Lost in Translation: State Policies and Micro-politics of Water Governance in Namibia

摘要: Water governance in rural Namibia has profoundly changed since the early 1990s. After independence and accordance with global environmental policies, it became a central theme of Namibia’s legislation to transfer responsibility for managing natural resources local user associations. In this article, I explore emergence new social forms at intersection existing cultural models rationalities governance. Doing so combines an analysis state micro-politics water 60 pastoral communities. The ethnographic reveals that different actors, including bureaucrats as well rich poorer herd owners, have understandings how share water. While often agree policy is economic good should be paid accordingly, only about half communities do corresponding institutional regimes emerge. Using critical institutionalism theoretical guide, offer contribution understanding more than 20 years after Rio institutions resource emerge different, heterogeneous intertwined, fields.