This article examines the concept 'Integrated Water Resources Management' (IWRM) and inquires as to its relevance for the Southern African region. The paper first acknowledges the contributions made to IWRM by three regional initiatives - WaterNet, the Water Research Fund for Southern Africa (WARFSA), and the Southern African chapter of the Global Water Partnership. Then, three important aspects of IWRM are highlighted: that IWRM requires institutional capacity to integrate, which often is a scarce resource; that IWRM is neither solution nor recipe, but rather a perspective or way of looking at problems with a view to solving them through transparent and inclusive decision-making processes; and that IWRM should explicitly deal with the fact that water tends to build asymmetrical relationships between people, communities and nations. Keywords: Africa, Development, Governance, Integrated water resources management, Millennium development goals, Reflexivity, Sustainability.