Abstract

The recent changes in economic and social developments in Southern Africa have led to increased water demand and hence, pressure on the sub-continent's water resources. In order to better cope, some countries in the area have opted for far-reaching decentralisation and institutional reform. The political integration in the sub-continent (SADC) has created an opportunity for coordination of water resources management at a regional level. Recent initiatives, supported by most countries in the region, explore strategies for the establishment of joint international river basin management. The conceptual framework of such strategies includes political, legal, institutional, technical and operational aspects. Presently, however, the discussion is very much focussed at the conceptual and political level. Less attention is given to the efficiency of the implementation process or even to questions of implementation of such mechanisms in general. This paper argues that the discussion at the political and conceptual level should be accompanied by a discussion about efficient strategies for implementation of such mechanisms for regional joint water resources management, and it addresses the scope for the application of a process approach to the establishment of international river basin management in Southern Africa. Two examples are presented. One is a case study in which the attempt to establish joint basin water resources management in the Zambezi River Basin is analysed from a process management point of view. The second example uses the Pungue River Basin to explore how the lessons learned from the first case and the application of a process management approach might lead to a more efficient decision making and implementation process, while at the same time addressing matters of capacity building in national water resources management institutions, and stakeholder participation.

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