Governance of a shared and contested resource: a case study of the Okavango River Basin

Water Policy ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (S2) ◽  
pp. 149-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. vH. Heyns
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Effective Interactions ◽  
Scientific Investigations ◽  
International Pressure ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Okavango River

The three riparian states that share the perennial flow of the Okavango watercourse system established the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) as a basis for managing that river's basin. The institution has a collective responsibility to advise the basin states about the best options for joint utilisation and protection of the basin. This complex task is compounded by the pristine nature of the ecosystems, the pressing development needs of all the basin states and international pressure to protect the unique Okavango Delta. The development of the basin for the benefit of the population requires an understanding of the potential of the natural resources to support identified development options. The Commission is responsible for ensuring good collective governance that meets the objectives and expectations of the sovereign basin states, while strengthening the levels of governance in each individual state. This case study examines the relevance of the trialogue hypothesis, which states that effective interactions between political, social and scientific processes are essential for good governance. The study has revealed that the close relationship between the political will to create a management institution, understanding the needs of civil society and facilitating the scientific investigations required for planning purposes supports the trialogue hypothesis of good environmental governance.

scholarly journals The application of environmental governance for sustainable watershed-based management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seiichi Kagaya ◽  
Tetsuya Wada
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Watershed Management ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Environment Assessment ◽  
Control Water

AbstractIn recent years, it has become popular for some of countries and regions to adapt the system of governance to varied and complex issues concerned with regional development and the environment. Watershed management is possibly the best example of this. It involves flood control, water use management and river environment simultaneously. Therefore, comprehensive watershed-based management should be aimed at balancing those aims. The objectives of this study are to introduce the notion of environmental governance into the planning process, to establish a method for assessing the alternatives and to develop a procedure for determining the most appropriate plan for environmental governance. The planning process here is based on strategic environment assessment (SEA). To verify the hypothetical approach, the middle river basin in the Tokachi River, Japan was selected as a case study. In practice, after workshop discussions, it was found to have the appropriate degree of consensus based on the balance of flood control and environmental protection in the watershed.

scholarly journals Nitrate leaching in irrigated inorganic agriculture: A case study of Mashare commercial farm in Namibia, Okavango River Basin

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (31) ◽  
pp. 2871-2881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vushe Andrea ◽  
von Landsberg Loffie ◽  
Groengroeft Alexander ◽  
A Mashauri Damas
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Commercial Farm ◽  
Okavango River

scholarly journals The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Using good and Cooperative Governance to improve Environmental Governance of South African World Heritage sites: A Case Study of the Vredefort Dome

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 201
Author(s):  
Louis Kotzé ◽  
S De la Harpe
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Sites ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Governance Strategies ◽  
Cooperative Governance

South Africa became a signatory to and ratified the World Heritage Convention, 1972 (WHC) in 1997. It thereby voluntarily agreed to identify and conserve world heritage areas of universal value for the benefit of mankind. This article presents a case study of the Vredefort Dome, one of South Africa's World Heritage Sites (WHS) and specifically its governance strategies to ensure proper and sustainable governance. Firstly, the issue of fragmentation of the environmental governance regime applicable to WHS is discussed, and in doing so, refers to the various legislative and common law responsibilities and institutional structures related to environmental governance of WHS. Secondly, it briefly discusses the concept of good governance and the concept of cooperative governance as a sub-component of good governance. Finally it comprehensively proposes various strategies to ameliorate the current fragmented and unsustainable environmental governance effort relating to WHS.

Evaluating stakeholder involvement in river basin planning: a Scottish case study

Water Policy ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 493-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsty L. Blackstock ◽  
Caspian Richards
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Stakeholder Involvement ◽  
River Basin Management ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Basin Management ◽  
River Basin Management Plans ◽  
River Basin Planning

River basin management demonstrates the increasing importance of active stakeholder involvement within environmental governance, whereby planning and implementation relies on outcomes from collective reasoned discussion. However, claims that stakeholder involvement improves environmental governance are rarely subject to critical examination. This lack of evaluation is problematic for several reasons including: lack of reflection on the purpose of involvement processes or their limitations; a poor conceptualisation of who should be defined as a stakeholder; how different knowledge claims should be treated; and how power relationships affect the process dynamics. This paper engages with the theoretical claims for active involvement and uses a Scottish case study to illustrate to what extent these claims were met during a river basin planning process. The evaluation highlights lessons for policy makers designing river basin management plans, particularly in the context of the pressing timetable for the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive. These lessons include how to maximise these benefits whilst proactively managing conflicts that occur, particularly when trying to sustain a coalition of individuals representing broader organisations and constituencies in a time-consuming and challenging process.

Analysis of Interactions between Surface Water and Groundwater by Using Water Chemistry and δD, δ18O — Case Study of Bulang River Basin

2012 ◽  
Vol 518-523 ◽  
pp. 4119-4125
Author(s):  
Jia Qiu Dong ◽  
Li He Yin
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Water Chemistry ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Arid Areas ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Surface Water And Groundwater ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Semi Arid

There is a close relationship between surface water and groundwater in semi-arid and arid areas of China, and thus researching on the interactions of them is of importance for reasonable water resources development. This paper took Bulang River basin as case study, analysis and discussion were conducted to water chemistry and isotopes tests results of water samples. The results show that surface water in Bulang River basin mainly relies on precipitation recharge, partially on groundwater recharge, the hydrochemistry type of surface water is mainly Ca-HCO3 with low salinity.

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