Sustainable Development Success Stories
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CSD-6: Sustainable Development Success Stories |
| Location | Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Subregion (namely, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe. The Republic of Congo, Mauritius and Seychelles joined SADC later). |
| Responsible Organisation | SADC; with funding from NORAD and some Nordic countries. |
| Description | The project was undertaken to develop close inter-country coooperation for co-ordinated use of sharedwater resources in the SADC subregion in late 1980s and is a continuing process.
Cooperative arrangements: The issue was discussed at a number of regular and ad-hoc meetings of SADC at various levels i.e., technical experts, ministerial, and at heads of States level and agreements were reached. |
| Issues Addressed | Land and water management, Irrigation, Water supply, Fisheries and navigation, Hydropower generation and distribution. |
| Results Achieved | A Protocol on shared/water resources in the SADC region has been agreed and opened for signature in August 1995. The agreement has been signed by ten SADC countries and ratified by seven. Meanwhile, within the framework of the Protocol, Angola, Botswana and Namibia established a joint commission for development of Okavango River Basin. SADC established a Steering Committee for the Zambezi River Basin which will do the groundwork for establishing a Zambezi River Basin Commission. |
| Lessons Learned | The Protocol on shared/water resources has laid down the foundation for co-ordinated and integrated development of transboundary water resources development in the region. Once the Protocol is ratified by the requisite number of member countries and the instrument enters into force, work can begin on various aspects of integrated development of shared/water resources in the subregion.
Other subregions in Africa with similarly large transboundary watercourses, like the Nile and the Congo, can draw lessons from the SADC experience in establishing this Protocol and replicate the same in their respective areas. |
| Contact | ECA/RCID, Maseru, Lesotho Fax (251 1) 514416 SADC/WSU, Maseru, Lesotho |