This paper examines the participatory processes which led to the building of the Berg River Dam in South
Africa’s western Cape province. The government-led formal participatory processes initiated by
government stand in contrast to the mobilisation of environmental activists against the building of the
dam. The case study illustrates that in this case the creation of formal participatory spaces both subverted
and neutralised resistance to the building of the dam on the part of the environmental movement as well
as civil society.
Keywords: mobilisation, participation, water scarcity, scientific knowledge, lay knowledge, environmental
activism, water resources management
