water governance actors in southern africa
Water Governance and Household Water Security in Botswana The Case of Ngamiland District
Krasposy Kujinga, Gagoitseope Mmopelwa, Cornelis Vanderpost & Wellington R. L. Masamba Krasposy Kujinga holds a PhD in Natural Resources Management from the Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana. He is a Programmes Coordinator with WaterNet, a Southern African Development Community (SADC) subsidiary institution for human capacity building in integrated water resources management. He coordinates regional capacity building programmes on education, short professional courses, research and outreach. His research interests are in water security, livelihoods, climate change and natural resources governance. Gagoitseope Mmopelwa, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Botswana. CornelisVanderpost, Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana. Wellington R. L. Masamba, Department of Chemical & Forensic Sciences, Botswana University of Science and Technology.
Abstract The paper analyses water governance approaches that are aimed at enhancing household water security in Botswana in general and Ngamiland in particular. Qualitative (that is, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and participant observation) and quantitative (structured household questionnaire) data collection methods were used. This work was part of the first author’s PhD degree in Natural Resources Management and is centered on data collected between February 2012 and March 2014. The paper is therefore based on information for the post-water reform period for Botswana which began in 2009. It highlights that the water governance approaches used in Botswana are not enhancing water security as a result of inappropriate legislation, which does not take into consideration current water management approaches like integrated water resources management (IWRM). The paper notes the following, i) there is high levels of household water insecurity in Ngamiland, ii) institutions responsible for water supply are not effective in ensuring water availability, iii) there is limited stakeholder participation in water management and iv) water management institutions do not collect much revenue from households as the water supplied is highly subsidized and some of the households do not pay for the water that they use. The paper concludes that the Government of Botswana has to reform its water legislation so that it can be in line with water management approaches which are capable of enhancing water security for households. Keywords: water governance; water security; households; Ngamiland; Botswana
Lesedi #22 | Carnets de terrain | IFAS-Recherche | Octobre 2020
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