The availability and quality of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) surface and groundwater resources are intimately linked to the health and welfare of the region’s approximately 250 million people. Access to clean water and proper sanitation are a basic development goal; healthy river ecosystems are central to potable water, food and energy security. But the region’s watercourses are now under stress. Growing demands coupled with the ill effects of climate change in a region already vulnerable to floods and droughts is putting increasing pressure on a dwindling resource. About 70 percent of the region’s water resources are in river basins shared by two or more countries. Water-related stress raises the potential for conflicts – within and across borders. Today we know that cooperation around shared river basins can make all the difference between whether water becomes a source of conflict… or a motivation for cooperation and ultimately regional integration – as is the case in the SADC region. The SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses is one of the many agreements pioneered by the SADC Secretariat as the region seeks “Water for Peace”…
More info: www.sadc.int
Produced by: SADC Secretariat in Gaborone (Botswana) in cooperation with Germany (BMZ) and the UK (DFID), whose partnership programme is being implemented by GTZ. The Australian Government’s Agency for International Development joined the partnership in October 2010. The filming was done by Nick Chevallier Video Productions (Cape Town, South Africa).
Year: 2010
Language: English
