Roman water law in rural Africa: the unfinished business of colonial dispossession
This paper discusses four questions about the recent water law reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa, which strengthen permit systems. First, do permit systems continue to dispossess rural small-scale users, as intended by European colonizers who introduced principles of Roman law? Second, is it wrong to as...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
Informa UK Limited
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58388 |
| _version_ | 1855526785524957184 |
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| author | van Koppen, Barbara Zaag, P. van der Manzungu, Emmanuel Tapela, B. |
| author_browse | Manzungu, Emmanuel Tapela, B. Zaag, P. van der van Koppen, Barbara |
| author_facet | van Koppen, Barbara Zaag, P. van der Manzungu, Emmanuel Tapela, B. |
| author_sort | van Koppen, Barbara |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | This paper discusses four questions about the recent water law reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa, which strengthen permit systems. First, do permit systems continue to dispossess rural small-scale users, as intended by European colonizers who introduced principles of Roman law? Second, is it wrong to assume that one can convert one legal system (customary water rights) into another legal system (permits) in the short term? Third, do current permit systems discriminate against small-scale users? And lastly, do fiscal measures ingrained in permits foster rent seeking and strengthen water resources as a commodity for nationals and foreigners who can pay? As all the answers are positive, the paper concludes by recommending measures to recognize and protect small-scale water users and render state regulation more realistic. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace58388 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publishDateRange | 2014 |
| publishDateSort | 2014 |
| publisher | Informa UK Limited |
| publisherStr | Informa UK Limited |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace583882025-06-17T08:23:44Z Roman water law in rural Africa: the unfinished business of colonial dispossession van Koppen, Barbara Zaag, P. van der Manzungu, Emmanuel Tapela, B. rural areas gender water law water resources water management legal aspects colonialism smallholders income This paper discusses four questions about the recent water law reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa, which strengthen permit systems. First, do permit systems continue to dispossess rural small-scale users, as intended by European colonizers who introduced principles of Roman law? Second, is it wrong to assume that one can convert one legal system (customary water rights) into another legal system (permits) in the short term? Third, do current permit systems discriminate against small-scale users? And lastly, do fiscal measures ingrained in permits foster rent seeking and strengthen water resources as a commodity for nationals and foreigners who can pay? As all the answers are positive, the paper concludes by recommending measures to recognize and protect small-scale water users and render state regulation more realistic. 2014-01-02 2015-03-17T14:39:54Z 2015-03-17T14:39:54Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58388 en Open Access Informa UK Limited van Koppen, Barbara; Van der Zaag, P.; Manzungu, E.; Tapela, B. 2014. Roman water law in rural Africa: the unfinished business of colonial dispossession. Water International, 39(1):49-62. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2013.863636 |
| spellingShingle | rural areas gender water law water resources water management legal aspects colonialism smallholders income van Koppen, Barbara Zaag, P. van der Manzungu, Emmanuel Tapela, B. Roman water law in rural Africa: the unfinished business of colonial dispossession |
| title | Roman water law in rural Africa: the unfinished business of colonial dispossession |
| title_full | Roman water law in rural Africa: the unfinished business of colonial dispossession |
| title_fullStr | Roman water law in rural Africa: the unfinished business of colonial dispossession |
| title_full_unstemmed | Roman water law in rural Africa: the unfinished business of colonial dispossession |
| title_short | Roman water law in rural Africa: the unfinished business of colonial dispossession |
| title_sort | roman water law in rural africa the unfinished business of colonial dispossession |
| topic | rural areas gender water law water resources water management legal aspects colonialism smallholders income |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/58388 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vankoppenbarbara romanwaterlawinruralafricatheunfinishedbusinessofcolonialdispossession AT zaagpvander romanwaterlawinruralafricatheunfinishedbusinessofcolonialdispossession AT manzunguemmanuel romanwaterlawinruralafricatheunfinishedbusinessofcolonialdispossession AT tapelab romanwaterlawinruralafricatheunfinishedbusinessofcolonialdispossession |