Kobus Muller

Regulatory Governance of the Water Sector in South Africa

The past decade has seen a quickening of the pace and extent of privatisation reforms in developing countries. An associated set of post-privatisation policies has seen the introduction of new and changed regulatory institutions. This book critically reviews regulatory reforms in developing countries, with a particulalr focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the ‘best practice’ model of reform, the significance of institutions of regulatory governance, and the impact of post-privatisation governance on development and poverty reduction agendas.

Transdisciplinary approach to natural resource governance research: a conceptual paper

Purpose Natural resources in contemporary times are mostly managed by a collaborative governance approach which hinges on complex institutional designs [rules, norms and strategies]. Many studies have been designed and carried out to assess collaborative governance, and the various institutional designs underpinning them. The main object of this paper is to unpack the methodological gaps in natural resource governance research [with emphasis on co-management] and to conceptualize the appropriateness of Transdisciplinary (TD) research approach. Design/methodology/approach the paper adopts a critical stage review of relevant theoretical and empirical literature on natural resource governance. It discusses the complexities inherent in natural resource governance and juxtaposes these with the inherent weaknesses in methodologies employed by existing studies on the concept. We make a case for a TD research methodology that links scientists, practitioners and society in a joint problem design and solution proce...

‘Complex crisis’ and the rise of collaborative natural resource governance: institutional trajectory of a wildlife governance experience in Ghana

Natural resource governance is underpinned by institutions which evolve ‘circumstantially’ over time. An attempt at understanding the contemporary institutions and governance structure of a resource requires an in-depth ethnographic enquiry. Adapting a four-phase institutional analysis framework, this study discusses the evolution and adaptation of wildlife governance structures and institutions using the unique experience of Boabeng–Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in Ghana. The study adopted a transdisciplinary research approach which was participatory and consultative. The key observations are that: wildlife institutions have gone through three main evolutionary phases, a pre-collaborative phase, which was exclusively underpinned by informal institutions; a critical juncture stage, where contextual challenges led to an adaptive response; the third and contemporary phase is a collaborative governance regime, where the erstwhile informal institutions have been complemented by formal state structures and institutions to synergistically enhance viability of the wildlife species. In spite of the problems posed to community members by the monkeys (wildlife), the study still observes a cordial human–wildlife relationship. Based on the study outcomes, we derive four key conclusions which have implications for institutionalism and natural resource governance.