South Africa's hydropolitical history: actors, actions, roles, and responsibilities

Abstract

Since the arrival of the Dutch in 1652, water resource development in South Africa has been driven by political ideology and rising demand for limited resources, forcing major changes in policy and institutional capacity over time. Understanding the historical patterns of development and the evolution of water resource actors, roles, and responsibilities lends context to current challenges facing the implementation of the progressive principles of the 1996 South African Constitution and the 1998 National Water Act. This report summarises progress in understanding the trends in water resource development and management. It also identifies actors in South Africa's hydropolotical history and analyses their evolving roles over time.