| Summary: | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch, 2004. === ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa is a semi-arid country with an average annual rainfall of 197mm, in comparison with
the international average of 860mm per year, of which the available freshwater sources are currently
being utilised virtually completely. The water restrictions in the Western Cape during the summer
of 2000/2001 and of 2001/2002 are sufficient evidence of this. This threatening water shortage
holds far-reaching consequences for the socio-economic development of the country if an active
effort is not made to manage the water resources in a sustainable manner. Starting in the 1990s, the
concept of integrated catchment management crCM) began to enjoy widespread attention as a
mechanism to manage water resources. However, it was primarily forced, state-initiated projects
with little direct community involvement that enjoyed a limited amount of success.
This study undertook community-driven, integrated catchment management in a relatively small
catchment in the Veldwachters River valley in the Stellenbosch area in the Western Cape in order to
investigate the effectiveness thereof as a mechanism for sustainable water resource management.
The study firstly places the concept of rCM in perspective, after which the study area is demarcated
spatially within the South African and the regional context. Community-based action research as
research approach provides the techniques to reconcile and integrate the duality of the rCM process,
namely the human and physical elements in a catchment, and to successfully involve the community
in the process. The first phase of the study entails the gathering of existing and new information and
the definition of the environmental status of the catchment area in a situation analysis, which was
presented to the community as an information document to initiate public participation. During the
second phase, a community partnership was established by means of introductory interviews,
correspondence, focus group meetings and public forums. The third and executive phase was
characterised by the mobilisation of the community partnership in the execution of strategic
planning procedures, such as the formulation of a catchment vision, prioritisation of relevant
catchment management issues, the statement of the management objectives and the formulation and
implementation of action plans for the management of various issues in the catchment.
The conclusion drawn after a thorough evaluation of the course of the study is that the
implementation of community-driven integrated catchment management can be successful ina smaller catchment. A few crucial requirements need to be taken into consideration in future
applications elsewhere, namely:
• That the study area must have a small enough area so that all stakeholders can be involved
relatively easily and for a catchment identity and "ownership" of the process to be able to
develop;
• That the process must initially be facilitated externally until a community partnership has been
established and a management committee has been elected, after which the facilitation and
management of the process must be handed to the community so that it can finally become
completely community driven;
• That socio-econornic issues initially will receive more attention than the natural environment,
but that these issues need to be utilised to establish the ICM process, after which the natural
environment naturally will receive greater priority; and
• That the researcher must remain patient, particularly during the second and third phases of the
process, as public participation and particularly the establishment of a community-driven
process can be slow and exhausting.
This case study emphasises that each application of ICM will be unique because the degree of
community involvement and the priorities of catchment communities will differ. Communitydriven
integrated catchment management is not, under any circumstances, an instant solution for
water management and water conservation issues, but it is the only sustainable option.
KEY WORDS: catchment management, public/community participation, situation analysis, water
resource management, action research. === AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika is 'n semi-ariede land met 'n gemiddelde reenvalsyfer van 497mm per jaar teenoor die
wereldgemiddelde van 860mm per jaar, waarvan beskikbare varswaterbronne tans byna ten volle
benut word. Die waterbeperkings in die Wes-Kaap gedurende die somers van 2000/2001 en
200112002 is afdoende bewys hiervan. Hierdie dreigende watemood hou verreikende gevolge vir
die sosio-ekonomiese ontwikkeling van die land in, indien daar nie 'n daadwerklike poging
aangewend gaan word om die waterhulpbronne volhoubaar te bestuur nie. Sedert die negentigerjare
het die konsep van geintegreerde opvanggebiedbestuur (GOGB) as waterhulpbronbestuursmeganisme
wye belangstelling begin geniet. Dit was hoofsaaklik afgedwonge,
staatsgeinisieerde projekte met min direkte gemeenskapsbetrokkenheid wat beperkte sukses gehad
het.
Hierdie studie het 'n gemeenskapsgedrewe geintegreerde opvanggebiedbestuur op 'n relatief klein
opvanggebied in die Veldwachtersrivier vallei in die Stellenbosch omgewing in die Wes-Kaap
ondemeem, ten einde die effektiwiteit daarvan as 'n volhoubare waterhulpbron-bestuursmeganisme
te ondersoek. Die studie plaas eerstens die konsep van GOGB in perspektief, waama die
studiegebied ruimtelik binne die Suid-Afrikaanse en streekskonteks afgebaken word.
Gemeenskapsgebaseerde aksienavorsing as navorsingsbenadering verskaf die tegnieke om die
tweeledigheid van die GOGB proses, naamlik menslike en fisiese elemente in 'n opvanggebied, te
verso en en te integreer en om die gemeenskap suksesvol by die proses te betrek. Die eerste fase van
die studie behels die insameling van bestaande en nuwe inligting en die ornskrywing van die
omgewingstatus van die opvanggebied in 'n situasie-analise, wat as inligtingsdokurnent aan die
gemeenskap voorgele word om publieke deelname te inisieer. Gedurende die tweede fase is 'n
gemeenskapsvennootskap gevestig met behulp van inleidende onderhoude, korrespondensie,
fokusgroepbyeenkomste en pub Iieke forums. Die derde en uitvoerende lase is gekenmerk deur die
mobilisering van die gemeenskapsvennootskap m die uitvoering van strategiese
beplanningsprosedures soos die formulering van 'n opvanggebiedvisie, prioritisering van tersaaklike
opvanggebiedkwessies, bestuursdoelwitstelling en die formulering en implementering van
aksieplanne vir die bestuur van verskeie kwessies in die opvanggebied. Die gevolgtrekking na die noukeurige evaluering van die verloop van hierdie studie, is dat die
implementering van gemeenskapsgedrewe gemtegreerde opvanggebiedbestuur in 'n kleiner
opvanggebied wel suksesvol kan wees. 'n Paar beslissende vereistes moet met toekomstige
toepassings elders in ag geneem word, naamIik:
• Dat die studiegebied oppervlakgewys klein genoeg moet wees sodat alle rolspelers relatief
maklik betrek kan word en 'n opvanggebied-identiteit en "eienaarskap" van die proses kan
ontwikkel;
• Die proses moet aanvanklik ekstem fasiliteer word, totdat 'n gemeenskapsvennootskap gevestig
is en 'n bestuurskomitee verkies is, waama die fasilitering en bestuur van die proses aan die
gemeenskap oorgegee moet word om uiteindelik ten volle gemeenskapsgedrewe te word;
• Dat sosio-ekonomiese kwessies aanvanklik aandag b6 die natuurlike omgewing sal geniet, maar
dat hierdie kwessies benut moet word om die GOGB proses te vestig, waama die natuurlike
omgewing vanselfsprekend hoer prioriteit sal geniet; en
• Dat die navorser veral gedurende die tweede en derde fases van die proses geduld moet behou,
omdat publieke deelname en veral die vestiging van 'n gemeenskapsgedrewe proses, tydsaam
en vermoeiend kan wees.
Hierdie gevallestudie beklemtoon dat elke toepassing van GOGB uniek sal wees omdat die mate van
gemeenskapsdeelname en -prioriteite tussen opvanggebiedgemeenskappe sal verskil.
Gemeenskapsgedrewe gemtegreerde opvanggebiedbestuur is onder geen ornstandighede 'n
kitsoplossing vir waterbestuur en -bewaring nie, maar dit is die enigste volhoubare opsie.
SLEUTEL WOORDE: opvanggebiedbestuur, publieke/gemeenskapsdeelname, situasie-analise,
waterhulpbronbestuur, aksienavorsing
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