The Inkomati-Usuthu Catchment Management Agency
Managing strategically and adaptively
Kevin Rogers and Thomas Gyedo-Ababio
1.5 million people
2 International borders
3 District Municipalities
10 Local Municipalities
26 Irrigation Boards
35% area is nature reserves
37% area is agriculture
14% forestry
6% irrigation
20% semi-urban to dense rural communities
High poverty and illiteracy levels
ETC!!!!
2009
• Small, extremely dedicated staff and Governing Board conflict
• Functions had not been assigned and DWA “apron strings” firmly tied
• No operations budget (and for one year no budget at all)
• 2 years of “building the institution” and establishing forums
• Business and other plans written by outsiders “for” not “with” staff
• Plans based on stepwise achievement of policy directives
• Policy directives are “end” objectives but no “means” objectives
• Stakeholder engagement “there” but not explicitly central
• Inter-Stakeholder and stakeholder-ICMA/DWA conflict
• Stakeholder fatigue setting in because Forums had “nowhere to go”
• Staff morale dropping very fast but dedication remained for most
Water user associations
Catchment management
forums
International
Industry
stakeholders
Tourism
Municipalities/Domestic
Emerging farmers
Water service
providers
STAKEHOLDER GROUPS
IN THE INKOMATI WATER
MANAGEMENT AREA
Community based
organisations
Commercial farmers
Government
departments
(including DWA)
Non-governmental
organisations
Forestry
and sugar
co-ops
Inkomati CMA
Traditional
leaders
Provisional and
National conservation
Mining
Academia
Environmental and hydrological
professionals
Management of Common Pool Resources
Getting to a shared future that “changes”
Reality
Desired “system”
Current state
“Efficient” but Naïve Approach
Many factors affect the both the trajectory and the
desired “system”
V – Values
S – Social
T – Technical
E – Economic
E – Environmental
P – Political
Highly
variable
and/or
uncertain
Decision outcomes are largely driven
by peoples’ value systems.
Achieving a shared understanding of
the VSTEEP System is imperative for
decision making.
Strategic Adaptive Management
1
Shared Rationality
Adaptive Planning
2
Common Pool Resources
Vision
Shared future that
“changes”
Values
Context
Determinants
S – Social
T – Technical
E – Economic
E – Environment
P – Political
2a
E
E
P
Context
Vital
attributes
Determinants
Vital Attributes
V – Values
V-STEEP
Analysis
S T
Threats
Threats
Shared value
set.
Objectives
Hierarchy
2b
Vision
Adaptive Decision
Making
3
Obj. 1
VISION
7
6
4
Monitoring and
Adaptive goal revision
4
PREDICT
5
3
EVALUATE
Decision
2
SELECT
Operations
Monitoring
Select
Research
1
LEARN
Models
TPC
Obj. 2
Obj. 3
Adaptive Planning of a Shared Future
DESIRED
FUTURE
VALUES/
PRINCIPLES
CONTEXT
Scoping the decision
making environment
List vital
attributes
Determinants,
threats, constraints
Understanding the
“V-STEEP” system
to be managed
Evaluate attributes
Objectives
Prioritize
Objectives
Expected
outcomes
Where we want to go
(ends) and how to get
there (means)
Problems of 2009 were mostly in the past by 2011
Especially better working relations with Gov. Board, DWA and
all stakeholder bodies
Adaptive Planning with new paradigm thinking re-orientated
ICMA to operational and participative IRWM
•
Became focussed on a shared (V-STEEP) future
•
Became thoroughly stakeholder centred
•
Realigned all Plans to meet operational and stakeholder
needs with both ends and means objectives
•
Established an Equity Working Group
•
Regular “learning/unlearning” sessions, amongst other
activities, help CMA manage strategically and adaptively
The Inkomati Catchment
Management Strategy
INKOMATI CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT AGENCY
A Stakeholder Centred Process for the
Inkomati Catchment Management
Strategy
A set of medium to long term strategic action
programmes to achieve catchment water use that is
equitable, efficient and sustainable
Stakeholders provided guidance
to the technical team that drafted the CMS.
Process engaged by +400 bodies in 5 workshops
Strategic Adaptive Management
1
Shared Rationality
Adaptive Planning
2
Common Pool Resources
Vision
Shared future that
“changes”
Values
Context
Determinants
S – Social
T – Technical
E – Economic
E – Environment
P – Political
2a
E
E
P
Context
Vital
attributes
Determinants
Vital Attributes
V – Values
V-STEEP
Analysis
S T
Threats
Threats
Shared value
set.
Objectives
Hierarchy
2b
Vision
Adaptive Decision
Making
3
Obj. 1
VISION
7
6
4
Monitoring and
Adaptive goal revision
4
PREDICT
5
3
EVALUATE
Decision
2
SELECT
Operations
Monitoring
Select
Research
1
LEARN
Models
TPC
Obj. 2
Obj. 3