About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

18 Geo. Int'l Envtl. L. Rev. 149 (2005-2006)
Water Justice in South Africa: Natural Resources Policy at the Intersection of Human Rights, Economics, and Political Power

handle is hein.journals/gintenlr18 and id is 157 raw text is: Water Justice in South Africa: Natural Resources Policy at the Intersection of Human Rights, Economics, and Political Power ROSE FRANCIS* CONTENTS I. Introduction ............................................ 149 II. The Legacy of Apartheid Land & Water Policies ................... 153 III. Democratic Transition and the Politics of Globalization ............ 155 IV. Transformations in Water Law and Policy ....................... 160 A. The National Water Act ................................ 161 1. Decentralization .................................. 165 2. Cost Recovery ................................... 170 3. Privatization ..................................... 176 B. South Africa's Free Basic Water Policy ..................... 178 V. Analyzing the Legal Right to Water ............................ 182 A. Background: A Human Right to Water ...................... 183 B. Constitutional Protection of the Right to Water ................ 186 1. A Roadmap for Litigating Socioeconomic Rights ........... 187 2. Prudential Considerations ............................ 190 3. The Viability of Litigating the Right to Water ............ 191 V I. C onclusion ......................................... 195 I. INTRODUCTION The Republic of South Africa is a nation of extreme disparities, which are the legacy of two centuries of European colonial rule and fifty years of formal apartheid. Despite South Africa's status of moderate national wealth, inside its borders developed and developing worlds coexist, and the brutal, racist policies of the National Party, which ruled the country until 1994, have left the inhabitants of those two worlds largely segregated by pigmentation.' Thus, white South * J.D., Harvard Law School, 2005. The author would like to sincerely thank Professor Dean Hill Rivkin for his inspiration and patience, and Justice Richard Goldstone and Professors Lani Guinier, Martha L. Minnow, and Lucie E. White for their insight and support. Lastly, the editors of the Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, particularly Tracey King, have been tremendously helpful. 1. Karen Cavanaugh, Emerging South Africa: Human Rights Responses in the Post-Apartheid Era, 5 CARDOZO J. INT'L & CoMP. L. 291, 293 (1997). Not surprisingly, in this nation of sharp inequalities, the richest ten percent of the population is responsible for almost fifty percent of consumption and the poorest ten percent is responsible for only one percent. Andrew Allan, A Comparison Between the Water Law Reforms in South Africa and Scotland: Can a Generic National Water Law Model Be Developed from These Examples?, 43 NAT.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most