Engaging stakeholders to address a complex water resource management issue in the Western Cape, South Africa

Engaging water users when developing water management plans is increasingly being embraced by a wide range of scientists in the water sector as imperative for dealing with present-day water resources challenges. However, the complexity presented by unique catchment situations makes it difficult to prescribe a ‘one size fits all’ solution to localised water resource challenges. South Africa is well-known for its population heterogeneity, which spreads into catchments, layering complexity in terms of water user types, needs and interests. This research presents a novel conjunctive use of classical and newly developed tools within a stakeholder engagement framework. This application of a suite of tools responds to the complex conflict of water user needs and interests in the Koue Bokkeveld catchment in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. We implement the Adaptive Planning Process, and the Actors, Resources, Dynamics, and Interactions approaches to unite conflicting stakeholders and develop a shared vision as the foundation for co-developing and negotiating a shared water management plan. We present the outcomes of a series of participatory workshops in which stakeholders developed a shared catchment vision. Stakeholders united around the vision and actively engaged in participatory Agent-based Model co-development with the research team. Increased attendance and active participation in the latter workshops demonstrate a positive progression in the engagement process. Outcomes of the stakeholder feedback evaluation validate increased participant satisfaction with the process. We then reflect on the practicalities of stakeholder engagement based on our experience. Learnings from this conjunctive application of approaches suggest that providing a conducive engagement platform, facilitation, and appropriate tools can enable conflicting water users to develop shared solutions collaboratively.