Water governance systems do not only include “the government”, but also local authorities, the private sector and civil society (Kranz et al. 2007). The civil sector in Namibia and Angola is rapidly increasing its activities and roles. There are many national and international NGOs active in the Kunene River basin, and the churches play an important role but their collaboration with the governance authorities on the different levels is still in its infancy. Overall, the collaboration with administrations and participation in decision making processes is still low due to lack of capacity and consideration of NGOs by administrations.
An important challenge for IWRM will be linking civil society to the water administrations to make decisions together and monitor the natural resources with the involvement of the local communities. This should include capacity building of NGOs, CBOs, and project staff of churches on ecological monitoring and IWRM.
In the context of transboundary water resources management, civil society comprises two primary types of stakeholder:
