BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN INTEGRATED CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER-RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

The need to broaden participation and thereby democratise the process of integrated catchment management for sustainable water resources dev elopment is fundamental to peaceful, holistic and equitable progress i n Southern Africa This need is urgent in a region racked with conflict and riven by inequalities that exacerbate the already complex situati on surrounding the sustainable development of scarce water resources. The key questions, however, relate to the strategies which organisatio ns can employ both internally and interorganisationally to empower peo ple to play a meaningful role in the processes that will lead to the a ttainment of these goals. This paper explores the possibilities for su ch strategies and moves the discussion beyond purely scientific needs to examine the technological and human resources and cultural and orga nisational transformations which are taking place. It also suggests so me transformations that are still required for such strategies to succ eed.