Water for greening the economy

Abstract

Water is one of several primary inputs in all sectors of an economy and is, therefore, a crucial resource with huge political significance and a determinative political– economic history. Although this chapter refers to the topic, it is not intended to provide a detailed overview of the political economy of water in South Africa (refer to Backeberg, 1994; Backeberg et al., 1996; Jacobs et al., 2014) or the water resource and service infrastructure of South Africa (refer to DBSA [2012] for such an overview). The focus here falls on a discussion aimed to improve alignment between water resource management and the principles of a green economy. Previous chapters have made it clear that a green economy requires a holistic approach towards policy decision-making processes, which not only integrate and balance environmental, social and economic priorities, but also considers the consequences of interlinked policies within a systems-based context. Consequently, these same requirements should be applied to the individual components of a green economy. This chapter discusses some of the important consequences and requirements when applying sustainability principles and the concept of ‘green economics’ to South Africa’s water resource management regime, in order to support transition towards a green economy.