An Analysis of International and South African Discourses and Perspectives on Water Security

Abstract

The focus of this chapter is to make sense of the international and South African discourses on water security. Although issues linked to water security currently feature strongly in the South African media, few academics have written about water security from a South African perspective. We address this gap by reflecting on how the complex international water security debate translates to the South African context. We do so through a detailed analysis of prominent international understandings of water security, followed by a study of South Africa’s water legislative and policy framework with reference to the concept. We also discuss how academics who write about the topic of water security in South Africa, as well as water resources professionals and applied scientists who work on water security-related issues, interpret its various dimensions. The analysis ends with reflections on the current and possible future state of the South African water security discourse.