This systematic review found little evidence of the effectiveness of interventions in water resource management for the achievement of development outcomes. The strongest evidence was that water-efficient irrigation systems could...
moreThis systematic review found little evidence of the effectiveness of interventions in water resource management for the achievement of development outcomes. The strongest evidence was that water-efficient irrigation systems could contribute to improved household incomes. The only conclusion on the impact of nature-based interventions was that in the handful (7) of studies on ecosystem based watershed management, there were weak but positive outcomes on crop yields and household income, particularly when interventions were supported by an international financial institution. The diversity of interventions and contexts and the thin evidence base which met methodological criteria contributed to the limited findings. Of the 19 435 research papers reviewed, only 172 met criteria for inclusion and only 103 covered the intervention categories that were eventually assessed.
ABSTRACT South African efforts to channel increased financial flows to support the provision of sustainable water supply and sanitation services have enjoyed limited success and the quality of service provision is declining. This paper...
moreABSTRACT
South African efforts to channel increased financial flows to support the provision of sustainable water supply and sanitation services have enjoyed limited success and the quality of service provision is declining. This paper identifies critical obstacles to performance improvement and suggests potential pathways to overcome them. Current obstacles include a failure to balance infrastructure investment with O&M (operations and maintenance) resources or to ring-fence water-related financial flows at municipal level; institutional deficiencies which weaken oversight and limit intervention where systems fail; and inappropriate norms and standards for service provision coupled with unrealistic user expectations, which are often encouraged by weak political leadership. Potential reform interventions that are feasible within current Constitutional arrangements are described and the constraints on their implementation are outlined, together with strategic suggestions on how these may be overcome. In most cases, substantial policy innovation will be required, backed by institutional reform.
This report encapsulates the findings from a study commissioned by the African Development Bank in 2013, and identifies key constraints to managing and developing water resources in Africa’s transboundary basins in order to support...
moreThis report encapsulates the findings from a study commissioned by the African Development Bank in 2013, and identifies key constraints to managing and developing water resources in Africa’s transboundary basins in order to support regional integration. It also provides some guidance on how to address these constraints so that the development of transboundary water resources can support the broader goals of regional integration.
This paper reviews South Africa's efforts to realise the right to water from a welfare policy perspective. 'Free basic water' (FBW), initially a water sector policy, was later recognised to be part of the...
moreThis paper reviews South Africa's efforts to realise the right to water from a welfare policy perspective. 'Free basic water' (FBW), initially a water sector policy, was later recognised to be part of the country's wider social protection framework. However, while the principle of providing poor households with free basic services has been sustained, FBW has not provided reliable access for many of its intended beneficiaries. Analysis of the policy, implementation and performance of the programme identifies unresolved policy tensions between welfare objectives and other government priorities, reflected in the choice of targeted rather than universal welfare strategies. It is concluded that these welfare policy tensions have weakened the outcomes of the free basic water policy which are more usually blamed on operational and institutional failures. While the FBW principle is generally accepted, practical performance is often weak.
Although the water‐energy‐food (WEF) nexus is neither a coherent theoretical paradigm nor an operational analytical tool, it can still make a useful contribution to better water resource management. It will do this if it is used to...
moreAlthough the water‐energy‐food (WEF) nexus is neither a coherent theoretical paradigm nor an operational analytical tool, it can still make a useful contribution to better water resource management. It will do this if it is used to highlight the systemic interaction between different water uses in important practical contexts, the challenges that this poses, and effective approaches to address them. In particular, its focus on sectors that are of high priority to fast‐growing developing countries will help them find ways to achieve a better balance between socioeconomic development and environmental goals than current, contested, approaches to water resource management. Chapter 3 (in) Water‐Energy‐Food Nexus: Principles and Practices, Geophysical Monograph 229, (Eds) P. Abdul Salam, Sangam Shrestha, Vishnu Prasad Pandey, and Anil Kumar Anal.
The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority was established in 1986 as a special-purpose vehicle to implement the South African side of the binational Lesotho Highlands Water Project. In 2000, it was transformed into a generic public project...
moreThe Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority was established in 1986 as a special-purpose vehicle to implement the South African side of the binational Lesotho Highlands Water Project. In 2000, it was transformed into a generic public project implementing agency. In this role, it has funded and implemented the timely and economical delivery of large strategic water projects. Its implementation methodologies avoided many of the risks associated with such projects, due largely to the disciplines imposed by its financing model. However, the organisation remains subject to political uncertainties, which means that its project pipeline is dependent on unpredictable mandates, which limits its ability to plan its operations. It nevertheless provides a useful case study of the mobilisation of private finance for public sector infrastructure projects as well as the political challenges inherent in public sector institutional reform.
The water crisis that has confronted Cape Town this summer should be of concern to all professional engineers in the field of water management. How was such a critical situation allowed to develop in one of South Africa’s largest cities?...
moreThe water crisis that has confronted Cape Town this summer should be of concern to all professional engineers in the field of water management. How was such a critical situation allowed to develop in one of South Africa’s largest cities? What can we learn from this process?
In effective developmental states, technocrats are ‘embedded’ in the political system with sufficient autonomy to undertake their tasks. South Africa’s current electricity crisis is attributed here, in part, to an initial mistrust between...
moreIn effective developmental states, technocrats are ‘embedded’ in the political system with sufficient autonomy to undertake their tasks. South Africa’s current electricity crisis is attributed here, in part, to an initial mistrust between the country’s new political leadership and its ‘old-order’ technocrats following the political transition of 1994. This trust deficit led to policy missteps in the development of new electricity generation. The impact of these missteps was compounded by the adoption of a risky, politically driven, project management strategy. The outcome was not just substantial cost increases but the project delays that resulted in the current ‘load shedding’.
This paper reviews South Africa's efforts to realise the right to water from a welfare policy perspective. 'Free basic water' (FBW), initially a water sector policy, was later recognised to be part of the country's wider social protection...
moreThis paper reviews South Africa's efforts to realise the right to water from a welfare policy perspective. 'Free basic water' (FBW), initially a water sector policy, was later recognised to be part of the country's wider social protection framework. However, while the principle of providing poor households with free basic services has been sustained, FBW has not provided reliable access for many of its intended beneficiaries. Analysis of the policy, implementation and performance of the programme identifies unresolved policy tensions between welfare objectives and other government priorities, reflected in the choice of targeted rather than universal welfare strategies. It is concluded that these welfare policy tensions have weakened the outcomes of the free basic water policy which are more usually blamed on operational and institutional failures. While the FBW principle is generally accepted, practical performance is often weak.
Southern Africa is a semi-arid region with limited perennial water courses, an overall rainfall well below the global average and substantial inter-annual and inter-seasonal variability. As a conse...
Because of their great variety of uses and impacts, the development and management of water resources has to be coordinated with the needs of users. Hydro-centric approaches such as ‘Dublin’ Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM)...
moreBecause of their great variety of uses and impacts, the development and management of water resources has to be coordinated with the needs of users. Hydro-centric approaches such as ‘Dublin’ Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) convene stakeholders to water-focused processes on a river basin scale and emphasise environmental conservation rather than resource development. Hydro-supported processes work at the scale of political units and focus on ‘problem-sheds’, demand centres and supply systems, rather than river basins and develop multi-purpose rather than single purpose responses. As mandated at the UN’s Mar del Plata water conference, they seek integration with national development strategies. The evidence suggests that hydro-supportive processes are more effective in coordinating water management with other sectors because they operate at common political and administrative scales. Concepts such as “Virtual Water” and the “water-food-energy nexus” may usefully inform national and regional development planning by helping to identify inter-sectoral trade-offs and synergies. But they are unlikely to provide the basis for national policies on which regional cooperation and action depend, given the many other factors that have to be considered.
The goal of water accounting should be to support better decision making about water and its use by enabling key performance indicators to be monitored. Ideally, it should do this in a manner that is neutral between competing interests....
moreThe goal of water accounting should be to support better decision making about water and its use by enabling key performance indicators to be monitored. Ideally, it should do this in a manner that is neutral between competing interests. However, just as science is seldom strictly neutral in its real world application, neither is accounting and approaches that are ‟better„ for some people may be ‟worse„ for others. As two Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) commentators note,
“Indicators are invariably developed to inform and influence different societal, political, technical and institutional processes ... a composite indicator developed by an environmental Non Government Organisation (NGO) will probably have more success raising awareness among the general public, than as a widely-accepted information tool among government analysts” (Scrivens and Iasiello 2010 p.9).
Different approaches to hold corporate water users accountable for the sustainability of their water use have been proposed, focusing on physical water accounting. However, indicators are not neutral and the accounting approaches chosen will not always produce socially optimal or sustainable results.
This chapter considers whether and how approaches to water accounting and information from the accounting process can help to achieve the goals of water resource management. It focuses on some of the approaches to water accounting that large business enterprises have been encouraged to adopt in order to improve the sustainability of their water use. It also illustrates how inappropriately applied water accounting may contribute to outcomes that are sub-optimal for particular communities. It concludes with guidelines for approaches that can inform policy issues and address different interests in a balanced way.
The National Water Act (Act No.36 of 1998) recognises that water is a scarce and unevenly distributed national resource and that it is the responsibility of Government to ensure that the resource is managed in an equitable and sustainable...
moreThe National Water Act (Act No.36 of 1998) recognises that water is a scarce and unevenly distributed national resource and that it is the responsibility of Government to ensure that the resource is managed in an equitable and sustainable manner. Due to the high costs and limited exploitable potential associated with supply-side water management solutions, demand-side management is becoming increasingly critical to ensure water security in South Africa. Fundamental to this approach is the appropriate pricing of water resources. The current water act aims to apply water pricing tiers based on the principles of economic efficiency, social equity, financial sustainability and ecological integrity. Failure to implement both supply-side and demand-side water management strategies effectively may result in the prospect of South Africa facing chronic water scarcity within 2–3 decades.
An attempt to disrupt the 1st world/3rd world narrative of apartheid South Africa through its own media ....
The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the Member States of the United Nations in September 2016, contain both ‘Outcome’ and ‘Means of Implementation’ targets. However, there is generally weak evidence linking the Means of...
moreThe Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the Member States of the United Nations in September 2016, contain both ‘Outcome’ and ‘Means of Implementation’ targets. However, there is generally weak evidence linking the Means of Implementation to outcomes, they are imperfectly conceptualised and inconsistently formulated, and tracking their largely qualitative indicators will be difficult. In this paper, we analyse and critique the Means of Implementation targets of the Sustainable Development Goal on water and sanitation (SDG6). Improvements are recommended that would reflect: the considerable investment needed to attain SDG6; the important role of the state, including government leadership and planning; the utility of disaggregating financial and capacity-building assistance; and the need for people to realise their rights to information, voice and remedy. Recommendations are also made for relevant indicators, including indicators that are applicable to governments in both aid-pr...
At the second Civilution Congress, held on 9 and 10 May 2016 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, leaders from across the engineering spectrum engaged in thought provoking discussions in line with the congress theme of...
moreAt the second Civilution Congress, held on 9 and 10 May 2016 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, leaders from across the engineering spectrum engaged in thought provoking discussions in line with the congress theme of accountability, which included matters such as ethics and delivering value for money. We will be sharing some of these presentations with our readers over the next few editions of Civil Engineering, commencing with a lightly edited version of Prof Mike Muller's address. (Prof Muller was Director-General of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry from 1997 to 2005 and, while serving on the National Planning Commission, was part of the team who prepared the National Development Plan 2030.)
This paper identifies some of the key intersections between trade policy and water management, in areas such as agriculture, hydropower generation, water services and wastewater management. From a trade policy perspective, the main...
moreThis paper identifies some of the key intersections between trade policy and water management, in areas such as agriculture, hydropower generation, water services and wastewater management. From a trade policy perspective, the main immediate concern is to ensure that international trade rules and disciplines do not unduly affect countries’ ability to manage their water resources sustainably and according to their respective social preferences. While the local nature of water systems and the diversity of water management objectives is not conducive to the application of trade instruments to enforce a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all approach to water management, there is also a range of areas in which trade policy could support the sustainable management of water and related SDG objectives.
While most of our water supply is dependent on rainfall, Mike Muller points to several other factors that have contributed to the water crisis in Cape Town. Among these is the relationship of technical experts to politicians and wider...
moreWhile most of our water supply is dependent on rainfall, Mike Muller points to several other factors that have contributed to the water crisis in Cape Town. Among these is the relationship of technical experts to politicians and wider society and the role that environmental activists have played in determining how water supply and demand has been managed.
Malaysia was shocked into taking affirmative action seriously by race riots in 1969. Their three-pronged approach to affirmative action in ownership, employment andpoverty alleviation has been successful in reducing ethnic inequalities...
moreMalaysia was shocked into taking affirmative action seriously by race riots in 1969. Their three-pronged approach to affirmative action in ownership, employment andpoverty alleviation has been successful in reducing ethnic inequalities while achieving substantial economic growth over the past twenty Jive years. Tension now evident between the different strands of affirmative action policy has yet to be resolved. Malaysia should thus be seen as a model for South Africans to learn from rather than to emulate.
Contrary to dominant paradigms, the river basin is not the obvious unit within which to undertake water management given the diversity of functions inherent in water resource management. The Southern African experience is presented to...
moreContrary to dominant paradigms, the river basin is not the obvious unit within which to undertake water management given the diversity of functions inherent in water resource management. The Southern African experience is presented to illustrate issues that may arise when using the river basin for different functions. Functions best addressed at a larger ‘problem-shed’ level are identified and it is explained why some other functions should rather be performed at smaller, sub-basin scales. Using recent work on water governance, which emphasise polycentricity and network governance, it is suggested that a better understanding of the appropriate scales for different functions will support activities such as planning, monitoring and the protection of the aquatic environment that may best be focused at river basin scale.
The approaches taken to water security by the countries of the Southern African region reflect their particular contexts. There are two overarching challenges that are common to all these countries. The first is the ongoing requirement to...
moreThe approaches taken to water security by the countries of the Southern African region reflect their particular contexts. There are two overarching challenges that are common to all these countries. The first is the ongoing requirement to ensure that all citizens have access to safe and reliable water supplies, particularly in rural areas. The second is to ensure greater resilience to climate variability, since drought regularly disrupts subsistence agricultural production, on which a substantial population still depends. While floods have a significant local impact, they are a second-order challenge affecting a relatively small proportion of the regional population. In this context, the principal barriers to achieving water security are economic status and institutional capacity. The variability and relative scarcity of the water resource is, in itself, not the dominant determinant of water security, since there is evidence that the natural resource challenges have been overcome where there are competent institutions, able to access adequate financial resources. There are also opportunities to mitigate some of the impacts of drought at a regional scale, but political barriers make it difficult to implement cooperative approaches for this purpose.
The history of the Nile in Africa offers useful lessons for civil engineers seeking to build a sustainable future, in which climate change is an existential challenge. For thousands of years, communities along the river have sought...
moreThe history of the Nile in Africa offers useful lessons for civil engineers seeking to build a sustainable future, in which climate change is an existential challenge. For thousands of years, communities along the river have sought greater water security at the interface of technical possibility, politics and unpredictable nature. Large projects such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam and Jonglei canal in South Sudan continue to be controversial, but both show how civil engineers might help to address climate change challenges. Once again, Nile communities need civil engineers to find and implement innovative, politically acceptable and sustainable development initiatives.
Much discussion about water management focuses on conserving a natural or good aquatic environment, but a good environmental condition is a social construct. Where populations and economies are growing rapidly, the hydrocentric goal of...
moreMuch discussion about water management focuses on conserving a natural or good aquatic environment, but a good environmental condition is a social construct. Where populations and economies are growing rapidly, the hydrocentric goal of conserving a stationary natural environment is unreachable and unreasonable. The construction of a sustainable Anthropocene environment sees resilient socioecological systems move to new equilibria rather than return to pre-existing states. In this ecological modernisation paradigm, societies adapt to change through environmental design that moves them to acceptable and functional new equilibria. In water resource management, this approach can be characterised as hydrosupportive, seeking to engineer the environment in ways that meet societies’ water needs in a sustainable manner. It recognises that choices must be made in the context of broader societal objectives, and it engages with water users rather than convening them to participate in hydrocentric processes. A sustain...
The Sterkfontein Dam, South Africa’s third largest dam by volume, is an important component of the Vaal River system, which supports the water security of a socially and economically important inland region of the country. The design,...
moreThe Sterkfontein Dam, South Africa’s third largest dam by volume, is an important component of the Vaal River system, which supports the water security of a socially and economically important inland region of the country. The design, construction, and four decades of operation of the dam provides a useful illustration of the role of storage in general and dams in particular; the contribution of system management approaches to water security; the place of interbasin transfers in such systems management approaches; and how the water-energy nexus may function in practice. There have been substantial changes in the wider socioeconomic context over the past 50 years, particularly in relation to the national energy system, and the region experienced a severe drought in 2016. The operation of the Sterkfontein Dam provides some insights into how one component of a system can help to manage drought impacts, how this operation may have to be adapted to address the emerging challenges posed by changing contexts, and some limitations and risks that may arise. At a larger scale, the case also provides an unusual example of substantial innovation during implementation and raises questions about the supportive institutional context that enabled these innovations to be made. Finally, the case also demonstrates how practice can influence policy, both in subsequent South African water policy development as well as the global polices developed at the 1977 United Nations (UN) Water Conference in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
ABSTRACT Resilience has been promoted as an important objective for the global development community, in part, as a response to concern about the potential impacts of climate change and related risks. A review of the challenges of...
moreABSTRACT Resilience has been promoted as an important objective for the global development community, in part, as a response to concern about the potential impacts of climate change and related risks. A review of the challenges of achieving water security in urban areas of developing countries suggests that a specific focus on resilience may distract communities from more effective interventions. It would be more useful to support relevant institutions to address current service delivery priorities. This will better enable them to manage future climate change and the challenges that this may bring.
Because of its history, the goals of inclusive and sustainable growth are particularly important for South Africa, and the management of natural resources such as land and water is recognised to contribute to their achievement. However,...
moreBecause of its history, the goals of inclusive and sustainable growth are particularly important for South Africa, and the management of natural resources such as land and water is recognised to contribute to their achievement. However, as the progress of water ...