Non-Governmental Organisations

There are a number of international and national Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) involved in the Orange-Senqu River Basin.

At the international level:

WaterAid is an international NGO working on the provision of safe domestic water,sanitation and hygiene education to the world’s poorest people.

African Rivers Network (ARA) is a network of dam-affected communities, NGOs and other allies working towards ecological sustainability and social justice in the arena of large dams and their alternatives (ARA n.d.).

The World Conservation Union ( IUCN-ROSA), regional office for southern Africa, assists governments and institutions in the development of policies and strategies, focusing on protection, sustainable use, natural resources management, equity and biological diversity (Kranz et al. 2005a).

The World Commission on Dams (WCD) was established to help transcend the breakdown of dialogue between NGOs, the private sector, governments and international organisations, on the construction of dams. The commission was formed by 12 members of diverse backgrounds, and worked between May 1998 and 2000, dissolving with the delivery of its report in November 2000 (Kranz et al. 2005).

The International Rivers Network is active in the region and has worked extensively with local organisations through research, education and advocacy on issues related toclimate change and alternative ways to meet water and energy needs.

The Network for Advocacy of Water Issues in Southern Africa (NAWISA) was launched at the Southern African Water Network Strategic Planning Workshop, Johannesburg, South Africa, from February 7th – 9th 2001. EMG was elected to serve as the first "host organization" for the Secretariat. As of April 2003 the "hosting" function moved to Botswana. The Mission Statement of mentions as key priorities for NAWISA a) Information sharing. b) Capacity building c) Funding and d) Advocacy. For more details on NAWISA go to their website.

"The Mission of the Africa Civil Society Network on Water (ANEW) is to facilitate the coordination of diverse African Civil Society Organizations (CSO) voices in water and sanitation. Its main objective is to build the capacity of African CSOs, thus enabling them influence and develop policies supportive of MDG and WSSD targets.Accordingly, this Programme aims at providing members with opportunities to make constructive contributions to international work aimed at sustainably managing water resources and improving water supply and sanitation services. It therefore seeks to initiate, develop and maintain collaborative mechanisms among CSOs working in Africa by enhancing communication on matters relating to water and sanitation, and updating members on national and international water initiatives, policies and strategies, reports as well as best practices which are relevant to the African scenario.

At the national level:

NGOs operating in the water sector of LESOTHO include the Boseele Association and the Lesotho Environmental Justice Advocacy centre. Several NGOs have been specifically involved in representing the interests of affected Basotho citizens within the Lesotho Highlands Water project. These include the Transformation Resource Centre (TRC) and the Highlands Church and Solidarity Action Group (HCSAG). The Lesotho Highlands Water Commission, an intergovernmental river organization responsible for monitoring the project holds biweekly meetings with the NGOs’ representatives (Kranz et al. 2005a).

The Kalahari Conservation Society (KCS) is an example of an NGO in BOTSWANA Somalerang Tikologo is an environmental NGO which has been involved in issues of water management at local level

The Desert Research Foundation of Namibia, the Namibian Nature Foundation, the Rossing Foundation and the Namibia Association of Community Based Natural Resource Management Support Organisations are examples of NGOs in NAMIBIA.

NGOs operating in the SOUTH AFRICAN water sector include amongst others, the Association for Water and Rural development (AWARD), the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, AgriSA and the Mvula Trust, the Group for Environmental Monitoring. The Mvula Trust is the largest NGO supporting water and sanitation development in South Africa. They operate from a national office in Johannesburg, and from eight regional offices in North West, Limpopo, KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Cape and the Free State. Their objective is to improve the well-being of rural and Peri-urban communities by increasing access to safe, sustainable water and sanitation services. Alexandra Civic Organisation and the Soweto Civic were involved during the LHWP representing the residents of the two townships in a bid that they reaped from the benefits of the project.