Water users’ associations from the users’ perspective: local water management at Thabina irrigation scheme, Limpopo, South Africa
Abstract
At a time when the South African water department and a circle of water experts in the
country are defining their position on water users’ associations (WUAs), this paper looks
at people’s actions and perceptions of local water management as a fundamental factor
to understanding small farmers’ interactions with these newly established institutions.
It presents the preliminary results of a community study conducted at Thabina irrigation
scheme, Limpopo, between September 2007 and April 2008. This study offers an
original approach to analyzing the scheme’s difficulties and, without providing a
representative image of smallholder irrigation schemes in South Africa, it allows for
interesting preliminary reflections around small farmers’ perceptions of water management
and local water management institutions. The study of perceptions is not new, nor does
it belong as an analytical tool to one or other academic discipline. In order to fully grasp
this complex and multidimensional object, a transdisciplinary approach is therefore
applied and implemented in the field by using an innovative set of methods: interviews,
verbal associations and participatory photography. The advantages and difficulties related
to the use of a perception and transdisciplinary approach are discussed.