Contributions of an ethically-grounded and value based approach to water governance – the case of two contrasting catchments

Abstract

WATER GOVERNANCE PAGE 2 moral theory and systemic-relational approaches. Applying these theoretical frameworks in the selected catchments enabled the identification of key values informing water governance, followed by a value-based analysis of how stakeholders go about reconciling or trading off conflicting values. The method aimed to shed light on the potential of an ethics-based approach to contribute to realising the foundational values of equity, sustainability and efficiency enshrined in the National Water Act. Lesson 1: The simultaneous pursuit of equity, sustainability and efficiency is complex and challenging Evidence on the interactions between efforts to realise equity, sustainability, and efficiency in the case study catchments suggests that these interactions are mostly conflictual. The single-minded pursuit of one value has frequently constrained, counteracted, or even reversed the gains towards another value, at least in the short-term.

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