Since February 2021, countless lives have been lost in India, which has compounded the social and... more Since February 2021, countless lives have been lost in India, which has compounded the social and economic devastation caused by the second wave of COVID-19. The sharp surge in cases across the country overwhelmed the health infrastructure, with people left scrambling for hospital beds, critical drugs, and oxygen. As of May 2021, infections began to come down in urban areas. However, the effects of the second wave continued to be felt in rural areas. This is the worst humanitarian and public health crisis the country has witnessed since independence; while the continued spread of COVID-19 variants will have regional and global implications. With a slow vaccine rollout and overwhelmed health infrastructure, there is a critical need to examine India's response and recommend measures to further arrest the current spread of infection and to prevent and prepare against future waves. This brief is a rapid social science review and analysis of the second wave of COVID-19 in India. It d...
In the context of rising climate uncertainties, there is an urgent need for greater convergence b... more In the context of rising climate uncertainties, there is an urgent need for greater convergence between water and climate change policies. To improve adaptation outcomes, a reorientation towards justice and rights-based frameworks is required.
For the past two decades, IWRM has been actively promoted by water experts as well as multilatera... more For the past two decades, IWRM has been actively promoted by water experts as well as multilateral and bilateral donors who have considered it to be a crucial way to address global water management problems. IWRM has been incorporated into water laws, reforms and policies of southern African nations. This article introduces the special issue 'Flows and Practices: The Politics of IWRM in southern Africa'. It provides a conceptual framework to study: the flow of IWRM as an idea; its translation and articulation into new policies, institutions and allocation mechanisms, and the resulting practices and effects across multiple scales – global, regional, national and local. The empirical findings of the complexities of articulation and implementation of IWRM in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda form the core of this special issue. We demonstrate how Africa has been a laboratory for IWRM experiments, while donors as well as a new cadre of water professionals a...
In Tanzania like in other parts of the global South, in the name of 'development' and ... more In Tanzania like in other parts of the global South, in the name of 'development' and 'poverty eradication' vast tracts of land have been earmarked by the government to be developed by investors for different commercial agricultural projects, giving rise to the contested land grab phenomenon. In parallel, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has been promoted in the country and globally as the governance framework that seeks to manage water resources in an efficient, equitable and sustainable manner. This article asks how IWRM manages the competing interests as well as the diverse priorities of both large and small water users in the midst of foreign direct investment. By focusing on two commercial sugar companies operating in the Wami-Ruvu River Basin in Tanzania and their impacts on the water and land rights of the surrounding villages, the article asks whether institutional and capacity weaknesses around IWRM implementation can be exploited by powerful act...
The historical legacy in South Africa of apartheid and the resulting discriminatory policies and ... more The historical legacy in South Africa of apartheid and the resulting discriminatory policies and power imbalances are critical to understanding how water is managed and allocated, and how people participate in designated water governance structures. The progressive post-apartheid National Water Act (NWA) is the principal legal instrument related to water governance which has broadly embraced the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). This translation of IWRM into the South African context and, in particular, the integration of institutions related to land and water have faced many challenges due to the political nature of water and land reforms, and the tendency of governmental departments to work in silos. The paper explores the dynamics surrounding the implementation of IWRM in the Inkomati Water Management Area, and the degree of integration between the parallel land and water reform processes. It also looks at what these reforms mean to black farmers’ access...
Scarcity and uncertainty loom large over the landscape of Kutch, an arid to semi-arid district in... more Scarcity and uncertainty loom large over the landscape of Kutch, an arid to semi-arid district in western India, where pastoralism has been practised for generations. Despite its clear potential to tackle the dryland dynamics, the tradition of pastoralism in Kutch has been systematically denigrated and marginalised in the district over the years. Drawing on research conducted in eastern Kutch, and along the coast, this article shows how pastoralist communities have been displaced from a range of vital hydric resources – such as mangroves and water sources – in the name of development and conservation. Together, these have accelerated processes of dispossession and exacerbated both 'old' and 'new' resource scarcities.
Rural people in southern Africa make a living in diverse ways, often in harsh physical and econom... more Rural people in southern Africa make a living in diverse ways, often in harsh physical and economic environments Such contexts arc fast-changing. requiring shifts in livelihood strategies and mixes of activities This article explores both the vulnerability contexts and livelihood strategies found in the three study areas examined dunng the SLSA research programme Zambezia province, Mozambique, Chiredzi district, Zimbabwe and South Afnca's Wild Coast This article assesses how such livelihood strategies interact with wider ...
“Rights-based approaches” are increasingly seen as a core component of development by donors, NGO... more “Rights-based approaches” are increasingly seen as a core component of development by donors, NGOs and governments alike (see, for example, Haussermann 1998, Maxwell 1999). With clearly specified, legally-enshrined and universal nghts, it is argued, citizens can voice their demands on the basis of clear, transparent legal provision, sometimes with constitutional hacking. With the law providing the basis for negotiation, parties are accountable and decisions are clear. Mote generally, particularly with a constitutionally ...
Rural people in southern Africa make a living in diverse ways, often in harsh physical and econom... more Rural people in southern Africa make a living in diverse ways, often in harsh physical and economic environments Such contexts arc fast-changing. requiring shifts in livelihood strategies and mixes of activities This article explores both the vulnerability contexts and livelihood strategies found in the three study areas examined dunng the SLSA research programme Zambezia province, Mozambique, Chiredzi district, Zimbabwe and South Afnca's Wild Coast This article assesses how such livelihood strategies interact with wider ...
Since February 2021, countless lives have been lost in India, which has compounded the social and... more Since February 2021, countless lives have been lost in India, which has compounded the social and economic devastation caused by the second wave of COVID-19. The sharp surge in cases across the country overwhelmed the health infrastructure, with people left scrambling for hospital beds, critical drugs, and oxygen. As of May 2021, infections began to come down in urban areas. However, the effects of the second wave continued to be felt in rural areas. This is the worst humanitarian and public health crisis the country has witnessed since independence; while the continued spread of COVID-19 variants will have regional and global implications. With a slow vaccine rollout and overwhelmed health infrastructure, there is a critical need to examine India's response and recommend measures to further arrest the current spread of infection and to prevent and prepare against future waves. This brief is a rapid social science review and analysis of the second wave of COVID-19 in India. It d...
In the context of rising climate uncertainties, there is an urgent need for greater convergence b... more In the context of rising climate uncertainties, there is an urgent need for greater convergence between water and climate change policies. To improve adaptation outcomes, a reorientation towards justice and rights-based frameworks is required.
For the past two decades, IWRM has been actively promoted by water experts as well as multilatera... more For the past two decades, IWRM has been actively promoted by water experts as well as multilateral and bilateral donors who have considered it to be a crucial way to address global water management problems. IWRM has been incorporated into water laws, reforms and policies of southern African nations. This article introduces the special issue 'Flows and Practices: The Politics of IWRM in southern Africa'. It provides a conceptual framework to study: the flow of IWRM as an idea; its translation and articulation into new policies, institutions and allocation mechanisms, and the resulting practices and effects across multiple scales – global, regional, national and local. The empirical findings of the complexities of articulation and implementation of IWRM in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda form the core of this special issue. We demonstrate how Africa has been a laboratory for IWRM experiments, while donors as well as a new cadre of water professionals a...
In Tanzania like in other parts of the global South, in the name of 'development' and ... more In Tanzania like in other parts of the global South, in the name of 'development' and 'poverty eradication' vast tracts of land have been earmarked by the government to be developed by investors for different commercial agricultural projects, giving rise to the contested land grab phenomenon. In parallel, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has been promoted in the country and globally as the governance framework that seeks to manage water resources in an efficient, equitable and sustainable manner. This article asks how IWRM manages the competing interests as well as the diverse priorities of both large and small water users in the midst of foreign direct investment. By focusing on two commercial sugar companies operating in the Wami-Ruvu River Basin in Tanzania and their impacts on the water and land rights of the surrounding villages, the article asks whether institutional and capacity weaknesses around IWRM implementation can be exploited by powerful act...
The historical legacy in South Africa of apartheid and the resulting discriminatory policies and ... more The historical legacy in South Africa of apartheid and the resulting discriminatory policies and power imbalances are critical to understanding how water is managed and allocated, and how people participate in designated water governance structures. The progressive post-apartheid National Water Act (NWA) is the principal legal instrument related to water governance which has broadly embraced the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). This translation of IWRM into the South African context and, in particular, the integration of institutions related to land and water have faced many challenges due to the political nature of water and land reforms, and the tendency of governmental departments to work in silos. The paper explores the dynamics surrounding the implementation of IWRM in the Inkomati Water Management Area, and the degree of integration between the parallel land and water reform processes. It also looks at what these reforms mean to black farmers’ access...
Scarcity and uncertainty loom large over the landscape of Kutch, an arid to semi-arid district in... more Scarcity and uncertainty loom large over the landscape of Kutch, an arid to semi-arid district in western India, where pastoralism has been practised for generations. Despite its clear potential to tackle the dryland dynamics, the tradition of pastoralism in Kutch has been systematically denigrated and marginalised in the district over the years. Drawing on research conducted in eastern Kutch, and along the coast, this article shows how pastoralist communities have been displaced from a range of vital hydric resources – such as mangroves and water sources – in the name of development and conservation. Together, these have accelerated processes of dispossession and exacerbated both 'old' and 'new' resource scarcities.
Rural people in southern Africa make a living in diverse ways, often in harsh physical and econom... more Rural people in southern Africa make a living in diverse ways, often in harsh physical and economic environments Such contexts arc fast-changing. requiring shifts in livelihood strategies and mixes of activities This article explores both the vulnerability contexts and livelihood strategies found in the three study areas examined dunng the SLSA research programme Zambezia province, Mozambique, Chiredzi district, Zimbabwe and South Afnca's Wild Coast This article assesses how such livelihood strategies interact with wider ...
“Rights-based approaches” are increasingly seen as a core component of development by donors, NGO... more “Rights-based approaches” are increasingly seen as a core component of development by donors, NGOs and governments alike (see, for example, Haussermann 1998, Maxwell 1999). With clearly specified, legally-enshrined and universal nghts, it is argued, citizens can voice their demands on the basis of clear, transparent legal provision, sometimes with constitutional hacking. With the law providing the basis for negotiation, parties are accountable and decisions are clear. Mote generally, particularly with a constitutionally ...
Rural people in southern Africa make a living in diverse ways, often in harsh physical and econom... more Rural people in southern Africa make a living in diverse ways, often in harsh physical and economic environments Such contexts arc fast-changing. requiring shifts in livelihood strategies and mixes of activities This article explores both the vulnerability contexts and livelihood strategies found in the three study areas examined dunng the SLSA research programme Zambezia province, Mozambique, Chiredzi district, Zimbabwe and South Afnca's Wild Coast This article assesses how such livelihood strategies interact with wider ...
Uploads
Papers by Lyla Mehta