The 9th Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) River Basin Organisations / Shared Watercourse Institutions (RBOs/SWIs) Workshop will be held virtually on the Zoom platform on 22-23 September under the theme “Promoting Inclusive and Collaborative Transboundary Water Financing for Sustainable Industrial Development”.
The workshop will provide a platform for stakeholders from water and related sectors to share information and experiences on inclusive transboundary water financing and collaborative development, to realise the benefits of transboundary water cooperation, and achieve sustainable industrial development.
The event brings together representatives of RBOs/SWIs, SADC Member States, regional institutions, and, other key SADC sectors (energy, food security, trade, etc.). Funders targeted by the event include, but are not limited to, development finance institutions (DFIs), international financiers, climate funds, official development assistance (ODA) funders, and private financiers.
The SADC RBOs Workshops are biennial events convened by the SADC Secretariat with the aim of engaging with RBOs, who are seen as a vehicle for strengthening regional integration and cooperation. The series of workshops further provides a platform for RBOs/SWIs to share experiences and learn from each other to build consensus on SADC’s strategic approach to support the efforts of Member States with regards to the establishment, institutional development, and strengthening of RBOs, as well as other transboundary water resources development and management mechanisms in the region.
The SADC region has a population of over 340 million people, whose livelihoods are dependent on water resources, which are unevenly distributed over time and space. Fifteen major river basins within the region are shared by at least two countries, 13 of the basins being located fully within the SADC region. Transboundary water management in the region, therefore, presents a unique challenge. To guide joint development and management of the shared water resources SADC developed instruments of cooperation; the Revised SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses, the SADC Regional Water Policy and the SADC Water Strategy. Over the years, SADC has driven the implementation of these key instruments through the five-year rolling Regional Strategic Action Plans (RSAPs) on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), within the framework of which SADC RBOs Workshops are implemented.
This year’s workshop will increase collaboration between RBOs/SWIs for better sharing of experiences and water development through joint efforts while upscaling stakeholders’ understanding of the sources and availability of finance for transboundary water financing. Through the workshop stakeholders will share successful basin-wide investment planning and financing (resource mobilisation) for transboundary water projects as well as information, tools, and approaches to ensure inclusive and collaborative transboundary water investments.
The 9th SADC RBO Workshop will be convened by the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM) in collaboration with the SADC Water Division and the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA). Base funding has been provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Resilient Waters Program and the SADC-GIZ Transboundary Water Management in SADC (GIZ-TWM) Programme. The workshop will be preceded by a Gender Session on 21 September 2021.
The event is characterised by several sessions, consisting of different styles, which include plenary, panel discussion (reflections on the background paper presented), parallel, and interactive sessions with the funders.
To find out more information about this event, please email Patrick Koboyatshwene at pkoboyatshwene@sadc.int.