Development actors and the issues of acid mine drainage in the Vaal River system

Abstract

This study focuses on Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) in the three basins of the Witwatersrand’s goldfields in the Vaal River System in South Africa. AMD has become a highly contested issue. A difference in its definition exists between two groups of role-players identified in the study: government and consultants/activists/NGOs. This study unpacks the differences in the way AMD is defined, the situation of AMD in each of the three basins and the socio-economic implications caused by AMD. A crucial finding was that these definitions determine how the issue is understood and what solutions these role-players propose. The main purpose of the study was to determine whether the South African government’s policy response was appropriate given the socio-economic impacts of AMD and imperatives of sustainable development. This study concluded that, in the policy, there was no clear indication as to what the socio-economic impacts are, and limited attention was therefore given to these impacts.