The transformation of irrigation boards into water user associations in South Africa. Volume 1, case studies of the Lower Olifants, Great Letaba and Vaalharts Water User associations

Seshoka Jetrick, De Lange Willem, Faysse Nicolas. 2004. The transformation of irrigation boards into water user associations in South Africa. Volume 1, case studies of the Lower Olifants, Great Letaba and Vaalharts Water User associations. Colombo : IWMI, 64 p. (Working paper : IWMI, 72) ISBN 92-9090-558-1

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Résumé : In South Africa, the 1998 National Water Act launched an in-depth reform of water resource management. At the local level, all the Irrigation Boards (IBs), which used to be managed by large-scale farmers, are to be transformed into Water User Associations (WUA). These WUAs should incorporate all users-whether they have a formal water entitlement or not-in the defined area of jurisdiction. This transformation will enable better participation by the historically disadvantaged individuals (HDIs) in the management of the water resources. It will also provide a basis for improved and integrated local management of water resources. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), in cooperation with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), has undertaken a research program on the transformation of IBs into WUAs. The main objective of the research was to understand the constraints and opportunities of the transformation, with regard to the goal of meeting HDIs' water-related needs. A secondary objective was to assess the role of these new WUAs with regard to integrated local water resource management. This working paper covers three case studies of IBs that have already been transformed into WUAs. The case studies constitute the background information for the research report entitled An assessment of small-scale users' inclusion in large-scale WUAs in South Africa. The first case study is the Lower Olifants WUA in the Western Cape, which was the first WUA in South Africa. Its principal functions are to operate and maintain a canal that enables irrigation throughout the year in an arid region. Around 9,200 hectares are irrigated, mainly for vineyards. The Ebenhaezer Colored community is situated downstream in the system. This community is supposed to receive a given amount of water free, in compensation for its forced displacement in 1913. The community does not receive the water on demand as the upstream commercial farmers do: Instead, it basically receives the unused flow at the end of the system. The community does generally receive its water entitlement, but it cannot schedule this flow nor store the unused water. The involvement of the community within the WUA should have been an opportunity for capacity building, but has failed to solve the abovementioned problem. The second case study relates to the Great Letaba WUA in the Limpopo Province. This WUA manages the allocation of water downstream of two large dams, near the town of Tzaneen. An area of 12,500 hectares is irrigated in the river valley, mainly for fruit tree farming. There are four small-scale farmer schemes under the jurisdiction of the WUA. They face many internal problems, especially with regard to land tenure. The emerging farmers are involved in the WUA, which helps them in terms of capacity building and linking with other institutions. The WUA also undertakes some actions to support them. However, in periods of water restrictions, the emerging farmers face the same water restrictions as the commercial farmers, although the Department of Land Affairs (DoLA), which is paying their water fees, is paying for more water than they use. The third case study assesses the Vaalharts WUA, which is situated in both Northern Cape and North West provinces. This WUA is one of the largest irrigation schemes in South Africa (37,100 hectares overall). It manages mainly a canal that takes water from the Vaal River to irrigate commercial farms and, downstream, the Taung Irrigation Scheme in the former Bophuthatswana homeland. Emerging farmers in Taung use mainly pivot irrigation and have faced many financial and technical problems. More recently, a brewery company has started contracting with them for the production of barley and helps them in their farming activities.

Mots-clés Agrovoc : ressource en eau, utilisation de l'eau, aménagement de bassin versant, affectation de ressources, gestion des eaux, irrigation, réseau d'irrigation, association d'agriculteurs, étude de cas

Mots-clés géographiques Agrovoc : Afrique du Sud

Mots-clés complémentaires : Association d'usagers de l'eau

Classification Agris : F06 - Irrigation
E20 - Organisation, administration et gestion des entreprises ou exploitations agricoles

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