Applying the participatory approach to assess the Water-Energy-Climate Change nexus in South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1. Profile of the research participants.

Pseudonym	Department/Sector	Expertise	Number of participants	Combined years of experience
WECC-A	Government	Climate Change	3	41
WECC-B1	Government	Water	4	64
WECC-B2	Government	Water and Climate Change	2	47
WECC-D1	Energy	Water	3	60
WECC-D2	Energy	Climate Change	2	28
WECC-D3	Energy	Environmental Management	3	80
WECC-E	Water	Water supply	2	22
WECC-F	Research & Development	Energy	1	32
WECC-G	Research & Academia	Water	1	45
WECC-H	Research & Consulting	Climate Change	1	10
WECC-I	Research & Academia	Climate Change	1	20
WECC-J	Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)	Environmental Management	2	39
WECC-K	Research Agency	Energy	2	24
WECC-M	Government	Local Government	1	24
WECC-L	Research & Academia	Sustainable development, Water, Energy, Food, Climate Change	1	20

Table 2. Perceptions of the research participants on WECC nexus in South Africa.

Coupled WECC interconnection	Number of responses	Percentage (%)
Water-energy-climate change	18	42
Water-energy	13	30
Water-climate change	9	21
Energy-climate change	3	7
Total number of engagements	43	100

Table 3. Participants’ perspectives on the coordination and collaboration of WECC sectors in South Africa.

Sector	Are the current coordination and collaboration efforts effective to address WECC challenges?	How can coordination and collaboration be improved?
Government	Partially. The departments occasionally liaises with different role players to develop policy and measures to address water challenges and their association with the energy and climate change sector.	The political will to implement recommendations from scientists. Implement institutional mechanisms similar to those in water resource management sector. E.g. CMAs’.
DMRE	No. WECC is dominated by institutional barriers that hinder collaboration.	Promote cross-sectoral partnerships. Enable centralised management systems such as data storage and policy planning.
Energy	No. Collaboration is hindered by sectorally approached planning and implementation. For example, coordination can exist from the supply perspective but ineffective in the implementation of strategies and policies to increase efficiency. The lack of translation of theory into practice creates barriers for coordination amongst stakeholders.	Cross-sectoral coordination, ministerial and bilateral agreements on water, energy and climate change.
Water	No. Key governmental stakeholders not coordinated in a manner that collectively addresses the WECC challenges.	Collaborate with water-users to promote awareness and water-saving initiatives, thus easing climate change threats on water supply.
Local government	No. local government not involved in addressing the WECC nexus at a national level.	Consider the localised dynamics such as water and energy requirements. Strengthen the local level interactions.
NGOs’	No. Communities entirely excluded from WECC related matters.	Enable community participation in critical decision-making processes. Consideration of community requirements. Establishment of government-industry-community committees that are independently managed.
Research & Academia	No. Sectoral approaches and preferences still dominate the WECC. Some departments are more coordinated than others.	Combined research activities within WECC to close the knowledge gap between local communities, industries, researchers and policymakers.

Figure 1. Stakeholders perspective on policy integration and consultations within South africa's WECC sectors