L Hendricks: Launch of Governance as a Trialogue Book

22 March 2007

Professor Biswas
Programme Director
Honourable guests
Ladies and gentlemen

1. Introduction

It is a privilege for me to have been asked to officially launch the
Governance as a Trialogue book, here today.

This book looks at the trialogue model, a model that aims to facilitate a
better understanding of governance and how science can best inform policy
making in complex areas like water resource management. I am informed that the
trialogue model and hypothesis concluded that successful governance depends on
six elements.

The first three are that governance requires the existence of an
effective:
* science process
* government process
* society process.

The second three elements are that governance requires effective interfaces
between the three processes namely:
* an interface between society and science
* an interface between government and society
* an interface between government and science.

These interfaces, I am informed, have to be appropriately balanced and
available in the right format at the right time in order to ensure "good"
governance.

With the changes that have happened in South Africa over the past 13 years
since we attained democracy it does not surprise me that a book of this nature
would emerge from a South African institution and I would like to commend the
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) who developed this
trialogue model and hypothesis, as well as partnering in the publication of
this book.

2. Governance

The political transformation in South Africa resulted in an overhaul of how
we manage and govern our water resources and was no doubt fertile ground for
research into governance issues and in the development of models. Experiences
which could no doubt are tested in other contexts.

Given the historical allocation of water resources as a result of apartheid,
the necessity for South Africa to overhaul its governance structures and water
allocations was clear. The inequality between people of different racial groups
can be seen in the 1996 census which found that 97% of white headed households
had water piped inside their dwellings, while only 26,7% of African headed
households had this level of service. The racially skewed allocation was also
compounded by the urban, rural bias, with rural households consuming a fraction
of water compared to households in urban areas.

Part of the inequality in allocations were related to:

(1) The way in which the apartheid State allocated water rights, for example
to grow water hungry crops in areas that were not suitable for these crops and
therefore required unsustainable water allocations or water allocated cheaply
to attract 'dirty' industry that resulted in pollution and externalisation of
the costs of pollution.

(2) The spatial development of apartheid cities.

(3) The institutional arrangements governing water allocation and
distribution.

Consequently, one of the drivers of our transformation was the need to
transform institutions and the over riding goals of our policy became
Integrated Water Resources Management and the establishment of equity in
resource distribution and efficiency and sustainability in water use. Our need
for transformation required the deepening of democracy in our water
institutions and saw the inclusion of historically disadvantaged groups in the
policy development process. This transformation process started as early as
1992 during the transition period to democracy, with the establishment of a
broad consultative forum between existing water institutions, unions and
non-governments (NGOs). This forum made a number of recommendations, many of
which were incorporated in the Reconstruction and Development Programme
(RDP).

The RDP declared as a fundamental principle the "right to access clean
water, water security for all". The aim was to ensure "some for all and not all
for some". The principle was later enshrined in the Bill of Rights in the
Constitution (in Section 27), which states that everyone in South Africa has a
right of access to "sufficient food and water". It also says that the state
must take reasonable measures within its available resources to achieve the
progressive realisation of this right.

While equity is a significant principle in the Bill of Rights of the
Constitution, importantly the Constitution also lays the foundation for
environmental rights and co-operative government in South Africa. Section 24
provides for a safe and sustainable environment as a fundamental right and
Sections 40 and 41 provide for the principles of co-operative government.

These progressive and consultative foundations were the starting point for
our policies that were more inclusive than the past and dramatically reshaped
the relationship between government, science and society. In overhauling our
water legislation and promulgating the Water Services Act, Act 108 of 1997 and
the National Water Act, Act 36 of 1998 we drew on these principles and in doing
so we looked at international best practice and adapted it to meet the specific
conditions of South Africa.

The new model of government is one of decentralised decision making
specifically designed to promote democracy through a process of participatory
decision making. This has changed the way that government, industry and society
interact. These changes pushed water management into an era of rethinking the
nature of water institutions and the role of local government in the provision
of water services so that they would meet the objectives of sustainable
development, poverty eradication and improve the quality of life of our
people.

There have been a number of challenges in the implementation of these
policies and translating them into institutions and programmes that work
effectively. This year is the 10th anniversary of the Water Services Act and it
may be an opportune time to review how successful we have been in implementing
our legislation, in doing so we would need to continue in the spirit of
consultation and engaging with stakeholders.

The esteemed Professor Biswas was with us in Stockholm last year when the
issue of whether the world would run out of water in 20 years was raised, it
came out very clearly at the conference that if we better manage our water
resources we can avoid such a crisis. This sentiment was further confirmed by
the 2006 United Nations (UN) Human Development Report which states that the
water crisis facing the globe is not as a result of scarcity, it argues that
the crisis is a result of poverty, power and inequality. I am also informed
that the Global Water partnership declared that the water crisis facing the
world is in reality a crisis of governance.

It is therefore of critical importance that we ensure our institutions are
correctly aligned, have clear mandates, are well run and are able to
effectively deliver the services required by our people and the
environment.

3. Ecosystem / environment

Programme Director, environmental considerations cannot be neglected in our
approach to water use and the National Environment Management Act promulgated
in 1998 makes sustainable development, historic redress and the provision of
basic needs statutory requirements. Chapter 3 specifically mentions
co-operative environmental governance.

Recent (publicly available) reports about heavy metal contamination and
pollution in the waterways of the country are of concern to us and require us
to take action. Engaging with scientists and the scientific community to ensure
a reduction in this pollution is critical if my department is to take is role
of monitoring and ensuring compliance with legislation seriously.

In my address this morning and during the course of today there has been
discussion on water stress, water conservation and demand management. Again
these areas require extensive inputs from scientists on the availability of
water, rainfall patterns and the conversion of that rain into water in
rivers.

I am told that during the International Symposium on Ecosystem Governance in
2005, the Trialogue hypothesis for ecosystem governance was interrogated by a
select group of specialists. This Symposium sought representation from local,
regional and internationally recognised experts who could examine the trialogue
and test its validity and use in society. The first outcome was general
acceptance of the model as a good conceptual framework accompanied by a set of
high-level research programmes that could guide developments in ecosystem
governance.

4. Governance as a trialogue

Programme Director, the second outcome of that symposium and the reason why
we are here today is that this process led to the publication of the
"Governance as a trialogue: Government Society Science in Transition" book by
the CSIR and Springer-Verlag. This book is the achievement of the pooled
knowledge and experience of these researchers and practitioners of ecosystem
governance and I have been asked to say a few words about the book.

Each chapter in the book interrogates the trialogue model and tests its
applicability and usefulness for real world governance.

The foreword contains high impacting statements by Khungeka Njobe (CSIR),
Phera Ramoeli (SADC) and Jerome Delli Priscoli (World Water Council) on the
importance of governance, specifically ecosystem governance for sustainable
development. They further highlight the national, regional and international
significance of the book.

The book itself is divided into three parts. Part 1 has five chapters that
examine local and international perspectives on governance and importantly, how
governance is linked to social and ecological sustainability. The six chapters
in part two interrogate the applicability and validity of the trialogue model
to real world ecosystem problems. Using case studies from South Africa, North
America and global institutions, these chapters show how legal, social,
institutional and political viewpoints are reflected in how we govern.

Cross cutting issues of science communication, knowledge management,
learning and issues of power are dealt with in the third and final part of the
book.

5. Conclusion

In closing, ladies and gentlemen, the book concludes with a new definition
of water governance and states that water governance is the process of informed
decision making that enables trade offs between competing users of a given
resource so as to balance protection with beneficial use in such a way as to
mitigate conflict, enhance equity, ensure sustainability and hold officials
accountable.

This definition recognises the importance of how decisions are made and who
makes these decisions so that we are able to use our natural resources to
address the pressing needs of our society, while at the same time balancing
these demands with the need to protect our resources as the heritage of future
generations. The challenges therefore include doing this in an equitable and
sustainable manner for continued growth and transformation in South Africa and
internationally.

I thank you!

Issued by: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
22 March 2007