This thesis is about Global Water Governance (GWG) – an overarching normative framework by which water management practices across all scales may be guided. More specifically, it seeks to develop an understanding of how Corporate Water Stewardship (CWS), and its facilitation of the inclusion of companies’ perspectives to address water issues, affects GWG. Understood as a form of market environmentalism – a doctrine premised on mutual synergies between environmental conservation and economic growth – CWS provides a channel for companies to participate in, as well as spearhead, a quest for more sustainable water management within and beyond their own operations. Despite a proliferation of activities undertaken by companies, CWS has attracted limited scholarly attention, and an overarching analysis of the effects that mounting corporate involvement has had on the global water discourse has so far been absent from scholarly debates. This research draws on over 500 documents published by companies, NGOs, and other organisations, alongside 50 interviews with key practitioners. It specifically questions: (i) the empirical context through which CWS emerged; (ii) the manner in which companies from various sectors conceptualise water and its management; (iii) the way CWS endeavours are legitimised and; (iv) the mechanisms through which companies exert influence. Chapters 4 to 8 comprise an analysis of the main research findings. Chapter 4 investigates why companies are interested in water issues, how companies frame them, and how CWS could materialise. Chapters 5 and 6 address how companies from different sectors engage in CWS in the contexts of water resources management, and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH). Chapter 7 turns attention to how companies draw on non-conventional sources of authority to legitimise their activities, and Chapter 8 analyses how CWS influences GWG. When taken holistically, the thesis attests to the key point that the inclusion of companies in solving water issues matters; their presence changes the status quo of water governance. More importantly, the thesis goes beyond such assertions by pointing towards how it matters. It finds that, as a result of corporate involvement, water is being reconceptualised from an environmental and social risk to society, to an economic risk for businesses. Moreover, although companies may not be doing this in an ill-intentioned way, the research suggests that when they participate in water interventions, they alter GWG by promoting the commercialisation of water management, the valuation of water risk, and the liberalisation of water governance. Thus, although the involvement of companies may contribute to improving the management and governance of water across all scales, their involvement has to be matched with proper ‘checks and balances’ to ensure that CWS serves the public good, rather than simply contributing to private profit.

Water represents a natural resource that is essential for humanity and the environment. Therefore, the framework of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) seeks to combine social equity, ecological sustainability and economic efficiency for effective management of this critical resource. As the private sector is a major water user it represents an important stakeholder in sustainable water resources management. However, a quarter of countries reported a low level of private sector engagement in IWRM in the last SDG indicator 6.5.1 survey. Therefore, this thesis identifies obstacles to private sector engagement in IWRM and proposes interventions to improve the involvement of the private sector in water resources management. For this, it applies models for participatory approaches to the topic of private sector engagement. As water stewardship represents another approach for the private sector to get involved in sustainable water resources management, this concept is analysed as a possible alternative or complement to private sector engagement in IWRM. The first six expert interviews provided insight into general perspectives of the topic and then two case studies in Kenya (three interviews) and Viet Nam (five interviews) were used to understand private sector engagement in a country context. These case studies are further supported by secondary data from the SDG indicator 6.5.1 survey which analysed the degree of private sector engagement in IWRM across 171 countries. The research results suggest that topics of financing, innovation, the private sector’s convening power, its role as a major water user and its influence across the whole value chain represent opportunities of private sector engagement in IWRM, similar to the general benefits of participatory approaches. Furthermore, this research identifies several obstacles of which a lack of capacity, the complexity of the concept of IWRM, the complexity of government structures, data and information sharing, and a missing business case were considered the most important. For these topics, the thesis suggests several enabling factors that would improve private sector engagement. In the discussion, the relationship between IWRM and water stewardship is further explored as these two concepts can complement each other to provide new opportunities for private sector engagement. The research concludes that there is a need to redefine the concept of IWRM or to consider new approaches for sustainable water resources management to engage the private sector successfully.

This research focused on evaluating and comparing the perceptions, water-use behaviour, water conservation awareness and overall water stewardship of participants residing in Hammanskraal and Atteridgeville who have experienced intermittent water supply in their domestic households – due to either water contamination incidents caused by dilapidated infrastructure or water restrictions implemented by the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality during the 2016–2017 drought in the Gauteng Province. The research concluded that the municipality needs to implement proactive water conservation awareness initiatives on an ongoing basis to reduce high water demands and to create a culture of water stewardship, especially in Atteridgeville. Transparent communication is also required from the municipality to instil the necessary trust among the public. It is recommended that the municipality attends to water leaks and ongoing complaints from the public timeously to reduce the current apathy from the public against reporting water-related issues and to ultimately ensure compliance to water restrictions. / Hierdie navorsing fokus op die evaluering en vergelyking van deelnemers wat in Hammanskraal en Atteridgeville woon se persepsies, waterverbruiksgedrag, waterbewaringsbewustheid en algehele waterrentmeesterskap, wat onderbroke watervoorsiening in hulle huishoudings ervaar het – as gevolg van waterbesoedelingsvoorvalle wat deur vervalle infrastruktuur veroorsaak is en waterbeperkings wat deur die Stad Tshwane Metropolitaanse Munisipaliteit gedurende die 2016 tot 2017-droogte in Gauteng ingestel is. Die navorsing het tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die munisipaliteit proaktiewe waterbewaringsbewustheidsinisiatiewe op ’n deurlopende grondslag moet implementeer om hoë wateraanvraag te verminder en ’n kultuur van waterrentmeesterskap, veral in Atteridgeville, te skep. Deursigtige kommunikasie word ook van die munisipaliteit vereis om die nodige vertroue by die publiek te kweek. Daar word aanbeveel dat die munisipaliteit betyds aandag aan waterlekkasies en deurlopende klagtes van die publiek sal gee om die huidige onverskilligheid van die publiek by die aanmeld van waterverwante aangeleenthede te verminder en om uiteindelik te verseker dat die publiek die waterbeperkings eerbiedig. / Patlisiso ena e ne e tsepame hodima ho lekola le ho bapisa maikutlo, boitshwaro ba tshebediso ya metsi, tsebo ka poloko ya metsi le tlhokomelo e akaretsang ya metsi ke bankakarolo ba dulang Hammanskraal le Atteridgeville ba bileng le phepelo ya metsi e kgaohang malapeng a bona – e ka ba ka lebaka la diketsahalo tsa tshilafatso ya metsi e bakilweng ke dipeipi tse senyehileng kapa ho kgaolwa ha metsi ho kentsweng tshebetsong ke Masepala wa Motsemoholo wa Metropolitan wa Tshwane nakong ya komello ya 2016–2017 porofenseng ya Gauteng. Patlisiso e fumane hore masepala o hloka ho kenya tshebetsong matsholo a ho atisa tsebo ka poloko ya metsi ka mokgwa o tswellang e le ho fokotsa tlhokeho e phahameng ya metsi le ho theha ditlwaelo tsa tlhokomelo ya metsi, haholo ho la Atteridgeville. Ho boetse ho hlokeha puisano e hlakileng e nang le ponaletso ho tswa ho masepala e le hore setjhaba se be le tshepo ho ona. Ho kgothaletswa hore masepala a sebetsane le diketsahalo tsa ho dutla ha metsi le ditletlebo tse tswellang tse tswang ho setjhaba ka potlako e le ho fokotsa maikutlo a ho tsotelle a tswang ho setjhaba mabapi le ho tlaleha mathata a amanang le metsi le ho netefatsa hore batho ba latela melawana ya phokotso ya metsi. / Geography / M. Sc. (Geography)