Abstract

This paper considers the degree to which the right to water in South Africa has been realised,
and the efficacy of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in producing equitable
and sustainable hydro-socio-ecological solutions. IWRM is a crucial strategic approach to
ensure that the actions of sector stakeholders are framed within the constraints of
sustainability, economic efficiency, environmental integrity, social equity, transparency and
knowledge equity. Competition for scarce water resources naturally gives rise to selfinterested
actions, but healthy IWRM processes purport to channel self-interest productively
and curb the negative effects of inequality. However, disconnection between the science of
IWRM and the policies and practices emanating from it demonstrate its limitations for
equitable water allocation. The paper explores the way that the South African courts have
approached the right to water, drawing into question what place IWRM has in South African
jurisprudence. The recent Constitutional Court case Mazibuko is central to the analysis.
Having explored the limitations of IWRM and a rights-based approach to water, the paper
applies the idea of ‘the commons’, a new way to express a very old idea, that some forms of
wealth belong to all of us, and that these community resources must be actively protected and
managed for the good of all. Exploration is made of the potential that a reinvigorated concept
of the commons could have for making manifest equitable and sustainable water for
everyone.