Drought: In search of sustainable solutions to a persistent, ‘wicked’ problem in South Africa

Abstract

Drought is a persistent, creeping challenge for many countries in southern Africa defying neat definitions. Droughts usually occur somewhere in South Africa during any year. The more recent drought (2014-2016) has harshly reminded people of the need to be more proactive about droughts. Given this repetitive occurrence of drought, South Africa, has a long history and an interesting governance tradition of how droughts are framed and managed. A historical, comparative assessment of the role of the State and other institutional architectures in drought-risk reduction is provided. Attempts in the 1990s, for example, to widen the framing and scope of the drought challenge, with the creation of the National Consultative Drought Forum, resulted in some success in drought risk reduction. Many of the more inclusive approaches and inroads gained by this forum were picked up and continued by the National Disaster Management Act. A sustained central focus on an inclusive drought risk reduction approach has, however, not been fully sustained. Building on the National Consultative Drought Forum’s more inclusive approach and vision of holistic drought risk reduction, the case for the creation of more inclusive, permanent and participatory social learning arenas are advocated.