Author(s): K. N. N. Thein; M. B. Abbott
Linked Author(s): Michael B. Abbott
Keywords: Decision-making; Sovereignty; Natural right; Professional spaces; Hydroinformatics
Abstract: The question concerning the proper site of decision-making in the water sector is raised repeatedly nowadays and many nation states are confronted urgently with this question. The question is first posed here within the context of the sovereignty of the nation state relative to the interventions of internationalising and globalising forces, initially following perception advanced in a contribution of K. Asmal, the former Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry of the Republic of South Africa. This contribution is deconstructed so as to establish its motivations and overall agenda. The question that is then raised is that of ‘rights', and even ‘natural rights' to make decisions concerning water. It is argued that because of such rapid advances in information and communication technologies, it now starts to become realistic to place the power of decision-making directly at the level of those individuals and groups of individuals who will most experience the consequences of the decisions, that is, at the level of the individual stakeholders. At the same time, in agreement with the perception of K. Asmal, the sovereignty of the nation state must be preserved in order to protect this ongoing process from outside interference from those internationalising and globalising influences who themselves wish to gain control of the decision-making processes. The hydroinformatician is responsible for organising this defence of national and stakeholder rights, so that the professional spaces of hydroinformatics and its supporting disciplines must similarly be protected.
Year: 2003