The Regional Integration of Public Goods

This report, part of the Political Economy of Regional Integration in Southern Africa (PERISA) project, examines regional integration in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) through the lens of public goods rather than trade. It analyzes four case studies—water resource management, forestry (REDD+), transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs), and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP)—to identify drivers of success and institutional barriers to integration.

• Regional integration in SADC is often measured by trade frameworks, but this approach overlooks progress in non-trade areas. While trade integration has been slow with "countless missed deadlines", previous efforts under the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) were successful in integrating water, health, and power.
• Third-party financing deeply influences regional processes, often creating a disconnect between regional and national priorities. In water co-operation, a "donor agenda (a strong environmental agenda)" is pursued regionally, while national governments prioritize service delivery, leading to a lack of synergies.
• SADC as an institution lacks the necessary mandate and capacity to implement policies and treaties, particularly as donors shift engagement from national to regional levels. Because SADC lacks the human resource capital and capacity to manage large sums, it relies on independent entities or NGOs, such as the Peace Parks Foundation for wildlife conservation and the independent Southern African Power Pool.
• Certain member states that struggle with the trade agenda are active drivers in other integration areas. For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a strong driver in wildlife and forestry management, and Angola is eager to establish transfrontier conservation areas, despite neither country being part of the SADC free trade area.
• The success of transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) suggests that a "bottom-up approach" involving low-level official collaboration and cross-border community linkages can be more effective for achieving tangible results than rigid, top-down regulations.
• The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP), established in 1995, has successfully grown regional energy trade by creating the regional electricity market (REM), though challenges remain regarding the inclusion of independent power producers (IPPs).
• The REDD+ forestry project focuses on carbon sequestration as a global public good. A regional monitoring, reporting, and verification project is currently managed by the SADC Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate and the German Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, with pilot sites in Mozambique, Botswana, and a transboundary project in Malawi-Zambia.

APA

Bertelsmann-Scott, T. (2013). The Regional Integration of Public Goods. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/REV_SAIIA_perisa_pg_TP_bertelsmann-scott_20131212.pdf

Chicago

Bertelsmann-Scott, Talitha. The Regional Integration of Public Goods. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2013. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/REV_SAIIA_perisa_pg_TP_bertelsmann-scott_20131212.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bertelsmann-Scott |first1=Talitha |title=The Regional Integration of Public Goods |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=August 2013 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/REV_SAIIA_perisa_pg_TP_bertelsmann-scott_20131212.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bertelsmannscott2013regional, author = {Bertelsmann-Scott, Talitha}, title = {{The Regional Integration of Public Goods}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2013}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/REV_SAIIA_perisa_pg_TP_bertelsmann-scott_20131212.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }