Resolving Water Use Conflicts through Stakeholder Participation: Issues and Examples from the Steelpoort Basin in South Africa

Abstract

"An ambitious process to reform water resource management is currently under way in South Africa. An important component of this reform is increased involvement of users in water management. The belief is that greater participation will facilitate the solution of water-related conflicts in a country where water availability is increasingly scarce. This paper reports the findings of a study conducted to review the transformation in the Steelpoort River Basin, a catchment of the Olifants River , in the North-East of the country. At present, water management in the Steelpoort River Basin is characterised by local tensions and conflicts between a number of different water users, including mines, large-scale farmers, municipalities and rural communities living in areas that were classified as 'homelands' under the former apartheid regime. The study concluded that meaningful participation of users in the management of water in the basin, is constrained by lack of information on the state of the rivers and water use, as well as the absence of any history of dialogue about issues relating to the management of natural resources."