Lack of government intervention in South Africa's mining industry has worsened conflicts associated with limited water resources. With the advent of democracy, new legislation demands that all South African citizens have the right to a clean, safe environment, including access to potable water, and that the country develop in a sustainable manner. But conflict remains due to the historical partnership between the government and the mining industry, as well as due to cumulative impacts associated with mining, which has polluted natural ground water sources. In this article, an historical overview of the mining industry in South Africa is presented, along with a simple economic model to describe behavior of the mining industry over time. Legislative frameworks used to address mine waste and mine water management are evaluated and suggestions are made for how to use an understanding of resource driven conflict to improve the outlook of mining and access to water for all in South Africa.

No abstract

No abstract

IWRM operates within different ideologies, ranging from empiricism to postmodernism when describing thought; from neorealism to classic structuralism in political economy; and from rationalism to social constructivism in international relations. These ideologies manifest in political dogmas and in the way that society organizes governance, with the private good vs. public good paradigms and the institutional hierarchy vs. a network approaches being important for Integrated Water Resources Management. With the history of sustainable development spanning Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" to Agenda 21, and beyond, IWRM emphasizes an enabling policy and regulating environment; institutional roles and responsibilities; and management instruments as prerequisites to deploying water resources to support social and economic development while ensuring sustainability of the resource. Water resource management in South Africa has moved from a focus on private good, with a strong role of the state and institutions to a greater emphasis on public good and a network approach. While this shift has brought about short term social and economic befits, the sustainability of water resources has been compromised. The challenges in implementing progressive legislation is reflected in a shortage of skilled people, weaknesses in management instruments and difficulties in finding a balance between the role of the state and institutions and the effective function of networks to achieve development outcomes.

Most people tend to focus on the visible part of water. Therefore, water quality has been undervalued in water management, with people often not having the necessary understanding and knowledge to manage water quality effectively. Policies and strategies also tend to give more attention to managing quantity. This paper highlights the legislative principles of equity, efficiency and sustainability in the context of water resource management in South Africa. It provides two examples of practical implementation of these principles from a water quality perspective and highlights the challenges relating to the realization of these principles in practice.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract