The Stellenbosch River Collaborative (SRC) was founded in 2013 as part of Dr Büchner-Marais’s doctorate research on transformative collaborative governance relations towards sustainability. The SRC collaborates with implementing partners such as Wildtrust and similar NGOs in the catchment landscape. 

 

With her knowledge acquired from the SRC, CoGo was started as a funded project at the Stellenbosch University Water Institute (SUWI) under Dr Büchner-Marais’s lead as researcher affiliated to both SUWI and the Centre for Sustainability Transitions (CST). Distell’s donation made it possible for CoGo to develop its value offer and identity in the SU LaunchLab, and to register as a legal co-operative entity and independent facilitating partner of SUWI.

 

CoGo upscaled from the Stellenbosch River Collaborative (SRC) whose co-founding members include local landowners in the agriculture sector and business sector, Stellenbosch University and researchers, Department of Agriculture (DoA), Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), Stellenbosch Municipality, Winelands Water Users Association (WWUA), Cape Nature, WWF-SA and De Zalze Home-Owners Association (HOA).

 

CoGo then adopted the CRIDA process as one of their several methods to co-develop and implement climate change adaptation plans for water security in the river catchment areas. We started with the Eerste River Catchment that partly falls within the CWBR biosphere in the Western Cape. 

 

Today, CoGo is leading the collaborative governance focus on transformative partnerships and economic frameworks to collectively deal with challenges in natured contexts.