservation฀of฀the฀ecological฀resource฀ base฀for฀future฀generations.26 The฀National฀Water฀Act฀can฀be฀summed฀ up฀ by฀ using฀ the฀ succinct฀ idea฀ of฀ “some,฀ for฀all,฀forever.”฀This฀suggests฀effectively฀ managing฀ the฀ country’s฀ most฀ precious฀ resource฀ in฀ a฀ sustainable฀ way฀ for฀ the฀ benefit฀of฀all฀South฀Africans.฀What฀is฀particularly฀special฀about฀this฀legislation฀is฀its฀ focus฀ on฀ those฀ who฀ are฀ currently฀ disadvantaged฀due฀to฀former฀apartheid฀policies฀ and฀who,฀for฀example,฀still฀have฀to฀carry฀ RACE฀UNDER฀APARTHEID Apartheid฀(an฀Afrikaans฀word฀for฀ “being฀apart”)฀was฀initially฀a฀term฀used฀ by฀the฀National฀Party฀in฀South฀Africa฀ during฀the฀1940s฀to฀gain฀votes฀for฀the฀ national฀election฀to฀be฀held฀in฀1948.฀ Once฀in฀power,฀the฀National฀Party฀ government฀put฀apartheid฀into฀action฀ under฀the฀banner฀of฀“separate฀development.”฀To฀support฀this฀ideal,฀the฀ government฀tried฀to฀formalize฀racial฀ distinctions฀between฀race฀groups.฀In฀ particular,฀the฀Population฀Registration฀ Act฀of฀1950฀required฀people฀to฀register฀ their฀race฀from฀birth.฀The฀racial฀groups฀ consisted฀of฀White,฀Colored,฀Bantu฀ (Black฀African)฀and฀other฀(later฀the฀ group฀“Asian”฀was฀added฀to฀this฀list).฀ These฀racial฀distinctions฀were฀based฀on฀ bizarre฀and฀vague฀definitions฀(directly฀ quoted฀from฀the฀Population฀Registration฀Act)฀such฀as:฀ A฀ White฀ person฀ is฀ one฀ who฀ is฀ in฀ appearance฀ obviously฀ white—and฀ not฀ generally฀ accepted฀ as฀ Coloured—or฀ who฀ is฀ generally฀ accepted฀ as฀ White— and฀ is฀ not฀ obviously฀ Non-White,฀ provided฀ that฀ a฀ person฀ shall฀ not฀ be฀ classified฀ as฀ a฀ White฀ person฀ if฀ one฀ of฀ his฀natural฀parents฀has฀been฀classified฀ as฀ a฀ Coloured฀ person฀ or฀ a฀ Bantu.฀ .฀ . A฀ Bantu฀ is฀ a฀ person฀ who฀ is,฀ or฀ is฀ generally฀accepted฀as,฀a฀member฀of฀any฀ aboriginal฀ race฀ or฀ tribe฀ of฀ Africa.฀ .฀ . A฀ Coloured฀ is฀ a฀ person฀ who฀ is฀ not฀ a฀ White฀ person฀ or฀ a฀ Bantu.฀ .฀ . “Coloured,”฀then,฀would฀often฀refer฀ to฀those฀of฀“mixed”฀race฀and฀would฀ include฀(but฀not฀be฀limited฀to)฀people฀ from฀Cape฀Malay,฀San,฀and฀Khoikhoi฀descent,฀whereas฀Bantu฀(or฀later฀ Black)฀would฀refer฀to฀people฀from฀ (for฀example)฀Xhosa,฀Zulu,฀or฀Tswana฀฀ descent.฀“Asian”฀referred฀to฀people฀ primarily฀from฀Indian฀or฀Pakistani฀ descent.฀These฀racial฀labels฀are฀historically฀rooted฀in฀the฀legacy฀of฀apartheid,฀ and฀while฀the฀racism฀that฀went฀with฀ them฀has฀mostly฀dissipated,฀the฀labels฀ have฀remained.฀ The฀defining฀factor฀that฀makes฀ South฀Africa’s฀apartheid฀era฀different฀ to฀other฀segregation฀policies฀in฀the฀ world฀is฀the฀systematic฀way฀in฀which฀ the฀apartheid฀government฀tried฀to฀formalize฀its฀policies฀through฀laws฀(no฀ fewer฀than฀27).฀Legislation฀that฀was฀ promulgated฀included,฀for฀example,฀ the฀Prohibition฀of฀Mixed฀Marriages฀ Act,฀Act฀of฀1949฀(this฀act฀prohibited฀ marriages฀between฀white฀people฀and฀ people฀of฀other฀races);฀the฀Population฀ Registration฀Act฀of฀1950฀(this฀act฀led฀ to฀the฀creation฀of฀a฀national฀register฀ that฀recorded฀every฀person’s฀race);฀and฀ the฀Group฀Areas฀Act฀of฀1950฀(this฀act฀ enforced฀the฀physical฀segregation฀of฀ races฀through฀the฀creation฀of฀separate฀ residential฀areas฀for฀different฀races).฀ SOURCE:฀R.฀Ebr.-Vally,฀Kala฀Pani:฀Caste฀and฀ Colour฀in฀South฀Africa฀(Cape฀Town:฀Kwela฀ Books฀and฀South฀Africa฀History฀Online:฀Cape฀ Town฀&฀Maroelana,฀2001);฀M.฀Roodt,฀Land฀ Restitution฀in฀South฀Africa฀(Forth฀Hare฀University:฀Fort฀Hare฀Institute฀of฀Social฀and฀Economic฀ Research,฀2003);฀Republic฀of฀South฀Africa฀ (RSA),฀Population฀Registration฀Act,฀Act฀30฀of฀ 1950฀(Pretoria,฀1950). VOLUME฀49฀NUMBER฀3 buckets฀of฀water฀to฀their฀homes฀฀to฀eke฀out฀ a฀barely฀sustainable฀level฀of฀existence.27฀ Some฀Key฀Principles Below฀ are฀ four฀ of฀ the฀ key฀ principles฀ that฀ underlie฀ South฀ Africa’s฀ new฀ water฀ legislation.฀ Their฀ successful฀ implementation฀ will฀ help฀ achieve฀ the฀ purpose฀ of฀ the฀ National฀ Water฀ Act,฀ which฀ is฀ to฀ ensure฀ that฀ South฀ Africa’s฀ water฀ resources฀are฀protected,฀used,฀developed,฀ conserved,฀ managed,฀ and฀ controlled฀ in฀ a฀฀ sustainable฀manner.฀ Decentralization As฀ opposed฀ to฀ former฀ water฀ legislation,฀ which฀ did฀ not฀ make฀ provision฀ for฀ public฀participation฀in฀the฀water฀management฀ process,฀ the฀ National฀ Water฀ Act฀ conforms฀ to฀ the฀ Constitution฀ and฀ its฀ call฀ Figure฀2.฀Three฀tiers฀of฀water฀resource฀management for฀ people฀ to฀ participate฀ in฀ the฀ decisionmaking฀ process฀ as฀ and฀ when฀ it฀ affects฀ them.฀Another฀ important฀ element,฀ drawn฀ from฀ the฀ Constitution,฀ is฀ the฀ subsidiarity฀ principle,฀ which฀ stipulates฀ that฀ those฀ functions฀that฀can฀be฀more฀efficiently฀and฀ effectively฀carried฀out฀by฀lower฀levels฀of฀ government฀ should฀ be฀ delegated฀ to฀ the฀ lowest฀appropriate฀level.28฀ ฀(See฀Figure฀2฀ on฀this฀page฀for฀more฀on฀the฀tiers฀of฀South฀ African฀water฀management.) South฀ Africa฀ is฀ divided฀ into฀ 19฀ water฀ management฀ areas฀ (WMAs),฀ which฀ match฀ the฀ boundaries฀ of฀ major฀ watersheds.฀The฀catchment฀management฀agencies฀(CMAs),฀to฀be฀formed฀at฀WMA฀level,฀ will฀ perform฀ certain฀ management฀ functions฀ that฀ have฀ been฀ devolved฀ to฀ them.29฀ CMAs฀ are฀ required฀ to฀ cooperate฀ and฀ seek฀ agreement฀ on฀ water-related฀ matters฀ among฀ various฀ stakeholders฀ and฀ interested฀parties.30฀They฀also฀have฀governing฀ boards฀ to฀ ensure฀ that฀ stakeholders฀ are฀ being฀ represented฀ and฀ to฀ prevent฀ control฀ of฀ decisionmaking฀ by฀ powerful฀ parties฀ with฀vested฀interests.31฀In฀addition,฀CMAs฀ have฀a฀mandate฀to฀progressively฀develop฀ catchment฀management฀strategies฀(CMS)฀ to฀ realize฀ the฀ protection,฀ use,฀ development,฀ conservation,฀ management,฀ and฀ control฀ of฀ water฀ resources฀ in฀ the฀ respective฀WMAs฀in฀which฀they฀operate.฀Until฀ such฀ time฀ as฀ CMAs฀ have฀ been฀ formally฀ established,฀ the฀ Regional฀ Offices฀ of฀ the฀ Department฀of฀Water฀Affairs฀and฀Forestry฀ (DWAF)฀ will฀ continue฀ to฀ manage฀ the฀ water฀resources฀within฀the฀WMAs.32฀ Equitable฀Access SOURCE:฀Department฀of฀Water฀Affairs฀and฀Forestry,฀Water฀Management฀ Institutions:฀Overview฀(Pretoria,฀no฀date). APRIL฀2007฀ The฀ National฀Water฀Act฀ has฀ embraced฀ a฀return฀to฀“the฀commons,”฀which฀implies฀ that฀the฀country’s฀water฀belongs฀to฀all฀its฀ people,฀ cannot฀ be฀ privately฀ owned,฀ and฀ is฀held฀in฀public฀trust฀by฀the฀state.33฀This฀ notion,฀reminiscent฀of฀the฀Khoisan฀tradition,฀ is฀ also฀ supported฀ by฀ an฀ administrative฀licensing฀system.฀Under฀this฀system,฀ the฀ state,฀ and฀ more฀ specifically฀ DWAF,฀ ENVIRONMENT฀ 15 regulates฀ the฀ abstraction฀ of฀ a฀ specified฀ volume฀ of฀ water฀ (for฀ specific฀ purposes,฀ such฀ as฀ industry)฀ from฀ particular฀ sources.฀ The฀ domestic฀ use฀ of฀ water,฀ which฀ includes฀ small-scale฀ irrigation฀ and฀ the฀ watering฀ of฀ animals฀ for฀ non-commercial฀ purposes,฀ is฀ exempted฀ from฀ such฀ license฀ requirements.34฀This฀new฀system฀is฀much฀ more฀practical฀than฀the฀riparian฀principle฀ and฀ is฀ also฀ considerably฀ better฀ suited฀ to฀ a฀ largely฀ semi-arid฀ country฀ such฀ as฀฀ South฀Africa.35฀ Reallocating฀ South฀ Africa’s฀ water฀ to฀ ensure฀ that฀ all฀ of฀ its฀ people฀ can฀ meet฀ their฀ daily฀ nutritional฀ water฀ needs฀ is฀ a฀ very฀ necessary฀ adjustment.฀ In฀ addition,฀ reallocation฀ is฀ also฀ expected฀ to฀ encourage฀ more฀ efficient฀ use฀ of฀ water฀ by฀ those฀ South฀Africans฀who฀have฀historically฀had฀ ready฀ access฀ to฀ the฀ resource฀ and฀ mistakenly฀accepted฀that฀it฀is฀available฀for฀use฀in฀ unlimited฀quantities฀at฀minimal฀cost.36฀ Efficiency To฀ensure฀efficiency,฀the฀social฀and฀economic฀benefits฀and฀costs฀and฀environmental฀costs฀of฀competing฀water฀uses฀have฀to฀ be฀evaluated.฀In฀the฀case฀of฀South฀Africa,฀ if฀ water฀ is฀ allocated฀ under฀ the฀ licensing฀ system,฀ the฀ interests฀ of฀ all฀ water฀ users฀ (including฀the฀environment)฀of฀the฀water฀ resource฀ in฀ question฀ must฀ be฀ taken฀ into฀ account.฀ South฀ African฀ water฀ legislation฀ makes฀provision฀for฀two฀legal฀instruments฀ to฀facilitate฀this฀process.฀The฀first฀enables฀ those฀affected฀by฀decisions฀regarding฀the฀ licensing฀process฀to฀voice฀their฀opinions,฀ gives฀them฀the฀right฀to฀be฀provided฀with฀ reasons฀for฀a฀licensing฀decision,฀and฀also฀ allows฀ them฀ to฀ appeal฀ against฀ a฀ decision฀ that฀ might฀ be฀ unfavorable฀ toward฀ the฀ interests฀ they฀ are฀ defending.37฀ The฀ second฀ mechanism฀ entails฀ the฀ use฀ of฀ economic฀ instruments฀ such฀ as฀ pricing฀ mechanisms฀ and฀ financial฀ assistance฀ or฀฀ subsidy฀programs.38฀ While฀ it฀ seems฀ logical฀ and฀ important฀ to฀ attach฀ value฀ to฀ a฀ scarce฀ resource฀ to฀ 16฀ ENVIRONMENT฀ prevent฀ it฀ from฀ being฀ used฀ unwisely฀ or฀ wastefully,฀ the฀ question฀ of฀ charging฀ money฀ for฀ water฀ is฀ still฀ a฀ thorny฀ issue฀ in฀ many฀ parts฀ of฀ South฀ Africa.฀ South฀ Africa’s฀citizens฀have฀a฀right฀to฀sufficient฀ water฀ to฀ provide฀ for฀ their฀ basic฀ human฀ needs฀ (6.6฀ gallons฀ or฀ 25฀ liters฀ per฀ day),฀ after฀ which฀ they฀ are฀ expected฀ to฀ pay฀ for฀ any฀additional฀water฀they฀may฀use.39฀Over฀ the฀ years,฀ many฀ poorer฀ urban฀ communities฀have฀either฀adopted฀a฀culture฀of฀nonpayment฀(which฀arose฀as฀a฀form฀of฀protest฀ against฀the฀former฀apartheid฀government)฀ or฀today฀simply฀cannot฀afford฀to฀pay฀the฀ fees฀that฀are฀charged.฀People฀in฀rural฀areas฀ who฀have฀previously฀had฀no฀reliable฀supply฀of฀potable฀water฀or฀formal฀sanitation฀ systems฀are฀also฀reluctant฀to฀suddenly฀pay฀ once฀ service฀ provision฀ has฀ taken฀ place;฀ previously฀water฀was฀free฀(although฀more฀ effort฀was฀needed฀to฀source฀it).40฀ Despite฀ the฀ difficulties฀ inherent฀ in฀ the฀ water฀ pricing฀ process,฀ there฀ are฀ fortunately฀also฀some฀examples฀of฀where฀this฀ has฀ functioned฀ successfully.฀ The฀ city฀ of฀ Durban฀ (Kwa-Zulu฀ Natal,฀ South฀Africa),฀ for฀ instance,฀ has฀ taken฀ direct฀ steps฀ to฀ enforce฀ the฀ 6.6฀ gallons฀ (25฀ liters)฀ per฀ person฀per฀day฀principle฀by฀ensuring฀that฀ the฀ first฀ “lifeline”฀ volume฀ of฀ water฀ (the฀ amount฀of฀water฀necessary฀to฀live:฀1,585฀ gallons฀or฀6,000฀liters฀per฀household฀per฀ month)฀is฀provided฀free฀of฀charge.฀Where฀ households฀exceed฀this฀demand฀for฀water,฀ the฀ principle฀ of฀ “the฀ more฀ you฀ use,฀ the฀ more฀ you฀ pay”฀ is฀ enforced.฀ This฀ policy฀ helps฀ subsidize฀ the฀ costs฀ of฀ supplying฀ water฀ to฀ the฀ poorer฀ parts฀ of฀ the฀ community.฀ With฀ 93฀ percent฀ of฀ water฀ services฀ accounts฀being฀paid,฀Durban’s฀billing฀system฀ makes฀ it฀ possible฀ for฀ all฀ households฀ (rich฀ and฀ poor)฀ to฀ receive฀ the฀ first฀ 1,585฀ gallons฀(6,000฀liters)฀of฀water฀per฀month฀ free฀of฀charge.41฀ Sustainability It฀ is฀ because฀ of฀ the฀ acknowledgement฀ of฀ the฀ interrelationship฀ between฀ social,฀ ecological,฀ and฀ economic฀ sustainability฀ that฀the฀principle฀of฀the฀“reserve,”฀which฀ comprises฀ two฀ components,฀ was฀ written฀ into฀ the฀ National฀ Water฀ Act.42฀ The฀ ecological฀ component฀ refers฀ to฀ that฀ portion฀ of฀streamflow฀quantity—of฀defined฀quality—that฀is฀required฀to฀remain฀in฀rivers฀to฀ ensure฀the฀sustainable฀healthy฀functioning฀ of฀ aquatic฀ ecosystems.43฀ It฀ is฀ imperative฀ that฀ these฀ ecosystems฀ continue฀ functioning฀ optimally฀ because฀ many฀ people฀ in฀ South฀Africa฀rely฀on฀them฀for฀basic฀goods฀ and฀ services฀ (for฀ example,฀ fishing)฀ to฀ sustain฀their฀livelihoods.฀The฀basic฀human฀ needs฀component฀is฀defined฀as฀the฀water฀ reserve฀ required฀ to฀ meet฀ several฀ direct฀ human฀needs฀for฀water,฀such฀as฀drinking฀ and฀food฀preparation.44฀ The฀ “reserve”฀ in฀ essence฀ is฀ a฀ quantity฀ of฀ water฀ that฀ cannot฀ be฀ allocated฀ to฀ specific฀ water฀ users.฀ Its฀ purpose฀ is฀ to฀ give฀ effect฀to฀two฀types฀of฀constitutional฀rights฀ that฀South฀Africans฀have.฀The฀first฀is฀their฀ right฀to฀enough฀water฀to฀meet฀their฀basic฀ needs,฀ while฀ the฀ second฀ is฀ their฀ right฀ to฀ an฀ environment฀ sufficiently฀ protected฀ by฀ legislative฀ and฀ other฀ measures฀ to฀ secure฀ socioeconomic฀ development฀ that฀ is฀ also฀ ecologically฀sustainable.45฀ Challenges฀that฀Remain฀ Despite฀ the฀ fact฀ that฀ the฀ fundamental฀ principles฀ of฀ South฀Africa’s฀ National฀ Water฀Act฀make฀it฀an฀impressive฀piece฀of฀ environmental฀legislation฀by฀international฀ standards,฀ many฀ serious฀ challenges฀ to฀ implementation฀remain.฀ Lack฀of฀Human฀Resources Staff฀turnover฀in฀all฀three฀spheres฀of฀government฀ (national,฀ provincial,฀ and฀ local)฀ amounts฀ to฀ approximately฀ 25฀ percent฀ per฀ year.฀ This฀ is฀ problematic฀ because฀ delays฀ in฀ appointing฀ new฀ staff฀ members฀ result฀ in฀ overstressed฀ government฀ institutions.฀ Experienced฀staff฀members฀thus฀tend฀to฀be฀ VOLUME฀49฀NUMBER฀3 ©฀WILMA฀STRYDOM,฀CSIR This฀man฀makes฀his฀living฀by฀weaving฀and฀selling฀these฀reed฀baskets.฀The฀reeds฀he฀uses฀grow฀along฀South฀Africa’s฀Buffalo฀River. overburdened฀and฀have฀trouble฀performing฀ their฀duties฀while฀building฀the฀competency฀ of฀the฀newly฀appointed฀staff.46฀ This฀ is฀ proving฀ to฀ be฀ a฀ serious฀ issue฀ in฀ the฀ Usutu-Mhlatuze฀ WMA฀ on฀ the฀ East฀Coast฀of฀South฀Africa,฀for฀example.฀ According฀ to฀ interviews฀ conducted฀ with฀ several฀ DWAF฀ officials฀ in฀ the฀ area,฀ the฀ department฀is฀responding฀to฀various฀crises฀ rather฀ than฀ engaging฀ in฀ systematic฀ planning,฀ service฀ delivery,฀ and฀ water฀ quality฀ monitoring฀within฀the฀WMA.฀This฀is฀the฀ direct฀result฀of฀inadequate฀staffing฀and฀the฀ high฀ staff฀ turnover,฀ which฀ is฀ resulting฀ in฀ the฀loss฀of฀experience฀and฀organizational฀ memory฀from฀DWAF.฀In฀addition,฀no฀real฀ provision฀is฀made฀to฀train฀new฀people฀to฀ take฀on฀the฀responsibilities฀of฀more฀senior฀ staff฀who฀have฀left฀the฀organization.47 Disconnect฀Between฀Resource฀ Management฀and฀Supply Another฀ problem฀ regarding฀ the฀ implementation฀of฀South฀Africa’s฀water฀legislation฀is฀the฀disconnect฀that฀exists฀between฀ the฀ management฀ of฀ water฀ resources฀ and฀ APRIL฀2007฀ water฀ supply.฀ While฀ water฀ resources฀ are฀ managed฀ at฀ the฀ level฀ of฀ watersheds,฀ defined฀ by฀ natural฀ boundaries฀ within฀ WMAs฀as฀stipulated฀in฀the฀National฀Water฀ Act,฀water฀services฀provision฀(largely฀the฀ domain฀ of฀ the฀Water฀ Services฀Act)฀ takes฀ place฀at฀the฀municipal฀level.฀What฀is฀problematic฀ here฀ is฀ that฀ local฀Water฀ Services฀ Development฀Plans฀do฀not฀take฀sufficient฀ account฀ of฀ existing฀ water฀ resource฀ management฀principles.฀This฀has฀the฀potential฀ of฀ resulting฀ in฀ a฀ situation฀ where฀ more฀ water฀is฀allocated฀for฀supply฀purposes฀than฀ is฀feasible฀from฀an฀ecological฀perspective.฀ Understandably,฀ the฀ urgent฀ need฀ to฀ meet฀ the฀ water฀ demands฀ of฀ the฀ rural฀ poor฀ has฀ outweighed฀ the฀ lengthy฀ process฀ of฀ water฀ resource฀management฀in฀the฀country,฀but฀ such฀ over-hastiness฀ may฀ have฀ negative฀ consequences฀in฀the฀future.48฀ Illustrative฀in฀this฀regard฀is฀the฀fact฀that฀ water฀ supply฀ derived฀ from฀ 15฀ of฀ the฀ 19฀ WMAs฀ in฀ South฀Africa฀ already฀ exceeds฀ sustainable฀levels.49฀This฀is฀a฀consequence฀ of฀ a฀ failure฀ of฀ communication฀ between฀ municipalities฀and฀CMA฀structures฀in฀the฀ WMAs฀in฀which฀they฀are฀located.฀While฀ the฀ enormous฀ backlogs฀ associated฀ with฀ water฀ sanitation฀ and฀ supply฀ are฀ indeed฀ a฀ pressing฀ concern,฀ so฀ is฀ the฀ sustainable฀management฀of฀the฀country’s฀scarce฀ national฀water฀resources.50฀ Perceived฀Lack฀of฀Financial฀ Resources ฀ While฀ all฀ spheres฀ of฀ government฀ and฀ their฀ different฀ departments฀ receive฀ adequate฀ funds฀ to฀ successfully฀ perform฀ the฀ functions฀expected฀of฀them,฀inappropriate฀ management฀of฀these฀monies฀often฀results฀ in฀a฀perceived฀lack฀of฀financial฀resources฀ within฀government฀structures.51฀ This฀ is฀ a฀ problem฀ because฀ it฀ means฀ that฀the฀taxpayers’฀money฀is฀not฀necessarily฀used฀to฀achieve฀what฀the฀government฀ collects฀ it฀ for.฀ Middle-฀ to฀ high-income฀ earners,฀ who฀ are฀ taxed฀ considerably฀ to฀ help฀ uplift฀ the฀ lives฀ of฀ previously฀ disadvantaged฀South฀Africans,฀are฀likely฀to฀be฀ disillusioned฀by฀this฀tendency฀in฀the฀long฀ term,฀ an฀ attitude฀ that฀ could฀ ultimately฀ result฀in฀lower฀support฀levels฀for฀the฀current฀government.฀It฀is฀the฀country’s฀poor฀ ENVIRONMENT฀ 17 ©฀PETER฀HIRTH—PETER฀ARNOLD,฀INC South฀Africans฀and฀tourists฀enjoy฀water฀recreationally฀at฀this฀beach฀resort฀in฀Cape฀Town฀on฀the฀Atlantic฀Ocean. people,฀however,฀who฀are฀the฀real฀victims฀ here฀ as฀ it฀ is฀ they฀ who฀ rely฀ most฀ on฀ the฀ government’s฀ promises฀ to฀ improve฀ their฀ quality฀of฀life.฀ Problems฀with฀Stakeholder฀ Participation฀ There฀ are฀ also฀ challenges฀ when฀ it฀ comes฀ to฀ stakeholder฀ participation,฀ specifically฀in฀the฀context฀of฀the฀formation฀of฀ the฀CMAs,฀and฀the฀amount฀of฀power฀that฀ different฀ groups฀ of฀ stakeholders฀ have.฀ In฀ South฀ Africa,฀ a฀ successful฀ commercial฀ farmer฀ is฀ likely฀ to฀ have฀ greater฀ capacity฀ to฀ negotiate฀ and฀ influence฀ decisionmaking฀ pertaining฀ to฀ water฀ needs฀ than฀ his฀ impoverished฀ rural฀ subsistence฀ farmer฀ counterpart.฀ Great฀ care฀ thus฀ needs฀ to฀ be฀ 18฀ ENVIRONMENT฀ taken฀ to฀ ensure฀ environmental฀ justice฀ through฀stakeholder฀engagement฀processes.฀In฀addition,฀it฀is฀problematic฀to฀assume฀ that฀ all฀ stakeholders฀ can฀ be฀ engaged฀ and฀ informed฀in฀a฀uniform฀way.฀Stakeholders฀ vary฀widely฀in฀their฀ability฀to฀understand฀ and฀adopt฀governance฀processes฀or฀instruments฀ that฀ they฀ are฀ not฀ familiar฀ with฀ and฀therefore฀an฀ideal฀governance฀system฀ needs฀ to฀ ensure฀ that฀ the฀ participation฀ of฀ stakeholders฀at฀all฀levels฀is฀carefully฀balanced฀and฀integrated.52 Another฀issue฀that฀is฀deemed฀problematic฀ in฀ this฀ regard฀ is฀ the฀ fact฀ that฀ it฀ will฀ take฀some฀20฀years฀to฀establish฀the฀CMAs฀ and฀that฀currently฀their฀formation฀is฀being฀ hampered฀by฀a฀lack฀of฀skills,฀which฀may฀ make฀ it฀ difficult฀ to฀ ensure฀ that฀ these฀ institutions฀are฀launched฀successfully฀and฀ manage฀ water฀ resources฀ as฀ effectively฀ as฀ they฀ are฀ expected฀ to.53฀This฀ of฀ course฀ complicates฀ the฀ decentralization฀ process฀ and฀ the฀ aim฀ to฀ increase฀ public฀ participation,฀both฀of฀which฀are฀so฀closely฀linked฀ to฀the฀new฀water฀legislation.฀ Society’s฀Interests฀Not฀Well฀ Articulated Unfortunately฀ as฀ a฀ result฀ of฀ the฀ country’s฀apartheid฀past,฀the฀broad฀South฀African฀ public฀ has฀ not฀ been฀ able฀ to฀ develop฀ a฀ strong฀ culture฀ of฀ participation฀ in฀ government฀ processes,฀ nor฀ has฀ it฀ learned฀ to฀ successfully฀articulate฀its฀interests.54฀This฀ may฀ lead฀ to฀ a฀ public฀ perception฀ that฀ the฀ government฀is฀not฀effectively฀responding฀ to฀people’s฀needs฀and฀may฀in฀the฀long฀run฀ VOLUME฀49฀NUMBER฀3 also฀ result฀ in฀ public฀ distrust฀ in฀ government฀or฀voter฀apathy.55 Such฀ attitudes฀ have฀ in฀ fact฀ recently฀ started฀ to฀ emerge฀ as฀ previously฀ disadvantaged฀ South฀ Africans฀ are฀ becoming฀ increasingly฀ disillusioned฀ with฀ the฀ government’s฀ perceived฀lack฀of฀effective฀ service฀delivery฀to฀date.฀Perhaps฀if฀South฀ Africans฀ participated฀ in฀ decisionmaking฀ structures฀to฀a฀greater฀extent,฀they฀would฀ not฀only฀give฀the฀government฀a฀better฀idea฀ of฀ what฀ they฀ need฀ and฀ expect฀ but฀ would฀ also฀ develop฀ a฀ greater฀ understanding฀ of฀ the฀many฀challenges฀that฀the฀government฀ is฀facing฀in฀trying฀to฀fulfill฀its฀mandate.฀ with฀many฀mining฀companies฀refusing฀to฀ accept฀responsibility฀for฀acid฀mine฀drainage฀and฀related฀environmental฀problems.฀ This฀ is฀ partly฀ due฀ to฀ the฀ fact฀ that฀ during฀ the฀ apartheid฀ era,฀ the฀ NP฀ government฀ had฀ entered฀ into฀ a฀ relationship฀ with฀ the฀ mining฀ industry฀ in฀ which฀ it฀ became฀ a฀ direct฀ beneficiary.58฀ While฀ this฀ sustained฀ the฀government฀during฀the฀years฀of฀sanctions฀and฀isolation,฀it฀also฀meant฀that฀the฀ industry฀ prospered฀ in฀ the฀ absence฀ of฀ a฀ genuine฀regulatory฀authority,฀fully฀aware฀ of฀ the฀ absence฀ of฀ any฀ consequences฀ for฀ its฀ environmentally฀ and฀ socially฀ harmful฀ practices.฀ One฀ of฀ the฀ major฀ challenges฀ the฀democratically฀elected฀government฀in฀ South฀Africa฀thus฀faces฀is฀how฀to฀change฀ its฀role฀from฀collaborator฀to฀one฀of฀regulator฀and฀how฀to฀bring฀under฀control฀and฀ subsequently฀ repair฀ the฀ environmental฀ damage฀ that฀ mining฀ has฀ caused฀ in฀ the฀ country.59฀This฀ is฀ particularly฀ difficult฀ in฀ Finally,฀there฀are฀a฀number฀of฀historical฀ legacies฀that฀are฀proving฀to฀be฀rather฀difficult฀for฀DWAF฀to฀handle.฀Mine฀closure฀ is฀ a฀ particularly฀ complex฀ issue฀ that฀ will฀ test฀ how฀ well฀ the฀ new฀ environmental฀ legislation฀fares฀in฀practice.฀South฀Africa฀ is฀ a฀ mining฀ economy฀ with฀ some฀ of฀ the฀ richest฀and฀deepest฀mines฀in฀the฀world.฀To฀ unlock฀the฀underground฀wealth฀they฀were฀ searching฀ for,฀ mining฀ companies฀ had฀ to฀ invest฀ in฀ pumping฀ out฀ vast฀ volumes฀ of฀ water฀ as฀ the฀ country’s฀ most฀ sought-after฀ minerals฀are฀overlain฀by฀the฀largest฀dolomite฀ aquifer฀ systems฀ in฀ southern฀Africa.฀ Many฀gold฀mines฀have฀been฀closed฀or฀are฀ reaching฀ a฀ point฀ of฀ imminent฀ closure.56฀ This฀ has฀ given฀ rise฀ to฀ the฀ problem฀ of฀ acid฀mine฀drainage,฀caused฀by฀the฀underground฀ water฀ levels฀of฀abandoned฀mines฀ rising฀ again.฀ This฀ water฀ becomes฀ highly฀ polluted฀ when฀ it,฀ together฀ with฀ oxygen,฀ comes฀ into฀ contact฀ with฀ the฀ pyrites฀ that฀ have฀ been฀ exposed฀ in฀ the฀ underground฀ rock฀ during฀ the฀ mining฀ process.฀ Acid฀ mine฀ drainage฀ eventually฀ results฀ in฀ the฀ heavy-metal฀ contamination฀ of฀ ground-฀ and฀surface-water฀resources.57฀ South฀Africa’s฀government฀is฀currently฀ finding฀ it฀ very฀ difficult฀ to฀ engage฀ the฀ mining฀ sector฀ regarding฀ this฀ problem,฀ APRIL฀2007฀ ©฀JUDE฀COBBING—CSIR Apartheid฀Legacies:฀The฀Case฀ of฀Acid฀Mine฀Drainage A฀researcher฀takes฀a฀pH฀reading฀at฀Lyndham฀Pit,฀an฀abandoned,฀open-cast฀gold฀mining฀ area฀on฀mine฀property฀close฀to฀Krugersdorp. ENVIRONMENT฀ 19 light฀ of฀ the฀ fact฀ that฀ while฀ the฀ government฀ (and฀ the฀ legislation฀ underpinning฀ it)฀ may฀ be฀ morally฀ strong,฀ it฀ also฀ faces฀ many฀ structural฀ challenges.฀ In฀ contrast,฀ the฀ mining฀ houses฀ may฀ exhibit฀ signs฀ of฀ moral฀ weakness฀ but฀ at฀ the฀ same฀ time฀ have฀ substantial฀ funds฀ and฀ strong฀ legal฀ teams฀ to฀ help฀ them฀ shirk฀ their฀ responsibilities฀ toward฀ South฀ Africa’s฀ people฀฀ and฀environment.฀ sionmakers฀ in฀ understanding฀ the฀ social฀ and฀ economic฀ value฀ of฀ water฀ for฀ communities฀ that฀ need฀ to฀ have฀ access฀ to฀ it.฀ Appropriate฀communication฀tools฀are฀also฀ needed฀to฀inform฀local฀communities฀about฀ Successfully฀ functioning฀ CMAs฀ imply฀ the฀ need฀ for฀ good฀ governance.฀ This฀ is฀ not฀limited฀to฀the฀government฀exercising฀ its฀ constitutional฀ duties—in฀ other฀ words,฀ governing—but฀also฀includes฀the฀process฀ Despite฀ the฀ challenges฀ mentioned฀ above,฀ it฀ is฀ important฀ to฀ realize฀ the฀ significance฀ and฀ importance฀ of฀ South฀Africa’s฀ new฀ water฀ legislation.฀ The฀ policy฀ development฀ process฀ itself฀ proved฀ to฀ be฀ very฀ successful฀ as฀ a฀ large฀ number฀ of฀ stakeholders,฀legal฀practitioners,฀environmental฀ scientists,฀ and฀ politicians฀ agreed฀ on฀a฀set฀of฀world-class,฀highly฀progressive฀ principles฀to฀accommodate฀environmental฀ protection฀ and฀ socioeconomic฀ development฀priorities.60฀ These฀voters฀at฀a฀polling฀place฀in฀Guguletu฀township,฀Cape฀Town,฀wait฀in฀line฀to฀be฀ Given฀ the฀ context฀ in฀ which฀ the฀ policy฀ heard฀on฀many฀issues,฀including฀water฀rights฀and฀justice. now฀ needs฀ to฀ be฀ implemented,฀ which฀ is฀ defined฀by฀the฀transitional฀state฀in฀which฀ what฀a฀CMA฀is,฀how฀it฀will฀function,฀and฀ of฀informed฀decisionmaking฀that฀enables฀ South฀Africa฀ finds฀ itself,฀ difficulties฀ and฀ how฀ local฀ communities฀ can฀ get฀ involved฀ tradeoffs฀to฀be฀made฀between฀competing฀ delays฀can฀be฀expected.฀The฀policy฀differs฀ when฀it฀comes฀to฀making฀decisions฀about฀ users฀of฀a฀given฀resource฀so฀as฀to฀mitigate฀ radically฀ from฀ the฀ apartheid฀ legislation฀ water฀ management.61฀ Also฀ important฀ is฀ conflict,฀ enhance฀ equity,฀ ensure฀ sustainthat฀preceded฀it฀and฀is฀expected฀to฀trigger฀ the฀ need฀ to฀ build฀ policy฀ implementation฀ ability,฀ and฀ hold฀ officials฀ accountable.63฀ profound฀changes฀in฀the฀way฀in฀which฀all฀ structures฀ on฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀ what฀ already฀ The฀process฀therefore฀also฀involves฀actors฀ South฀Africans฀will฀benefit฀from฀access฀to฀ exists.฀Poor฀rural฀communities฀have฀their฀ outside฀ government,฀ such฀ as฀ civil฀ sociwater฀within฀environmental฀limits.฀ own฀water฀allocation฀and฀tenure฀systems฀ ety฀ and฀ scientific฀ organizations,฀ and฀ is฀ The฀CMAs,฀as฀mentioned฀earlier,฀form฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ existing฀ community฀ organiza- characterized฀ by฀ participatory฀ behavior,฀ an฀ integral฀ part฀ of฀ what฀ the฀ National฀ tions฀and฀decisionmaking฀mechanisms฀in฀ transparency,฀ and฀ accountability.฀ With฀ Water฀Act฀foresees฀as฀the฀future฀structures฀ place.฀ The฀ new฀ system฀ should฀ therefore฀ good฀governance,฀an฀effective฀response฀is฀ for฀ water฀ management฀ in฀ South฀ Africa.฀ take฀ this฀ into฀ account฀ and฀ try฀ to฀ under- possible฀to฀the฀needs฀of฀the฀most฀vulnerHowever,฀ a฀ number฀ of฀ challenges฀ will฀ stand฀ and฀ strengthen฀ existing฀ practices฀ able฀sectors฀of฀society,฀specifically฀when฀ need฀to฀be฀resolved฀if฀these฀structures฀are฀ where฀ appropriate.฀ It฀ is฀ also฀ crucial฀ that฀ it฀comes฀to฀water฀resource฀allocation.64฀ to฀ become฀ effective฀ instruments฀ of฀ envi- the฀catchment฀management฀strategies฀that฀ Despite฀ the฀ many฀ challenges฀ and฀ crironmental฀justice.฀ are฀to฀be฀developed฀by฀the฀CMAs฀adopt฀a฀ tiques฀ that฀ it฀ faces,฀ it฀ appears฀ that฀ the฀ New฀ tools฀ will฀ need฀ to฀ be฀ developed฀ pro-poor฀approach฀to฀ensure฀that฀the฀inter- South฀ African฀ government฀ is฀ doing฀ the฀ to฀ facilitate฀ the฀ implementation฀ of฀ the฀ ests฀ of฀ the฀ disadvantaged฀ are฀ taken฀ into฀ right฀ thing.฀ Since฀ 1994,฀ 10฀ million฀ more฀ National฀ Water฀ Act.฀ A฀ priority฀ in฀ this฀ account฀ in฀ all฀ decisionmaking฀ processes฀ people฀have฀received฀access฀to฀safe฀water฀ regard฀ are฀ mechanisms฀ that฀ assist฀ deci- in฀the฀watershed฀area.62 with฀86฀percent฀of฀the฀population’s฀basic฀ 20฀ ENVIRONMENT฀ VOLUME฀49฀NUMBER฀3 ©฀ERIC฀MILLER—PETER฀ARNOLD,฀INC Conclusions฀and฀Critical฀ Observations needs฀now฀satisfied.65฀ Progress฀in฀providing฀ people฀ with฀ sanitation฀ has฀ been฀ less฀ impressive;฀ nonetheless,฀ approximately฀ 5฀million฀more฀South฀Africans฀now฀benefit฀ from฀ better฀ sanitation฀ compared฀ to฀ 1994.66฀These฀figures฀indicate฀that฀DWAF฀ has฀made฀progress฀on฀a฀national฀level฀in฀ beginning฀ to฀ realize฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ National฀ Water฀ Act’s฀ main฀ aims:฀ to฀ redress฀ the฀ legacies฀ of฀ the฀ country’s฀ apartheid฀ past.฀ While฀a฀lot฀still฀has฀to฀be฀done,฀it฀may฀be฀ useful฀for฀South฀Africans฀involved฀in฀the฀ water฀ sector฀ to฀ every฀ now฀ and฀ then฀ stop฀ and฀ look฀ back฀ at฀ what฀ they’ve฀ already฀ achieved—arguably฀ enough฀ to฀ inspire฀ them฀for฀the฀journey฀that฀still฀lies฀ahead.฀ A฀final฀point฀that฀can฀be฀made฀is฀that฀the฀ evolution฀ of฀ South฀Africa’s฀ water฀ policy฀ reflects฀a฀shift฀in฀mindset฀toward฀sustainable฀ resource฀ utilization.฀ Whereas฀ water฀ used฀ to฀ be฀ managed฀ and฀ governed฀ from฀ a฀ strong฀ demand-side฀ perspective฀ and฀ was฀ employed฀ as฀ a฀ strong฀ political฀ tool฀ in฀ engineering฀ the฀ South฀ African฀ socioeconomic฀landscape,฀the฀current฀policy฀is฀ underpinned฀by฀a฀strong฀sense฀of฀futurity฀ as฀well฀as฀the฀need฀to฀balance฀both฀human฀ and฀ecological฀needs.฀In฀many฀ways฀this฀ shift฀ in฀ water฀ policy฀ mimics฀ the฀ shift฀ in฀ thinking฀ in฀ certain฀ progressive฀ research฀ circles:฀ from฀ one฀ which฀ focuses฀ on฀ the฀ physical฀laws฀of฀nature฀and฀the฀principles฀ that฀drive฀society฀and฀what฀we฀are฀capable฀ of฀ doing฀ through฀ technological฀ intervention,฀ toward฀ one฀ which฀ is฀ driven฀ by฀ a฀ strong฀ set฀ of฀ values฀ and฀ the฀ question฀ of฀ “what฀ought฀we฀do?”67฀This฀shift฀is฀wellarticulated฀ in฀ descriptions฀ of฀ the฀ emerging฀ sustainability฀ science฀ research฀ field,฀ which฀ seeks฀ to฀ overcome฀ disciplinary฀ myopia฀by฀focussing฀on฀social-ecological฀ systems฀as฀interconnected,฀complex฀functioning฀wholes.68฀ Nikki฀Funke฀is฀a฀researcher฀at฀the฀Council฀for฀Scientific฀ and฀ Industrial฀ Research฀ (CSIR)฀ in฀ South฀Africa฀ where฀ she฀ is฀ a฀ member฀ of฀ the฀ Water฀ Resource฀ Governance฀ Systems฀Research฀Group.฀She฀can฀be฀reached฀via฀e-mail฀ at฀ nfunke@csir.co.za.฀ Karen฀ Nortje฀ is฀ a฀ researcher฀ and฀ anthropologist฀ at฀ CSIR฀ where฀ she฀ is฀ a฀ member฀ of฀ the฀ Water฀ Resource฀ Governance฀ Systems฀ Research฀ Group.฀ APRIL฀2007฀ She฀ can฀ be฀ reached฀ via฀ e-mail฀ at฀ knortje@csir.co.za.฀ Kieran฀ Findlater฀ is฀ a฀ visiting฀ scientist฀ at฀ CSIR฀ in฀ the฀ Water฀ Resource฀ Governance฀ Systems฀ Research฀ Group.฀ He฀can฀be฀reached฀via฀e-mail฀at฀kfindlater@gmail.com.฀ Mike฀ Burns฀ plays฀ a฀ lead฀ role฀ in฀ fusing฀ the฀ concept฀ of฀ sustainability฀science฀into฀the฀research฀activities฀of฀CSIR฀ and฀ will฀ shortly฀ be฀ taking฀ up฀ a฀ Harvard฀ Fellowship฀ in฀ this฀field.฀He฀can฀be฀reached฀via฀e-mail฀at฀mburns@csir. co.za.฀ Anthony฀ Turton฀ is฀ the฀ Research฀ Group฀ Leader฀ of฀ the฀ Water฀ Resource฀ Governance฀ System฀ Research฀ Group฀ at฀ CSIR.฀ He฀ can฀ be฀ reached฀ via฀ e-mail฀ at฀ aturton@csir.co.za.฀Alex฀Weaver฀is฀the฀Research฀Group฀ Leader฀of฀the฀recently฀established฀Sustainability฀Science฀ research฀ group฀ at฀ CSIR.฀ He฀ can฀ be฀ reached฀ via฀ e-mail฀ at฀ aweaver@csir.co.za.฀ Hanlie฀ Hattingh฀ is฀ a฀ senior฀ researcher฀ in฀ the฀ Water฀ Competency฀ area฀ at฀ CSIR฀ and฀ is฀ the฀ financial฀ and฀ operational฀ leader฀ of฀ the฀ research฀ group:฀Water฀Resource฀Governance฀Systems.฀She฀can฀be฀ reached฀via฀e-mail฀at฀hhattingh@csir.co.za. The฀authors฀wish฀to฀thank฀Marian฀Patrick,฀Jude฀Cobbing,฀Wilma฀Strydom,฀and฀Ernita฀van฀Wyk฀for฀providing฀ valuable฀input฀regarding฀the฀use฀of฀images฀and฀photos. NOTES 1.฀ Department฀ of฀ Water฀ Affairs฀ and฀ Forestry฀ (DWAF),฀ A฀ History฀ of฀ the฀ First฀ Decade฀ of฀ Water฀ Services฀ Delivery฀ in฀ South฀ Africa:฀ 1994–2004฀ (Pretoria,฀ 2004). 2.฀ South฀Africa฀is฀one฀of฀the฀20฀most฀water-deficient฀ countries฀ in฀ the฀ world฀ with฀ an฀ annual฀ rainfall฀ of฀ 19.56฀ inches฀ (497฀ millimeters฀ (mm)),฀ much฀ less฀ than฀ the฀ world฀ average฀ of฀ 33.86฀ inches฀ (860฀ mm).฀ Rainfall฀ in฀ South฀Africa฀is฀also฀highly฀seasonal฀and฀very฀unevenly฀ distributed฀with฀65฀percent฀of฀the฀country฀receiving฀less฀ than฀19.68฀inches฀(500฀mm)฀per฀year.฀See฀P.฀Ashton฀and฀ B.฀Haasbroek,฀“Water฀Demand฀Management฀and฀Social฀ Adaptive฀ Capacity:฀ A฀ South฀ African฀ Case฀ Study,”฀ in฀ A.฀ R.฀ Turton฀ and฀ R.฀ Henwood,฀ eds.,฀ Hydropolitics฀ in฀ the฀ Developing฀ World:฀ A฀ Southern฀ African฀ Perspective฀ (Pretoria:฀ African฀ Water฀ Issues฀ Research฀ Unit,฀ 2002),฀ 187–204.฀ All฀ indications฀ are฀ that฀ South฀ Africa฀ will฀ reach฀ the฀ limits฀ of฀ its฀ potentially฀ accessible฀ water฀ supplies฀ between฀ 2020฀ and฀ 2030,฀ a฀ situation฀ that฀ is฀ likely฀ to฀ be฀ aggravated฀ by฀ the฀ effects฀ of฀ climate฀ change.฀ See฀ H.฀ Mackay,฀ “Background:฀ Pressures฀ for฀ Change฀ in฀ the฀ Water฀Sector,”฀in฀D.฀Reed฀and฀M.฀de฀Wit,฀eds.,฀Towards฀ a฀ Just฀ South฀Africa:฀ The฀ Political฀ Economy฀ of฀ Natural฀ Resource฀ Wealth฀ (Washington,฀ DC:฀ WWF฀ Macroeconomic฀Programme,฀2003):฀49–76. 3.฀ In฀ summary,฀ the฀ purpose฀ of฀ the฀ Water฀ Services฀ Act฀of฀1997฀is฀to฀provide฀for฀the฀right฀of฀access฀to฀basic฀ water฀supply฀and฀the฀right฀to฀basic฀sanitation.฀In฀addition,฀ national฀ standards฀ and฀ norms฀ and฀ tariffs฀ for฀ water฀ services฀have฀to฀be฀set,฀while฀water฀services฀institutions฀have฀ to฀ be฀ assisted฀ financially฀ and฀ held฀ accountable฀ for฀ their฀ actions.฀Acts฀Online,฀2007,฀Water฀Services฀Act,฀Act฀108฀ of฀1997,฀http://www.acts.co.za/water_serv/index.htm 4.฀ The฀purpose฀of฀the฀National฀Water฀Act฀of฀1998฀is฀ to฀ensure฀that฀South฀Africa’s฀water฀resources฀are฀protected,฀used,฀developed,฀conserved,฀managed,฀and฀controlled฀ in฀ ways฀ which฀ take฀ into฀ the฀ following฀ factors:฀ meeting฀ the฀basic฀human฀needs฀of฀present฀and฀future฀generations;฀ promoting฀ equitable฀ access฀ to฀ water;฀ redressing฀ the฀ results฀of฀past฀racial฀and฀gender฀discrimination;฀promoting฀the฀efficient,฀sustainable,฀and฀beneficial฀use฀of฀water฀ in฀ the฀ public฀ interest;฀ facilitating฀ social฀ and฀ economic฀ development;฀ providing฀ for฀ growing฀ demand฀ for฀ water฀ use;฀ protecting฀ aquatic฀ and฀ associated฀ ecosystems฀ and฀ their฀ biological฀ diversity;฀ reducing฀ and฀ preventing฀ pol- lution฀ and฀ degradation฀ of฀ water฀ resources;฀ meeting฀ international฀ obligations;฀ promoting฀ dam฀ safety;฀ and฀ managing฀floods฀and฀droughts.฀To฀achieve฀this฀goal,฀฀it฀ called฀for฀establishing฀suitable฀institutions฀and฀ensuring฀ that฀they฀have฀appropriate฀community,฀racial,฀and฀gender฀ representation.฀ Acts฀ Online,฀ 2007,฀ National฀ Water฀Act,฀ Act฀36฀of฀1998,฀http://www.acts.co.za/ntl_water/. 5.฀ The฀ Khoisan,฀ as฀ is฀ the฀ case฀ with฀ many฀ of฀ the฀ other฀ indigenous฀ peoples฀ of฀ South฀ Africa,฀ have฀ lived฀ a฀ history฀ of฀ marginalization฀ and฀ disenfranchisement,฀ mainly฀ as฀ a฀ result฀ of฀ the฀ exclusionary฀ policies฀ of฀ colonialism฀ and,฀ subsequently,฀ apartheid.฀ Today,฀ they฀ are฀ a฀ near-extinct฀society,฀as฀illustrated฀by฀the฀“dead”฀language฀ of฀ the฀ /xam฀ people,฀ now฀ only฀ used฀ as฀ the฀ motto฀ of฀ the฀ new฀South฀African฀coat฀of฀arms.฀See฀L.฀Guelke฀and฀R.฀ Shell,฀ “Landscape฀ of฀ Conquest:฀ Frontier฀ Water฀ Alienation฀and฀Khoikhoi฀Strategies฀of฀Survival,฀1652–1780,”฀ Journal฀ of฀ Southern฀ African฀ Studies฀ 18,฀ no.฀ 4฀ (1992):฀ 803–24. 6.฀ Guelke฀and฀Shell,฀ibid.,฀page฀805. 7.฀ C.฀ G.฀ Hall,฀ The฀ Origin฀ and฀ Development฀ of฀ Water฀Rights฀in฀South฀Africa฀(Oxford:฀Oxford฀University฀ Press,฀1939);฀C.฀G.฀Hall฀and฀A.฀P.฀Burger,฀Hall฀on฀Water฀ Rights฀in฀South฀Africa฀(Oxford:฀Oxford฀University฀Press,฀ 1957);฀H.฀Thompson,฀Water฀Law:฀a฀Practical฀Approach฀ to฀Resource฀Management฀and฀the฀Provision฀of฀Services฀ (Cape฀Town:฀Juta฀&฀Co฀Ltd,฀2006). 8.฀ Guelke฀and฀Shell,฀note฀5฀above,฀page฀811. 9.฀ Guelke฀and฀Shell,฀note฀5฀above,฀page฀816. 10.฀ L.฀C.฀Duly,฀“The฀Failure฀of฀British฀Land฀Policy฀ at฀the฀Cape,฀1812–1821,”฀Journal฀of฀African฀History฀6,฀ no.฀3:฀357–71. 11.฀ H.฀Thompson,฀note฀7฀above,฀page฀36. 12.฀ A.฀ Turton,฀ et฀ al.,฀ “Gold,฀ Scorched฀ Earth฀ and฀ Water:฀ the฀ Hydropolitics฀ of฀ Johannesburg,”฀ International฀Journal฀of฀Water฀Resources฀Development฀22,฀no.฀ 2฀(2006):฀313–35. 13.฀ A.฀D.฀Lewis,฀Water฀Law:฀Its฀Development฀in฀the฀ Union฀ of฀ South฀ Africa฀ (Cape฀ Town฀ and฀ Johannesburg:฀ Juta฀&฀Co.฀Ltd,฀1934). 14.฀ Union฀of฀South฀Africa,฀Report฀of฀the฀Director฀of฀ Irrigation฀for฀the฀Period฀1st฀April,฀1928,฀to฀31st฀March,฀ 1929,฀Doc.฀No.฀U.G.฀No.฀9-’30฀(Pretoria,฀1930).฀ 15.฀ T.฀ van฀ Rensburg,฀ Camp฀ Diary฀ of฀ Henrietta฀ E.฀ C.฀Armstrong:฀Experiences฀of฀a฀Boer฀Nurse฀in฀the฀Irene฀ Concentration฀Camp฀6฀April฀to฀11฀October฀1901฀(Pretoria:฀Human฀Sciences฀Research฀Council,฀1980).฀ 16.฀ Republic฀ of฀ South฀ Africa฀ (RSA),฀ Report฀ on฀ the฀ Supplementary฀ Drainage฀ Works฀ for฀ the฀ Riet฀ River฀ Government฀ Water฀ Scheme,฀ Report฀ No.฀ W.P.฀ J-’77฀ (Pretoria,฀ 1977).฀ 17.฀ A.฀R.฀Turton,฀R.฀Meissner,฀P.฀M.฀Mampane,฀and฀ O.฀ Seremo,฀ A฀ Hydropolitical฀ History฀ of฀ South฀ Africa’s฀ International฀River฀Basins,฀Water฀Research฀Commission฀ Report฀ No.฀ 1220/1/04฀ (Pretoria:฀ Water฀ Research฀ Commission,฀2004). 18.฀ Thompson,฀note฀7฀above,฀58–60. 19.฀ The฀ NP฀ government’s฀ policy฀ of฀ discouraging฀ migration฀ from฀ rural฀ to฀ urban฀ areas฀ could฀ also฀ have฀ played฀a฀part฀here,฀as฀this฀required฀the฀provision฀of฀jobs฀ to฀Black฀people฀living฀in฀rural฀areas.฀See฀Mackay,฀note฀2฀ above,฀page฀50.฀ 20.฀ The฀ Natives’฀ Land฀ Act฀ (Act฀ No.฀ 27฀ of฀ 1913)฀ institutionalized฀exclusive฀White฀ownership฀of฀land฀outside฀of฀the฀demarcated฀“native”฀areas,฀while฀the฀Group฀ Areas฀ Act฀ (Act฀ No.฀ 41฀ of฀ 1950)฀ brought฀ into฀ effect฀ “race฀zoning”฀in฀South฀Africa.฀The฀latter฀also฀supported฀ influx฀ controls฀ implemented฀ by฀ the฀ government฀ as฀ the฀ majority฀ of฀ the฀ Black฀ population฀ was฀ “relocated”฀ to฀ ENVIRONMENT฀ 21 resettlement฀camps฀in฀the฀“independent”฀homelands.฀See฀ G.฀Budlender฀and฀J.฀Latsky,฀“Unravelling฀Rights฀to฀Land฀ in฀Rural฀Race฀Zones,”฀in฀M.฀de฀Klerk,฀ed.,฀A฀Harvest฀of฀ Discontent:฀ The฀ Land฀ Question฀ in฀ South฀ Africa฀ (Cape฀ Town:฀IDASA,฀1991).฀ 21.฀ Republic฀ of฀ South฀Africa฀ (RSA),฀ Report฀ on฀ the฀ Crocodile฀River฀(Eastern฀Transvaal)฀Government฀Waterwork฀(Sterkspruit฀Dam),฀Doc.฀No.฀W.P.฀T-’75฀(Pretoria,฀ 1975).฀ 22.฀ Republic฀ of฀ South฀Africa฀ (RSA),฀ Report฀ on฀ the฀ Proposed฀ Grootdraai฀ Dam฀ Emergency฀ Augmentation฀ Scheme,฀Doc.฀No.฀W.P.฀K-’83฀(Pretoria,฀1983);฀Republic฀ of฀ South฀Africa฀ (RSA),฀Report฀on฀the฀Proposed฀Extension฀of฀the฀Usutu-Vaal฀River฀Government฀Water฀Scheme฀ (Doubling฀of฀the฀Pipelines฀between฀the฀Grootdraai฀Dam฀ and฀ the฀ Trichardtsfontein฀ Balancing฀ Dam),฀ Doc.฀ No.฀ W.P.฀L-’83฀(Pretoria,฀1983). 23.฀ Mackay,฀note฀2฀above,฀page฀51. 24.฀ Mackay,฀see฀note฀2฀above,฀page฀49. 25.฀ According฀ to฀ the฀ South฀ African฀ Constitution฀ (Section฀ 24฀ in฀ the฀ Bill฀ of฀ Rights),฀ everyone฀ has฀ the฀ right: a)to฀an฀environment฀that฀is฀not฀harmful฀to฀their฀ health฀or฀well-being;฀and฀ b)฀to฀have฀the฀environment฀protected,฀for฀the฀benefit฀ of฀present฀and฀future฀generations,฀through฀reasonable฀ legislative฀and฀other฀measures฀that— c)฀prevent฀pollution฀and฀ecological฀degradation;฀ (i)฀promote฀conservation;฀and฀ (ii)฀secure฀ecologically฀sustainable฀development฀and฀ use฀of฀natural฀resources฀while฀promoting฀justifiable฀ economic฀and฀social฀development. (Republic฀ of฀ South฀ Africa฀ (RSA),฀ Constitution฀ of฀ South฀Africa,฀Act฀108฀of฀1996฀(Pretoria,฀1996).)฀ 26.฀ B.฀Schreiner,฀B.฀van฀Koppen฀and฀T.฀Khumbane,฀ “From฀ Bucket฀ to฀ Basin:฀ a฀ New฀ Paradigm฀ for฀ Water฀ Management,฀ Poverty฀ Eradication฀ and฀ Gender฀ Equity,”฀ in฀A.฀R.฀Turton฀and฀R.฀Henwood,฀eds.,฀Hydropolitics฀in฀ the฀ Developing฀ World:฀ a฀ Southern฀ African฀ Perspective฀ (Pretoria:฀ African฀ Water฀ Issues฀ Research฀ Unit,฀ 2002):฀ 127–40. 27.฀ Ibid.,฀page฀127. 28.฀ According฀to฀the฀National฀Water฀Act,฀central฀government฀stays฀responsible฀for฀certain฀functions฀including฀ policy฀ formulation฀ and฀ regulation,฀ development฀ and฀ maintenance฀of฀a฀national฀water฀resource฀strategy฀(which฀ sets฀ out฀ the฀ long-term฀ goals฀ and฀ objectives฀ for฀ water฀ management฀ at฀ the฀ national฀ level)฀ and฀ joint฀ management฀of฀international฀catchments.฀The฀Minister฀of฀Water฀ Affairs฀and฀Forestry฀also฀retains฀responsibility฀for฀specifying฀the฀requirements฀of฀the฀“reserve,”฀the฀international฀ water฀requirements฀to฀be฀set฀aside฀for฀meeting฀possible฀ future฀ contingencies฀ and฀ the฀ quantity฀ of฀ water฀ needed฀ for฀ strategic฀ uses฀ that฀ are฀ of฀ national฀ importance฀ (see฀ Mackay,฀note฀2฀above,฀page฀62). 29.฀ Department฀ of฀ Water฀ Affairs฀ and฀ Forestry฀ (DWAF),฀ Usutu฀ to฀ Mhlatuze฀ Water฀ Management฀ Area:฀ Internal฀ Strategic฀ Perspective,฀ Report฀ No.฀ P฀ WMA฀ Advertise฀in ® Contact฀Sally฀Wright 540.592.3634฀or฀swright@heldref.org 22฀ ENVIRONMENT฀ 06/000/00/0304฀(Pretoria,฀2004). 30.฀ B.฀W.฀ Raven,฀ Water฀Affairs฀ in฀ the฀ Lower฀ Blyde฀ River:฀the฀Role฀of฀DWAF฀in฀Local฀Water฀Management,฀ IWMI฀Working฀Paper฀(Wageningen,฀2004).฀ 31.฀ Mackay,฀note฀2฀above,฀page฀62. 32.฀ Ibid.,฀page฀64. 33.฀ According฀ to฀ the฀ National฀ Water฀ Act฀ and฀ the฀ public฀ trust฀ doctrine฀ that฀ it฀ encapsulates,฀ the฀ South฀ African฀ government฀ is฀ ultimately฀ responsible฀ to฀ ensure฀ that฀ “water฀ is฀ protected,฀ used,฀ developed,฀ conserved,฀ managed฀ and฀ controlled฀ in฀ a฀ sustainable฀ and฀ equitable฀ manner฀for฀the฀benefit฀of฀all฀persons฀and฀in฀accordance฀ with฀its฀Constitutional฀mandate.”฀The฀Minister฀of฀Water฀ Affairs฀ and฀ Forestry฀ has฀ the฀ executive฀ responsibility฀ to฀ ensure฀ that฀ water฀ is฀ allocated฀ equitably฀ and฀ used฀ beneficially฀ in฀ the฀ public฀ interest.฀At฀ the฀ same฀ time,฀ environmental฀ values฀ must฀ be฀ promoted.฀ R.฀ Stein,฀ “Water฀ Sector฀Reforms฀in฀Southern฀Africa:฀Some฀Case฀Studies,”฀ in฀A.฀R.฀Turton฀and฀R.฀Henwood,฀eds.,฀Hydropolitics฀in฀ the฀ Developing฀ World:฀ a฀ Southern฀ African฀ Perspective฀ (Pretoria:฀ African฀ Water฀ Issues฀ Research฀ Unit,฀ 2002):฀ 113–23. 34.฀ Ibid.,฀page฀119. 35.฀ Mackay,฀note฀2฀above,฀page฀55–56. 36.฀ What฀ is฀ problematic฀ is฀ that฀ most฀ people฀ who฀ have฀ ready฀ access฀ to฀ formal฀ water฀ services฀ and฀ those฀ who฀ use฀ large฀ quantities฀ of฀ water฀ in฀ the฀ industrial฀ and฀ agricultural฀ sectors฀ see฀ water฀ as฀ cheap฀ and฀ plentiful.฀ What฀ is฀ necessary฀ is฀ for฀ the฀ country฀ to฀ adopt฀ a฀ culture฀ of฀water฀saving฀by฀applying฀demand฀management฀policies.฀ Successful฀ water฀ demand฀ management฀ will฀ mean฀ that฀a฀policy฀combining฀effective฀education฀and฀awareness-raising฀ is฀ needed฀ along฀ with฀ the฀ implementation฀ of฀economic฀instruments฀that฀will฀help฀different฀sectors฀ self-regulate฀their฀water฀use.฀Education฀programs฀can฀be฀ seen฀as฀long-term฀interventions฀which฀require฀considerable฀ leadership฀ and฀ commitment฀ from฀ the฀ government,฀ while฀ economic฀ instruments฀ would฀ have฀ to฀ be฀ phased฀ in฀ slowly฀ to฀ counteract฀ the฀ long-standing฀ effects฀ of฀ artificially฀low฀water฀prices฀in฀the฀past฀without฀causing฀ significantly฀negative฀impacts฀on฀the฀national฀economy฀ (see฀Mackay,฀note฀2฀above,฀page฀74–75). 37.฀ South฀Africa’s฀National฀Water฀Act฀makes฀provision฀ for฀ public฀ consultation,฀ with฀ the฀ Minister฀ being฀ obliged฀to฀take฀comments฀from฀the฀public฀into฀account฀in฀ the฀process฀of฀decisionmaking.฀Access฀to฀information฀is฀ also฀guaranteed฀by฀the฀act,฀which฀means฀that฀information฀ that฀affects฀the฀public฀must฀be฀made฀available,฀including฀ flood฀ and฀ drought฀ warnings;฀ any฀ risks฀ imposed฀ by฀ the฀ quality฀of฀water฀to฀life,฀health,฀or฀property;฀and฀any฀other฀ matter฀that฀may฀be฀necessary฀to฀achieve฀the฀goals฀of฀the฀ National฀ Water฀ Act฀ (section฀ 142).฀ See฀ Stein,฀ note฀ 33฀ above,฀page฀120.฀ 38.฀ Ibid.,฀page฀119.฀ 39.฀ Republic฀of฀South฀Africa฀(RSA),฀Water฀Services฀ Act,฀Act฀No.฀108฀of฀1997฀(Pretoria:฀Department฀of฀Water฀ Affairs฀and฀Forestry,฀1997),฀ 40.฀ N.฀ Funke,฀ S.฀ H.฀ H.฀ Oelofse,฀ J.฀ Hattingh,฀ P.฀ J.฀ Ashton฀and฀A.฀R.฀Turton,฀“IWRM฀in฀Developing฀Countries:฀ Lessons฀ from฀ the฀ Mhlatuze฀ Catchment฀ in฀ South฀ Africa,”฀Paper฀presented฀at฀the฀7th฀WaterNet/WARFSA/฀ GWP-SA฀ Symposium฀ in฀ Lilongwe,฀ Malawi฀ from฀ 1–3฀ November฀2006.฀ 41.฀ Unfortunately,฀it฀is฀not฀likely฀that฀smaller฀municipalities,฀ particularly฀ those฀ in฀ remote฀ rural฀ areas,฀ will฀ easily฀ emulate฀ the฀ example฀ set฀ by฀ Durban.฀ The฀ reason฀ for฀this฀is฀that฀smaller฀local฀authorities฀have฀much฀more฀ limited฀financial฀resources฀and฀simply฀cannot฀afford฀the฀ development฀ and฀ maintenance฀ costs฀ required฀ to฀ sustain฀ free฀ water฀ supplies.฀ Another฀ way฀ of฀ attaching฀ “value”฀ to฀water฀is฀of฀course฀by฀changing฀people’s฀behavior฀and฀ attitudes฀ so฀ that฀ they฀ think฀ carefully฀ about฀ how฀ much฀ water฀to฀use฀in฀their฀daily฀lives฀and฀end฀up฀wasting฀less฀ of฀ this฀ precious฀ resource.฀ Here,฀ it฀ is฀ important฀ to฀ mention฀ a฀ project฀ that฀ has฀ managed฀ to฀ successfully฀ reduce฀ annual฀ water฀ consumption฀ by฀ some฀ 16.5฀ percent฀ in฀ the฀ Hermanus฀ area฀ (Western฀ Cape,฀ South฀ Africa).฀ The฀ Greater฀ Hermanus฀Water฀ Conservation฀ Program,฀ which฀ consisted฀of฀a฀suite฀of฀short-฀and฀long-term฀technical฀and฀ economic฀techniques฀along฀with฀an฀intensive฀awareness฀ campaign,฀ enhanced฀ responsiveness฀ among฀ all฀ water฀ users,฀ and฀ reduced฀ water฀ consumption฀ to฀ within฀ target฀ levels.฀ During฀ this฀ process,฀ water฀ users฀ accepted฀ both฀ the฀rationale฀for฀this฀water฀demand฀management฀program฀ and฀ also฀ demonstrated฀ their฀ individual฀ commitment฀ to฀ the฀process,฀thereby฀ensuring฀the฀success฀of฀the฀program.฀ See฀ Ashton฀ and฀ Haasbroek,฀ note฀ 2฀ above,฀ page฀ 194.฀ Such฀a฀change฀in฀behavior฀will฀be฀necessary฀throughout฀ the฀country฀if฀South฀Africa’s฀water฀demand฀levels฀are฀to฀ decrease.฀ It฀ would฀ be฀ good฀ for฀ other฀ municipalities฀ to฀ learn฀ from฀ Hermanus฀ in฀ this฀ regard฀ and฀ to฀ start฀ implementing฀ similar฀ programs,฀ as฀ such฀ change฀ is฀ likely฀ to฀ best฀be฀effected฀at฀the฀local฀level.฀ 42.฀ The฀sustainable฀management฀of฀natural฀resources฀ also฀ necessitates฀ tradeoffs฀ to฀ be฀ made฀ between฀ social,฀ economic,฀ and฀ environmental฀ imperatives฀ to฀ find฀ an฀ appropriate฀ balance.฀ The฀ national฀ classification฀ system฀ for฀ water฀ resources฀ that฀ the฀ National฀ Water฀Act฀ makes฀ provision฀ for฀ has฀ the฀ purpose฀ of฀ classifying฀ water฀ resources฀according฀to฀the฀degree฀to฀which฀they฀should฀ be฀protected฀or฀used฀for฀development฀purposes.฀In฀terms฀ of฀this฀provision,฀some฀water฀resources฀may฀be฀classified฀ as฀requiring฀a฀high฀level฀of฀protection฀due฀to฀their฀value฀ to฀society฀and฀may฀consequently฀receive฀ a฀ higher฀ class฀ and฀a฀more฀conservative฀“reserve.”฀Other฀water฀resources,฀on฀the฀other฀hand,฀may฀be฀assigned฀a฀lower฀class฀and฀ a฀ correspondingly฀ lower฀ “reserve”฀ because฀ they฀ have฀ been฀ earmarked฀ for฀ development฀ purposes.฀ The฀ latter฀ would฀still฀be฀afforded฀protection฀but฀without฀additional฀ safety฀factors฀(see฀Mackay,฀note฀2฀above,฀pages฀59–60).฀ The฀ process฀ of฀ defining฀ management฀ classes฀ for฀ each฀ river฀ system฀ and฀ then฀ providing฀ quantitative฀ estimates฀ of฀what฀percentage฀of฀each฀river฀should฀be฀conserved฀for฀ “reserve”฀purposes฀is฀still฀continuing.฀What฀is฀important฀ to฀note฀is฀that฀the฀success฀or฀failure฀of฀these฀approaches฀ depends฀largely฀on฀the฀effectiveness฀of฀individual฀water฀ resource฀managers฀as฀well฀as฀the฀effective฀functioning฀of฀ the฀catchment฀management฀agencies,฀many฀of฀which฀still฀ have฀to฀be฀established฀(see฀Ashton฀and฀Haasbroek,฀note฀2฀ above,฀page฀193). 43.฀ DWAF,฀Overview฀of฀Water฀Resources฀Availability฀and฀Utilisation,฀Report฀No.฀P฀WMA฀06/000/00/0203฀ (Pretoria,฀2003). 44.฀ Stein,฀note฀33฀above,฀page฀122. 45.฀ Stein,฀note฀33฀above,฀page฀122. 46.฀ J.฀Hattingh,฀G.฀Maree,฀S.฀Oelofse,฀A.฀Turton,฀and฀ E.฀ van฀ Wyk,฀ “Environmental฀ Governance฀ and฀ Equity฀ in฀ a฀ Democratic฀ South฀ Africa,”฀ paper฀ presented฀ at฀ the฀ AWRA/IWLRI฀International฀Conference฀on฀Water฀Law฀ Governance฀in฀Dundee,฀Scotland,฀2004. 47.฀ Funke,฀Oelofse,฀J.฀Hattingh,฀Ashton฀and฀Turton,฀ note฀40฀above,฀page฀13.฀ 48.฀ S.฀ Pollard฀ and฀ D.฀ du฀ Toit,฀ “Achieving฀ Integrated฀ Water฀ Resource฀ Management:฀ The฀ Mismatch฀ in฀ Boundaries฀Between฀Water฀Resources฀Management฀and฀ Water฀Supply,”฀International฀Workshop฀on฀African฀Water฀ Laws:฀ Plural฀ Legislative฀ Frameworks฀ for฀ Rural฀ Water฀ Management฀ in฀ Africa฀ in฀ Johannesburg,฀ South฀ Africa,฀ 26–28฀January฀2005. 49.฀ Ibid.,฀page฀9 50.฀ Ibid.,฀page฀9. 51.฀ J.฀ Hattingh,฀ Maree,฀ Oelofse,฀ Turton,฀ and฀ van฀ VOLUME฀49฀NUMBER฀3 Wyk,฀note฀46฀above,฀page฀6. 52.฀ P.฀J.฀Ashton,฀“The฀Role฀of฀Good฀Governance฀in฀ Sustainable฀ Development:฀ Implications฀ for฀ Integrated฀ Water฀Resources฀Management฀in฀Southern฀Africa,”฀in฀A.฀ R.฀Turton฀et฀al.,฀eds.,฀Governance฀as฀a฀Trialogue—฀Government-Society-Science฀in฀Transition฀(Berlin:฀SpringerVerlag,฀2007):฀80–100. 53.฀ J.฀ Hattingh,฀ Maree,฀ Oelofse,฀ Turton,฀ and฀ van฀ Wyk,฀note฀46฀above,฀page฀5.฀ 54.฀ A฀ promising฀ exception฀ to฀ this฀ overall฀ tendency฀ was฀ the฀ Convention฀ for฀ a฀ Democratic฀ South฀ Africa฀ (CODESA),฀ which฀ managed฀ to฀ mobilize฀ substantial฀ skills฀of฀negotiation฀between฀various฀parties฀with฀opposing฀views฀in฀the฀run-up฀to฀the฀first฀democratic฀elections฀ in฀ 1994.฀ This฀ initiative฀ therefore฀ demonstrated฀ how฀ South฀ Africans฀ from฀ a฀ range฀ of฀ diverse฀ backgrounds฀ are฀able฀to฀cooperate฀under฀a฀set฀of฀specific,฀and฀in฀this฀ case฀crucially฀important,฀conditions.฀See฀R.฀Spitz฀and฀M.฀ Chaskalson,฀The฀Politics฀of฀Transition:฀a฀Hidden฀History฀ of฀ South฀ Africa’s฀ Negotiated฀ Settlement฀ (Johannesburg:฀ Witwatersrand฀University฀Press,฀2000). 55.฀ J.฀ Hattingh,฀ Maree,฀ Oelofse,฀ Turton,฀ and฀ van฀ Wyk,฀note฀46฀above,฀page฀6. 56.฀ R.฀ Adler,฀ N.฀ Funke,฀ K.฀ Findlater,฀ and฀ A.฀ R.฀ Turton,฀The฀Changing฀Relationship฀between฀the฀Government฀and฀the฀Mining฀Industry฀in฀South฀Africa:฀A฀Critical฀ Assessment฀of฀the฀Far฀West฀Rand฀Dolomitic฀Water฀Association฀and฀the฀State฀Coordinating฀Technical฀Committee฀ (Pretoria:฀Council฀for฀Scientific฀and฀Industrial฀Research฀ (CSIR),฀2006).฀ APRIL฀2007฀ 57.฀ “Research฀Seeks฀Answers฀for฀Century-Old฀Problem”,฀ The฀ Water฀ Wheel฀ 4,฀ no.฀ 2฀ (March/April฀ 2005):฀ 16–21.฀ 58.฀ Adler,฀ Funke,฀ Findlater,฀ and฀ Turton,฀ note฀ 56฀ above,฀page฀4. 59.฀ Adler,฀ Funke,฀ Findlater,฀ and฀ Turton,฀ note฀ 56฀ above.฀A฀ case฀ in฀ point฀ is฀ the฀ Far฀ West฀ Rand฀ of฀ South฀ Africa฀ where฀ there฀ is฀ rising฀ concern฀ over฀ heavy฀ metal฀ and฀ radionuclide฀ contamination฀ in฀ the฀ Wonderfontein฀ Spruit฀ Catchment.฀ The฀ current฀ government฀ has฀ commissioned฀ the฀ first฀ public฀ domain฀ studies฀ on฀ this฀ topic,฀ which฀ show฀ heavy฀ metal฀ contamination฀ up฀ to฀ 40฀ times฀ the฀internationally฀accepted฀norm.฀H.฀Coetzee,฀F.฀Winde฀ and฀ P.฀ W.฀ Wade,฀ An฀ Assessment฀ of฀ Sources,฀ Pathways,฀ Mechanisms฀and฀Risks฀of฀Current฀and฀Potential฀Future฀ Pollution฀of฀Water฀and฀Sediments฀in฀Gold-Mining฀Areas฀ of฀ the฀ Wonderfonteinspruit฀ Catchment,฀ WRC฀ Report฀ No.฀ 1214/1/06฀ (Pretoria:฀ Water฀ Research฀ Commission,฀ 2006).฀This฀poses฀a฀significant฀challenge฀technically฀and฀ will฀test฀the฀government’s฀credibility฀in฀the฀near฀future.฀ The฀ very฀ fact฀ that฀ the฀ government฀ chose฀ to฀ fund฀ these฀ reports฀ and฀ release฀ them฀ as฀ public฀ domain฀ documents฀ is฀empirical฀evidence฀that฀it฀is฀serious฀about฀meeting฀its฀ Constitutional฀ mandate฀ for฀ historic฀ redress,฀ social฀ and฀ environmental฀ justice,฀ and฀ intergenerational฀ equality.฀ It฀ remains฀ to฀ be฀ seen,฀ however,฀ to฀ which฀ extent฀ it฀ will฀ successfully฀be฀able฀to฀resolve฀this฀potentially฀explosive฀ situation฀in฀practice.฀ 60.฀ C.฀de฀Coning฀and฀T.฀Sherwill,฀An฀Assessment฀of฀ the฀Water฀Policy฀Process฀in฀South฀Africa฀(1994฀to฀2003),฀ Water฀Research฀Commission฀Report฀TT232/04฀(Pretoria,฀ 2004). 61.฀ Due฀ to฀ high฀ levels฀ of฀ illiteracy฀ in฀ rural฀ areas฀ in฀ South฀ Africa,฀ posters฀ and฀ brochures฀ may฀ not฀ be฀ sufficient฀ to฀ communicate฀ messages฀ about฀ local฀ water฀ management.฀ Other฀ forms฀ of฀ communication฀ will฀ have฀ to฀be฀developed. 62.฀ Schreiner฀et฀al.,฀note฀26฀above,฀page฀139. 63.฀ A.฀R.Turton,฀J.฀Hattingh,฀M.฀Claassen,฀D.฀J.฀Roux฀ and฀P.฀J.฀Ashton,฀“Towards฀a฀Model฀for฀Ecosystem฀Governance:฀ An฀ Integrated฀ Water฀ Resource฀ Management฀ Example,”฀in฀A.R.฀Turton฀et฀al.,฀eds.,฀Governance฀as฀a฀ Trialogue—Government-Society-Science฀ in฀ Transition฀ (Berlin:฀Springer-Verlag,฀2007).฀ 64.฀ J.฀ Hattingh,฀ Maree,฀ Oelofse,฀ Turton,฀ and฀ van฀ Wyk,฀note฀46฀above,฀page฀1–3. 65.฀ United฀ Nations฀ Development฀ Programme฀ (UNDP),฀ Human฀ Development฀ Report฀ 2006.฀ Beyond฀ Scarcity:฀ Power,฀ Poverty฀ and฀ the฀ Global฀ Water฀ Crisis฀ (New฀ York:฀ United฀ Nations฀ Development฀ Programme,฀ 2006). 66.฀ Ibid.,฀page฀63. 67.฀ M.฀A.฀Max-Neef,฀“Foundations฀of฀Transdisciplinarity,”฀Ecological฀Economics฀53,฀(2005):฀5–16. 68.฀ R.W.฀ Kates฀ et฀ al.,฀ “Sustainability฀ Science,”฀ Science,฀ 27฀April฀ 2001,฀ 641–42.;฀ M.฀ Burns,฀ M.฀Audouin,฀ and฀ A.฀ Weaver,฀ “Advancing฀ Sustainability฀ Science฀ in฀ South฀Africa,”฀South฀African฀Journal฀of฀Science฀102,฀no.฀ 9/10฀(September/October฀2006):฀379–84. ENVIRONMENT฀ 23