LINGS

(Local INstitutions in Globalized Societies)

is a comparative anthropological research project that aims to understand how pastoral communities in Namibia govern water. Over the last years the Namibian state has – following a global trend – partly assigned ownership and usage rights of its natural resources (water, forest and game) to rural communities. In the course of this decentralization process wells and the infrastructure necessary to secure water supply are handed over to local user associations. As a consequence of these globally initiated and nationally administered changes hundreds of communities have to develop new institutions to regulate the usage and distribution of water in a semi-arid environment. read more