Water Governance in Challenging Environments: The Heroes, Victims, and Villains
Dr. Faustin Maganga, University of Dar es Salaam

Thursday, March 1, 2012

12:15pm – 1:45pm
LBJ School of Public Affairs, SRH 3.122

The StraussCenter’s Climate Change and African Political Stability (CCAPS) program presents Water Governance in Challenging Environments: The Heroes, Victims, and Villains, a talkby Dr. Faustin Maganga of the University of Dar es Salaam. The lecture will be held on Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 12:15 pm in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, SRH 3.122. Light refreshments will be provided.

How do institutions that govern the distribution and use of water adapt to changing conditions? Who are the winners and losers in adaptation and what are the implications for development? Dr. Maganga will delve into these questions and more during his talk on the evolution and effects of water governance in the Usangu basin, Tanzania.

‘Mainstream institutionalism’ claims that robust institutions for community management of natural resources can be designed. Alternatively ‘post-institutionalists’ assert that institutions largely elude design, evolving in the dynamic processes of social life. Dr. Maganga’s research explores the conceptual, empirical and policy implications of ‘post-institutional thinking’ for practical water governance.

Dr. Maganga is an Associate Professor at the University of Dar es Salaam’s Institute of Resource Assessment. He has been involved in a number of research projects related to resource management including a four-year project on Political Ecology of Wildlife and Forest Governance in Tanzania (with colleagues from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and Sokoine University). His lecture is based on a joint project on Understanding Water Governance in Challenging Environments: How Institutions Adapt to Change. The project is being undertaken with colleagues from the University of Bradford.

This presentation is part of the Strauss Center’s Africa Series, which features leading scholars, practitioners, and policymakers discussing key issues related to climate change, governance, and security in Africa. The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law engages the best minds in academia, government, and the private sector in developing practical solutions to the pressing problems of an increasingly globalized world.The Climate Change and African Political Stability program is a five-year research program that analyzes how climate change, conflict, governance, and aid intersect to impact African and international security. For more information, visithttp://ccaps.strausscenter.org and www.strausscenter.org.