9 April 2013: The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat and the UN Education­al, Scientific and Cultural Or­ganization (UNESCO) co-organized a workshop to “Promote Cooperation and Conflict Prevention in Transboundary Water Resources,” which highlighted the importance of cooperation for effective transboundary water resource management, and provided guidance on designing and conducting negotiation processes on transboundary water-related issues.

Participants heard presentations on the regional instruments under SADC, including the revised SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses, the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative Plan of the Organ (SIPO), which highlighted the importance of water in the promotion of transparency, dialogue and cooperation among member States.

Participants were also reminded of the successes already achieved through the signing and ratification of agreements such as: the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM), covering Angola, Botswana and Namibia; the Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM), covering Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa; the Limpopo Water Commission (LIMCOM), covering Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique; and the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM), covering Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The workshop was held from 25-27 February 2013, in Phakalane, Botswana, as part of the activities of UNESCO to commemorate this year’s World Water Day, which focused on Water Cooperation. It aimed to increase the capacity of decision makers and exchange experiences on sub-regional water cooperation efforts. [SADC Press Release]