The Regional Strategic Action Plan on Integrated Water Resources and Development Management III (RSAP-IWRM) is the third five-year action plan of the initial fifteen year plan that was formulated and approved by the SADC summit in August 1998.
The main focus of the plan is primarily to create an enabling environment for joint management of the regional water resources. The RSAP III builds upon the recommendations of the mid-term review of the previous plan, and in some cases re-evaluating them.
The RSAP III serves as a work plan to guide development and implementation of activities in the SADC water sector for five years from 2011 to 2015. It covers the strategic areas of water governance, infrastructure development and water management, and calls for the achievement of three strategic objectives to improve the impact of the plan on the ground:
- Capacity development
- Climate change adaptation
- Social development
The plan incorporates regional policy documents, specific programmes and interventions, institutional arrangements, the financial framework and a monitoring and evaluation plan.