ABSTRACT
Across southern Africa, there is no shortage of transboundary water cooperation inter-state agreements. International agreements between states are not the only political aspects that influence the management of transboundary water resources. Non-state actors also play a role in transboundary water politics. In two transboundary river basins, the Inkomati-Usuthu Water Management Area and the Okavango River, non-state actors play varying roles depending on visible issues within the basins. In the Inkomati-Usuthu, non-state actor behavior revolved around the operation established catchment management agency (CMA). Here, scientists have promoted program theories, integrated water resources management, and adaptive water governance to influence how the CMA should execute water management. This is in stark contrast with the Okavango River basin, where various interest groups, activists, and scientists apply political pressure on the oil exploration company, ReconAfrica and the Namibian government to stop oil exploration activities within the basin. Both case studies show that individuals, either as scientists or activists, and interest groups can influence the management and politics of international river basins.
