Oxfam1
Keywords: Transboundary watercourse, South Africa, water law, international river, governance. Abstract: South Africa was one of the inaugural signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UNWC). With the UNWC entering into force in August 2014, it is thus timely to evaluate how compatible it is with legal regimes that have developed to govern South Africa's transboundary watercourses. This paper firstly examines the development of domestic and international legal regimes governing South Africa's transboundary watercourses since signing the UNWC. It then compares these laws in relation to the UNWC, specifically regarding the nation's main transboundary watercourse basins: Orange-Senqu Rivers; Incomati-Maputo Rivers; and Limpopo River. In conclusion, the compatibility of South Africa's legal developments with the UNWC will be critically evaluated along with how this and other crucial current and future water issues will influence governance of its transboundary basins and regional water resources. Dellapenna, J.W., 2001. The customary international law of transboundary fresh waters, International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 1 (3/4), 264
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