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Gachenga, Elizabeth

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Gachenga
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Elizabeth
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End date: 2014 × Subject: sustainable development ×

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    Governing the commons through customary law systems of water governance
    (CEESP and IUCN, 2014) Gachenga, Elizabeth
    The resilience of customary law systems of natural resource governance in many parts of the world lends credence to Ostrom’s theory on the governance of commons. Ostrom argued that resource users who enjoy relative autonomy in the design of rules for governing and managing common-pool resources, frequently achieve better economic (as well as more equitable) outcomes than when experts do this for them.2 In support of this theory and acknowledging that most common pool resource governance regimes are based on a customary law system, Bosselman has sought to demonstrate a link between customary law systems and positive outcomes for sustainable development.3 Using a case study of the customary law system of water governance of the Marakwet community of Kenya, this paper tests and builds on the design principles and tools developed by Ostrom, to study normative institutions in a dynamic environment.4 The paper proposes an analytical framework that helps identify the features that strengthen customary institutions and ensure their adaptability and resource sustainability. This exercise illustrates the parallels between commons governance and customary law governance of natural resources.
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    Kenya's water act : opportunities for integration of customary institutions of water governance through water resources users associations and water service providers
    (LawText, 2011) Gachenga, Elizabeth
    The need to develop sustainable systems for water resource governance in an environment of increasing scarcity and climatic variability has led to the re-evaluation of institutional frameworks. There has been a growing appreciation of the need to coordinate institutions involved in order to achieve sustainable water resource governance. Law and regulatory frameworks for water governance in some countries face the challenge of integrating parallel institutional arrangements such as community-based or customary institutions with statutory institutions. The provision for water users associations (WUAs) in the water statutes of several developing countries is an example of the attempt to bring these parallel institutions into the statutory framework. By recognizing WUAs, the statutes provide pre-existing institutions with the opportunity, upon registration, to participate in water resource governance issues. It is argued that this makes them a potential tool for integrating pre-existing customary institutions into the statutory system and in some way providing an interface between statutory and customary law systems. In Kenya's Water Act, the concept of WUAs is embodied in Water Resources Users Associations (WRUAs) and to some extent in Water Service Providers (WSPs). This article analyses the extent to which WRUAs and WSPs are effective in integrating customary institutions into statutory frameworks using a case study of the customary water resource governance system of the Marakwet.