Colonial-era "Water Grabbing" Policies Still Have Negative Impact On African Smallholders

A new report from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and South Africa's Pegasys Institute assesses the history ofcolonial-era “water grabbing” policies in sub-Saharan Africa and argues for a “de-colonizing” solution to modern-day imbalanced and unfair water permit regulations."A Hybrid Approach to Decolonize Formal Water Law in Africa", released October 29, notes that colonial governments first introduced water permit systems in the early 1900s in the focus countries of Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe and points out that by granting permits only to white settlers, these systems established minority ownership of a natural resource that was vital for economies dependent on agriculture...