DEVELOPMENT-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Zambezi Stakeholders to Take Action

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Thessa Bos

CAPE TOWN, Nov 20 2006 (IPS) - Stakeholders in the Zambezi River Basin are holding their annual meeting this week with the aim of matching their needs with a commitment to action.

The conference, which takes place in the Namibian capital of Windhoek from Nov. 22 to 23, will include discussions on a strategy for developing and managing the potentially immense resource of the Zambezi river basin.

The Zambezi River Basin is the fourth largest river basin in Africa. Spread over eight countries, it is home to almost 40 million of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) estimated population of 200 million people.

The region faces several life-or-death challenges, such as floods and drought management, efficient water use and access to clean water – as well as equitable sharing of water resources and their benefits, such as hydropower generation.

A well-managed Zambezi River Basin can make an essential contribution to the achievement of the first goal of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), referring to the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger.

However, the river basin’s many stakeholders have disparate interests. Participants at the conference will include representatives from ministries of environment, non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations, academic institutions and the private sector.

The conference is being organised by the Zambezi Action Plan Project 6 Phase 2 (ZACPRO 6.2), a SADC initiative. ZACPRO 6.2’s vision is that through equitable and sustainable utilisation of the shared water resources of the Zambezi River Basin, its riparian states will achieve higher and sustainable socio-economic development.

The eight riparian states of the basin are Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The greatest challenge for ZACPRO 6.2 is to integrate the diversity of interests of the different communities and countries in the basin. Stakeholder participation is therefore one of the key principles of the project.

Stakeholders from all walks of life, ranging from government representatives to traditional leaders and community-based organisations, are encouraged to influence the policy and management decisions of the project.

This process should create the ownership and the subsequent commitment that is needed to enable sustainable management of the basin.

The most important instruments for stakeholder participation are the National Steering Committees (NSCs), which allow stakeholders to participate at national level. The NSCs provide national input on project issues, and are a link between the project and stakeholder institutions and interest groups in the various home countries.

They also allow for the Zambezi River Basin states to meet on a bilateral or multilateral level on issues of mutual concern.

Another challenge is to create a common understanding on an Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) strategy. The strategy is aimed at promoting the co-ordinated development and management of water, land and related resources.

The objective is to maximize the potential economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.

“The key word in IWRM is ‘integrated’,” said Dr Jefter Kuziwa Sakupwanya, ZACPRO’s water resources expert. “IWRM integrates elements that have not been considered before, such as downstream users, land use and the human element and its impact on the resources. It also recognises that ground and surface water are inextricably connected.”

With equity, efficiency and environmental protection as its main pillars, the IWRM strategy covers a wide spectrum of issues, ranging from protection against floods and droughts to gender empowerment and HIV/AIDS. The issues touch all levels of society, from individual households to government.

It also encompasses initiatives as diverse as simple family water savings schemes and multimillion dollar investments in hydropower stations.

“Successful management of water resources means you have to appreciate all the elements,” Sakupwanya told IPS. He noted that it has been difficult to ensure that stakeholders at community level buy into the concept of IWRM.

“For those who work at a different level, it is easy to see the advantages of an IWRM strategy. At grassroots level people are not as aware of the benefits.”

He suggested a parallel approach: policy development combined with actions on the ground, such as facilitating access to water for a community that wants to set up a small irrigation scheme. “To involve people, you need to give them incentives.”

The conference offers stakeholders the opportunity to convene on a basin-wide level to discuss the IWRM strategy and other related issues. It also provides them with a platform to share experiences, best practices and needs, and gives them the chance to consolidate networks.

ZACPRO 6 is a core project of the Zambezi Action Plan adopted in 1987 by SADC’s predecessor, the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference, as part of its objective of economic cooperation and development of the Southern African countries.