The Regional Water Strategy for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is aimed at providing a strategic framework for sustainable, integrated and coordinated development, utilisation, protection and control of national and transboundary water resources in the SADC region. This strategy supports the SADC Common Agenda of socio-economic development and regional integration and improvement of the quality of life of all people in the region.
The SADC Regional Water Strategy is presented in three main segments:
- Background and context.
- Strategy statements.
- Anticipated implementation and monitoring and evaluation processes.
The background and context component presents the water management challenges present in the SADC region, the Regional Water Policy, linkages with other initiatives and the process that was used to develop the strategy itself.
The strategy components of the document are presented in nine chapters:
- Regional Cooperation in Water Resources Management.
- Water for Development and Poverty Alleviation.
- Water for Environmental Sustainability.
- Security from Water-related Disasters.
- Water Resources Information and Management.
- Water Resources Development and Management.
- Regional Water Resources Institutional Framework.
- Stakeholder Participation and Capacity Building.
- Financing.
The final component of the document outlines the plans for implementing the strategy, including the associated targets in the Regional Indicative Strategic Action Plan and the strategic implementation programme driven by the Regional Strategic Action Plans for the SADC Water Sector (RSAP). The document concludes with a discussion of the Monitoring and Evaluation indicators that will be used to provide oversight on the implementation framework.
