WATER POLICIES AND SMALLHOLDING IRRIGATION SCHEMES IN SOUTH AFRICA: A HISTORY AND NEW INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES IN RURAL TRANSKEI (EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE): HOW DOES WOOL PRODUCTION FIT IN?

Livestock Production/Industries,

POVERTY AND DIVERSITY OF LIVELIHOOD SYSTEMS IN POST-APARTHEID RURAL SOUTH AFRICA: INSIGHTS INTO LOCAL LEVELS IN THE EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE

This paper highlights the plight of black rural areas in South Africa, in which deep poverty and weak subsistence agriculture are embedded. The apartheid policy and its numerous measures are the first causes of such a situation. Besides, the existence of a relatively well-developed non-agricultural labour market also maintains productive agricultural activities at a low level. This paper attempts to contextualize those elements in the Eastern Cape province. At province level, the paper first provides the main features of poverty and livelihood systems. Then, typological approaches are used to better understand the socio-economic diversity of local livelihood systems, beyond generic statistics. The results show that diversity is a major trait of local livelihood systems. Pensions and remittances are the pillars of livelihood systems, whereas local off-farm job opportunities remain scarce. Farming activities, although widespread, form a significant source of cash income for a small proportion of households. The factors influencing such a diversity and the evolution of types are discussed. It is confirmed that rural areas in Transkei follow some major trends that have been identified at a global level: diversification of rural livelihood at household level, de-agrarianisation and de-peasantisation at community level.Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use,

TESTING SCENARIOS ON THE VIABILITY OF SMALLHOLDING IRRIGATION SCHEMES IN SOUTH AFRICA: A PARTICIPATORY AND INFORMATION-BASED APPROACH

Government smallholder irrigation schemes were developed in former homeland areas of South Africa during the apartheid era. Although experiencing serious financial, technical, and institutional problems, most of them are now earmarked for rehabilitation and transfer to water users' associations. Transfer operators find it difficult to evaluate the potential for viability, then to organize the transfer accordingly. The paper refers to a multi-disciplinary, action-research approach that has been proposed to address such issues. It has been implemented in a case study scheme management, the possible contributions by farmers to cover these costs, the possible charging system to be set up, and finally the impact of certain measures or decisions, or certain farmers' strategies on the financial viability of the scheme. The paper mainly presents and discusses some principles of the approach, especially the need for a sustained and multi-disciplinary partnership during scenario development and discussion, including farmers and transfer operators. Such an approach shows huge potential for information and decision-making support towards transfer operators, for training, and for farmers' participation.Farm Management, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

NEW WATER POLICY, IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT TRANSFER AND SMALLHOLDING IRRIGATION SCHEMES IN SOUTH AFRICA: INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES

This paper briefly reviews the situation of smallholding irrigation schemes SIS- in previously disadvantaged rural areas of South Africa. It then analyses the implication of the new National Water Act of 1998 on those schemes, with regard to the IMT process. An analysis of water rights related issues is proposed. It highlights a number of contradictions, uncertainties and possible threats which may hinder further development, and sustainable IMT in SIS.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

SUPPORTING DECISION MAKING ON REHABILITATION AND MANAGEMENT TRANSFER OF GOVERNMENT SMALLHOLDING IRRIGATION SCHEMES: THE SMILE APPROACH

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

MATCHING POLICIES ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA: RECENT HISTORY, PRINCIPLES, AND CURRENT CHALLENGES

The paper discusses the link between local governance and rural development in democratic South Africa. It underlines several issues and challenges facing the government's willingness to position local municipalities as the key providers and promoters of development in rural areas. The paper first presents two parallel policy streams that took place since 1994. On the one hand, local government has been gradually established and strengthened, as the third constitutional sphere of governance, in line with an overall decentralization process. On the other hand, rural development has taken a growing place into political discourses from 1994 onwards, and has been promoted or implemented through various policies, legislations and programmes, which has often been conceived and managed centrally, at the national and/or provincial levels. The paper then describes the current situation in terms of linkages between local government and rural development initiatives. It is argued that, in spite of a closer link and integration between overall policies and approaches to rural development (ISRDP) and local government planning tools (IDPs), a series of issues and challenges are still hindering efficient delivery and services towards rural areas and their development. Among other issues, the paper identifies and discusses (1) contradicting approaches that are still combined de facto (liberalism vs. welfarism), (2) the lack of actual participation and the weakness of CSOs in rural South Africa, (3) revenue issues at the rural municipal level, (4) the discussable role of district municipalities, (5) a hidden supply-driven agenda by line departments, along with poor co-ordination among them, and (6) long-living myths about the potential of certain areas, or the possible role of agriculture. The paper concludes with some recommendations, especially stressing the possible role of academics to help and support decision-makers and development operators.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Political Economy,

Essential hyperbolicity and homoclinic bifurcations: a dichotomy phenomenon/mechanism for diffeomorphisms

We prove that any diffeomorphism of a compact manifold can be approximated in topology C1 by another diffeomorphism exhibiting a homoclinic bifurcation (a homoclinic tangency or a heterodimensional cycle) or by one which is essentially hyperbolic (it has a finite number of transitive hyperbolic attractors with open and dense basin of attraction)

Unoriented geometric functors

Farrell and Hsiang noticed that the geometric surgery groups defined By Wall, Chapter 9, do not have the naturality Wall claims for them. They were able to fix the problem by augmenting Wall's definitions to keep track of a line bundle. The definition of geometric Wall groups involves homology with local coefficients and these also lack Wall's claimed naturality. One would hope that a geometric bordism theory involving non-orientable manifolds would enjoy the same naturality as that enjoyed by homology with local coefficients. A setting for this naturality entirely in terms of local coefficients is presented in this paper. Applying this theory to the example of non-orientable Wall groups restores much of the elegance of Wall's original approach. Furthermore, a geometric determination of the map induced by conjugation by a group element is given.Comment: 12 pages, LaTe

A SIMULATION-BASED APPROACH TO ASSESS THE ECONOMIC VIABILITY OF SMALLHOLDING IRRIGATION SCHEMES IN SOUTH AFRICA: CONCEPTUALISATION AND FIRST IMPLEMENTATION

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,