Exploring the influence of power dynamics on collaborative governance in the Thukela Catchment
- Authors: Dunyana, Philisa
- Date: 2024-10-11
- Subjects: Stakeholder participation , Watershed management South Africa Tugela River Watershed , Water security South Africa , Collaborative governance , Decision making , Conflict management
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/464809 , vital:76547
- Description: South Africa is a water-scarce country with unequally distributed water. This dilemma has been brought about by insufficient water supply and governance fragmentation, among other drivers. The democratic national water policies (National Water Act No. 36 of 1998) intend to foster collaborative water governance (CWG), where stakeholders within catchments must come together to learn and share decision-making responsibility through collaborative platforms that should ensure the sustainability and equitable distribution of water resources. Still, CWG is not functioning well in most parts of the country, partly due to power dynamics that compromise dynamics on collaborative governance processes and outcomes in the Upper Thukela Catchment (UTC). It did this by identifying the roles of stakeholders, looking into the nature of power dynamics among stakeholders and how these affect collaborative processes, and by examining how power dynamics interact with resources and mechanisms to influence collaborative governance outcomes. The research used two interrelated conceptual frameworks (Franks and Cleaver (2007) and the 4Rs framework (Mayers, 2005)) to explore power dynamics. The study was conducted through qualitative research using a case study approach, which consists of data collection methods such as in-depth semi-structured interviews, document review, direct observation and participant observation. The 4Rs framework highlighted the insufficient involvement of critical stakeholders in water governance, specifically those from the public sector with water management and governance authority rights. The analysis also exposed conflicting relationships among stakeholders involved in water governance, mostly stemming from some public sector stakeholders evading roles and responsibilities, a lack of trust, and limited access to information. These factors contribute to challenges and tensions within the water governance landscape in the UTC. The research also showed that the presence of different political parties in the water governance and management space seems to be the primary roots of the power dynamics that affect the processes of water governance and management. Political parties contesting power over the same communities led to conflict, corruption, competition, negligence, and sabotage. These challenges impact operational flow, service delivery, sense of urgency, and decisionmaking. Thus, the nature of power dynamics in collaborative governance processes further exposed the underlying issue of limited statehood. Application of the Franks and Cleaver (2007) framework revealed that through their influence on power dynamics, resources and mechanisms of access affect livelihoods and catchment outcomes. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on the influence of power dynamics on collaborative governance and provides recommendations for further studies to improve collaborative water governance. It highlights the complex interplay between power dynamics, stakeholder participation, and water governance processes in the UTC. To improve collaborative water governance, it is crucial to address limited stakeholder participation, mitigate the negative influence of political parties, and meaningfully empower local communities. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Environmental Science, 2024
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- Date Issued: 2024-10-11
The potential of social learning to upscale the Community Based Water Quality Management (CBWQM) process: A case study of the Mpophomeni and Baynespruit Enviro Champs project
- Authors: Sithole, Nkosingithandile
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Community of practice , Social learning , Water quality management South Africa Pietermaritzburg Citizen participation , Citizen science , Water quality South Africa Pietermaritzburg
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/402966 , vital:69910
- Description: Water is an essential component of human survival, with a wide variety of uses such as washing, cooking, drinking and growing food. Covering approximately 70% of the Earth’s surface, water is necessary for all human survival, and is a source of life for plants and animals. Only 0.036% of freshwater can be accessed and utilised by humans, which is not enough to support the rapidly growing population and economic development. This water is further exhausted by pollution caused by sewage leaks, littering, agricultural runoff and industry discharge which deteriorate water quality significantly. To exacerbate these water issues, the major issue of water accessibility is not directly linked to quantity but has been primarily attributed to poor water governance, at a global and local level (in South Africa). Poorly maintained water infrastructure and inadequate cooperative governance have resulted in the establishment of many Community Based Water Quality Management (CBWQM) projects in South Africa, to respond to water quality monitoring and management challenges. The aim of this study was firstly, to investigate how social learning was occurring within two CBWQM Communities of Practice (CoPs) located in KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, namely, the Baynespruit and the Mpophomeni Enviro Champs project (Case Study 1 and 2 respectively), and the potential of social learning to upscale CBWQM. Additionally, it sought to identify the type of support required for the scaling of social learning outcomes in CBWQM communities of practice, along two potential scaling pathways that were identified in a national study on scaling of CBWQM: Scaling Pathway 1(Policy engagement and support) and Scaling Pathway 2 (Capacity building). The research was undertaken as a qualitative case study approach, with data collected through semi-structured interviews, document, and questionnaire analysis to investigate social learning within the two selected case studies. The data was coded and indexed using a thematic analysis technique and an analytical framework as a tool to investigate how social learning was occurring in both case studies and explore the potential required to upscale it. The study found that there is an existing gap between policy and practice with regard to CBWQM support by government structures. Despite South African water policy advocating for public participation in water resource management, there has been limited support from government to support and resource CBWQM projects over a long period of time. To upscale the practice of CBWQM, the study found that capacity building and learning needs to be improved and better supported practically through models such as the 5Ts of learning, and through supporting CBWQM participants’ learning journey to establish learning pathways for them. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Education, 2023
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- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
Towards realising the benefits of citizen participation in environmental monitoring: a case study in an Eastern Cape natural resource management programme
- Authors: Mtati, Nosiseko
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Tsitsa Project , Rural development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Environmental monitoring -- South Africa -- Tsitsa River , Environmental monitoring -- Citizen participation -- South Africa -- Tsitsa River , Water supply, Agricultural -- South Africa -- Tsitsa River , Environmental education -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/167562 , vital:41492
- Description: The Tsitsa Project focusses on land use management and rural livelihoods in the Tsitsa River catchment in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is funded by the Department of Environmental Affairs and the environmental monitoring initiative is implemented by Rhodes University, where I am employed as the catchment coordinator. This study explores the environmental monitoring initiative within the bigger Tsitsa Project. Community members in the catchment monitor sediment transportation in the Tsitsa River and its tributaries, which originally became of interest because it is proposed that a dam (Ntabelanga Dam) be established here. This study aims to understand citizen environmental monitoring in the Tsitsa Project; what the project managers regarded as benefits; and how the monitors themselves perceived benefits of participating as monitors. A realist approach was followed, in order to understand the connections between the context and the mechanisms in the project, and how these combined to result in the outcomes observed. Realist research emphasises the importance of context in shaping outcomes such as the achieved benefits of citizen monitoring. Data was collected using a case study method, where each individual monitor and their particular context, was regarded as a case. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 17 monitors and five Tsitsa Project staff; this was supported by field notes and the reviewing of project documents including field reports. The realist analysis looked at the context of the monitors in general and the mechanisms applied by the project in recruiting, training and managing the monitors. A second layer of mechanisms was identified as those responses from the monitors to what the project was introducing to them. Outcomes were both positive and negative, including how long monitors remained in the initiative, what benefits they derived from the process, and what potential benefits they did not achieve. This included lost opportunities to provide recognition for skills and experience gained. Recommendations are made regarding the recruitment, training and management of monitors, to optimise benefits for the monitors, the host institution and the initiative’s staff. The study is significant because of its particular yet representative characteristics and it will assist both the Tsitsa Project, which aims to expand its citizen environmental monitoring initiative, as well as wider Natural Resource Management Programmes in South Africa. It is also hoped that it will contribute to the literature on environmental monitoring as a little researched form of citizen science globally.
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- Date Issued: 2020