TD: 2008 Volume 4 No 1http://hdl.handle.net/10394/38562024-03-28T14:21:08Z2024-03-28T14:21:08ZRecent trends in South African water historiographyTempelhoff, J W Nhttp://hdl.handle.net/10394/39322018-08-24T12:54:19Z2008-01-01T00:00:00ZRecent trends in South African water historiography
Tempelhoff, J W N
The discipline of water history is relatively young but since the 1990s there has been
growing interest in the field. In this article an exposition is provided on the origins of the
discipline of water history as a subdivision of environmental history. The discussion
then turns to an outline of recent developments in the historiography of water history in
South Africa. Attention is also given to the possibility of extending the study of this
discipline into a number of allied fields.
This article is based on a paper presented at the
International Conference on Exploring transdisciplinary discourses: water society
and the environment in Africa, 20-24 April 2008, at The Nest, Drakensberg,
South Africa. The author is grateful to Heather Hoag who facilitated the process
of preparing the text. Her comments and constructive proposals are appreciated.
2008-01-01T00:00:00ZThe tragedy of the water commons: the case of the Lower Orange water management areaGouws, C Mhttp://hdl.handle.net/10394/39312018-08-24T12:53:12Z2008-01-01T00:00:00ZThe tragedy of the water commons: the case of the Lower Orange water management area
Gouws, C M
In the human environment there is a tendency to refer to resources, such as land and
water which do not specifically belong to any single individual, as the ‘commons’. Garret
Hardin wrote his famous paper called: “The Tragedy of the Commons” in which he
highlighted the problem inhabitants of the world face regarding the growing population
and depletion of natural resources. He proposed that limits must be placed on the liberal
use of natural resources, which usually involve some kind of legislation. South Africa, as
a semi-arid country, needs to manage the water as a commons to ensure that all
inhabitants of the country have access to safe drinking water as instructed by the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act No. 108 of 1996 and subsequently
preserved in the National Water Act No 36 of 1998. The significance of Hardin’s theory
to South Africa becomes evident in the necessity of the mentioned acts, which involve
the establishment of Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs) and Water User
Associations (WUAs). These institutions must ensure the involvement of all stakeholders
and water users to manage the resource optimally. Establishing these institutions,
however, proved to be difficult and their efficiency questioned, thus illustrating a “tragedy
within the tragedy”. This article considers the case of the Lower Orange Catchment
Management Agency and the Upington Islands Water User Association in the //Khara
Hais local municipality, to illustrate the thus far failing efforts taken by this region to
manage the water resource.
2008-01-01T00:00:00ZConceptualisation of the consequences of land use decisions on water resources in the central region of South Africa: an agent based modelling perspectiveWoyessa, Y EWelderufael, W AKinyua, J D Mhttp://hdl.handle.net/10394/39302016-04-28T20:52:44Z2008-01-01T00:00:00ZConceptualisation of the consequences of land use decisions on water resources in the central region of South Africa: an agent based modelling perspective
Woyessa, Y E; Welderufael, W A; Kinyua, J D M
Over the past few decades, numerous researchers have improved measurements of land
use change through representation of much more complex processes of land use and its
impact on water resources. Understanding the causes of land use change has moved
from a simplistic representation of a few driving forces to a much more detailed
understanding that involves situation-specific interactions among a large number of
factors at different spatial and temporal scales using agent-based models. The agentbased
perspective is centred on the general nature and rules of land use decision
making by individuals and represents the motivations behind decisions and the external
factors that influence decisions about land use. In this paper, an attempt is made to
conceptualise the social and biophysical interactions as the driving forces that lead to
decisions of land use, and its potential impact on water resource, including factors such
as interventions and technologies that influence the decision of land use change in rural
agricultural areas. The development of the conceptual model was done through a series
of meetings and workshops and by visualising the relationships between the different
factors, such as biophysical and socio-economic factors, using a brain mapping technique.
The resulting conceptual model illustrates the main domains of the environment, the
socioeconomic factors, and captures all the factors and their interaction that lead to
decision in land use change. The socio-economic factors and their interaction will be
captured by the ABM module while the biophysical factors that have direct impact on
runoff and stream flow could be handled by the hydrologic module which will then be
integrated into the ABM model. This, however, is a primary effort in the development of
an ABM within the Modder River Basin system and needs continues refinement for
optimum functionality and simulation of the real world.
2008-01-01T00:00:00ZControlling the farmer: colonial and postcolonial irrigation interventions in AfricaErtsen, Maurits Whttp://hdl.handle.net/10394/39292016-04-28T20:52:39Z2008-01-01T00:00:00ZControlling the farmer: colonial and postcolonial irrigation interventions in Africa
Ertsen, Maurits W
Aiming at full control over farmer actions was a shared characteristic of colonial irrigation
engineering approaches. However, the way control was sought in African irrigation
projects was different from Asian colonies. This paper traces the origins of colonial
approaches to irrigation development in Africa and the continuities between colonial
and post-colonial approaches. The Kano River Project in Nigeria, part of a larger irrigation
development program from the late 1960s and early 1970s, serves as a typical example
of a post-colonial irrigation system in which engineers drew upon colonial experiences.
The Dutch engineers responsible for developing the system applied technologies from
the Netherlands East Indies to regulate water flows in the system. At the same time, they
engaged in a debate on how to organize farmers in the project to ensure efficient and
rational use of water in irrigated farming. They joined project managers in viewing strong
control over farmer production – a central feature of African colonial irrigation projects
– as key to success. However, given the social conditions in the Kano area, particularly
landownership, this strong control proved difficult to realize.
2008-01-01T00:00:00Z