Enabling Sustainability in Water Users’ Associations: Or, What Balinese Irrigation Communities Can Tell Us about Village Water Supply Committees in South Africa and India

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Nitish Jha
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Water Users Associations

scholarly journals Water users’ associations from the users’ perspective: local water management at Thabina irrigation scheme, Limpopo, South Africa

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maud Orne-Gliemann
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Small Farmers ◽  
Irrigation Scheme ◽  
Transdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Object A ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Local Water ◽  
Water Users Associations

At a time when the South African water department and a circle of water experts in the country are defining their position on water users’ associations (WUAs), this paper looks at people’s actions and perceptions of local water management as a fundamental factor to understanding small farmers’ interactions with these newly established institutions. It presents the preliminary results of a community study conducted at Thabina irrigation scheme, Limpopo, between September 2007 and April 2008. This study offers an original approach to analyzing the scheme’s difficulties and, without providing a representative image of smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa, it allows for interesting preliminary reflections around small farmers’ perceptions of water management and local water management institutions. The study of perceptions is not new, nor does it belong as an analytical tool to one or other academic discipline. In order to fully grasp this complex and multidimensional object, a transdisciplinary approach is therefore applied and implemented in the field by using an innovative set of methods: interviews, verbal associations and participatory photography. The advantages and difficulties related to the use of a perception and transdisciplinary approach are discussed.

Climate change impacts on water resources in a rural community in Limpopo province, South Africa: a community-based adaptation to water insecurity

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 587-598
Author(s):  
Sejabaledi Agnes Rankoana
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adaptation Practices ◽  
Community Based Adaptation

Purpose The study explored the impacts of climate change on water resources, and the community-based adaptation practices adopted to ensure water security in a rural community in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The participatory approach was used to allow community members to share their challenges of water scarcity, and the measures they have developed to cope with inconsistent water supply. Findings The study results show that the community obtains water for household consumption from the reticulation system supplied by Mutale River and the community borehole. These resources are negatively impacted by drought, change in the frequency and distribution of rainfall, and increased temperature patterns. The water levels in the river and borehole have declined, resulting in unsustainable water supply. The community-based adaptation practices facilitated by the water committee include observance of restrictions and regulations on the water resources use. Others involve securing water from neighbouring resources. Originality/value This type of community-based action in response to climate change could be used as part of rural water management strategies under climate change.

A design methodology for the supply of subterranean water through the use of wind energy

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brett Richard Marais
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Wind Energy ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
White Paper ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Government

The Reconstruction and Development Programme adopted by the Government of National Unity is more than a list of the services required to improve the quality of life of the majority of South Africans. It is not just a call for South Africans to unite to build a country free of poverty and misery; it is a programme designed to achieve this objective in an integrated and principled manner. Based on the strategic objectives, as highlighted in the White Paper on Water Supply and Sanitation Policy, with regard to alleviating the chronic potable water shortages in South Africa, this thesis investigates a design methodology to supply potable water through the use of wind energy. The design focuses on small rural off-grid developments where grid electricity either has not or will not reach, and where renewable energy is the only viable option. This thesis provides an overview of wind energy and presents the fundamentals of wind power calculations. It also formulates an overview of the historic and present situation with regards to potable water supply, and reflects on the need for urgent intervention. The feasibility of using wind energy to supply potable water to rural communities in South Africa is explored in a case study. The various problem areas are identified and examined and a wide range of possible solutions are recommended. A final flow chart for the system design is proposed, thus ensuring comprehensive design methodology from which future design of similar systems can be based.

scholarly journals Impacts of Legal and Institutional Changes on Irrigation Management Performance: A Case of the Gezira Irrigation Scheme, Sudan

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Elshaikh ◽  
Shi-hong Yang ◽  
Xiyun Jiao ◽  
Mohammed Elbashier
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Management Performance ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Water Surplus ◽  
The Right

This study aims to offer a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of policies and institutional arrangements on irrigation management performance. The case study, the Gezira Scheme, has witnessed a significant decrease in water management performance during recent decades. This situation led to several institutional changes in order to put the system on the right path. The main organizations involved in water management at the scheme are the Ministry of Irrigation & Water Resources (MOIWR), the Sudan Gezira Board (SGB), and the Water Users Associations (WUAs). Different combinations from these organizations were founded to manage the irrigation system. The evaluation of these organizations is based on the data of water supply and cultivated areas from 1970 to 2015. The measured data were compared with two methods: the empirical water order method (Indent) that considers the design criteria of the scheme, and the Crop Water Requirement (CWR) method. Results show that the MOIWR period was the most efficient era, with an average water surplus of 12% compared with the Indent value, while the most critical period (SGB & WUAs) occurred when the water supply increased by 80%. The other periods of the Irrigation Water Corporation (IWC), (SGB & MOIWR), and (WUAs & MOIWR) had witnessed an increase in water supply by 29%, 63%, and 67% respectively. Through these institutional changes, the percentage of excessive water supply jumped from 12% to 80%. Finally, the study provides general recommendations associated with institutional arrangements and policy adoption to improve irrigation system performance.

Taking the road less taken: reorienting the state for periurban water security

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 528-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishal Narain ◽  
Pranay Ranjan ◽  
Sumit Vij ◽  
Aman Dewan
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Intervention Strategy ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Research Process ◽  
The State ◽  
The Road ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Building Community

This paper describes the intervention strategy to improve water security in Sultanpur, a village in periurban Gurgaon, India. Most approaches to improving natural resource management in periurban contexts focus on mobilising the community; little attention is paid to reorienting the state or strengthening the user-bureaucracy interface. This paper describes the action research process that was followed to reorient civic agencies engaged in the provisioning of water and to break from a situation of distrust and prisoners' dilemma between water users and service providers. The paper argues that the creation and provision of a platform for direct engagement between water users and service providers can be a key tool for improving periurban water security. These platforms can provide support in building community resilience to face challenges such as climate variability and urbanisation, both of which threaten periurban water security. The action research emphasises on building the community's capacity to ask for improved water supply and to negotiate with state service providers, rather than augmenting water supply physically.

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