Seeking legal complementarity in a water-stressed region

Are South Africa’s modern international river agreements compatible with its obligation

Abstract

It is over 20 years since 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 2014 and given the escalating water scarcity and freshwater
pollution challenges facing Southern Africa, it is thus timely to evaluate how complementary
it is with subsequent legal regimes governing South Africa’s transboundary watercourses. This
paper examines the development of South Africa’s international river agreements since ratifying
the UNWC. Their compatibility in relation to South Africa’s UNWC obligations is thus analysed
regarding a regional legal framework and agreements governing three of the country’s main
transboundary river basins: Orange-Senqu; Incomati-Maputo; and Limpopo.