OKACOM
NEWS |
 |
| Retired OKACOM Commissioners Honoured |
In recognition of his outstanding service to the countries of Angola, Botswana and Namibia in establishing and developing the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission…
Established in 1994, The Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) is the oldest river basin commission in southern Africa. While conflict in Angola prevented much activity on the ground until 2002, behind the scenes, water governance officials in the three countries were quietly working to develop the structures and conversations that would take the Commission forward when peace made it possible. Much of the early work of establishing OKACOM was led by Namibia – the middle – and driest -- riparian state, with senior government decision makers from Angola and Botswana joining in to build trust and commitment to the idea of joint resources management.
OKACOM recently honoured some of these pioneers at the Commission’s 16th Meeting in Gaborone, with presentation of honorary life membership certificates to five retired Commissioners in the hope that they will continue to share their wisdom and experience, serving as ambassadors for the work they began. Read more about their lives and achievements: Mr Stefan de Wet, Mr Piet Heyns, Mr Kahijoro Kahuure, Mr Balisi Bernard Khupe, and Dr Akolang Tombale. |
|
| 16th OKACOM Meeting |
Retired Botswana Commissioner Dr A Tombale makes a point |
OKACOM’s 16th Meeting, held in Gaborone on May 24th to 27th discussed issues pertaining to better management of the Okavango River Basin. This meeting was preceded by meetings of the OKACOM task forces and the Okavango Basin Steering Committee. Among the issues discussed at this meeting, a major breakthrough was the agreement on a protocol to share river information that will help the three countries and communities better prepare themselves to cope with extreme climatic events such as floods and droughts.
Considering that the Okavango River starts in Angola and passes through Namibia and ends in Botswana, heavy rains in one country can be a harbinger of floods to come in another. Therefore, early warning of rising river levels will allow downstream countries to prepare and avoid the worst impacts such as the loss of life, livestock and negative impacts on local agriculture and tourism.
Furthermore, the Commission deliberated on the outcomes of the Okavango River Basin Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis, a key document to be released by OKACOM to inform the preparation of a Strategic Action Program for the basin.
The Commission also chose to honour its retired Commissioners, acknowledging their contribution to development of OKACOM and the long term commitment of the riparian countries to wise management of the basin.
At this meeting OKACOM, the Swedish and US governments, the United Nations Development Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation and the Global Environment Facility also agreed to continue their longstanding partnership complementing the efforts of the three basin state governments to enhance management of the basin and the lives of people who live in the three countries. |
|
| 4th SADC River Basins Organisations Workshop |
| OKACOM participated in the 4th SADC RBO Workshop in Gaborone in April. |
|
| SADC Secretariat visits OKACOM Secretariat offices |
| Members of SADC Secretariat’s senior management team visited OKACOM Secretariat’s offices the first week of April 2010, as part of their annual retreat, held this year in Maun. Read the story in Inside SADC. |
|
| Stakeholders Integration Meeting |
| OKACOM organized a technical workshop to review the outcomes of study to support an integration strategy in the context of the OKACOM strategy in Windhoek, December 15-16 , 2009. |
|
| Second African Water Week Conference (AWW2) |
| OKACOM Executive Secretary Dr Eben Chonguiça co-chaired a session, Managing Africa's Transboundary Waters at the Second African Water Week (AWW2) conference for the African Minister's Council on Water (AMCOW) in November 2009 in Johannesburg. AMCOW, as a region-wide ministerial body, has a special responsibility and challenge to facilitate cooperation amongst African river and lake basin organisations. |
|
| GEF's Fifth International Waters Conference |
|
An OKACOM delegation took part in the Global Environment Facility’s Fifth International Waters Conference in Cairns, Australia from October 24-29, 2009. There, the EPSMO Project team presented initial findings of the Okavango River Basin Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis study that will support development of a strategic action plan for the Basin. |
 |
|
| OKACOM's Secretariat open house for Ngamiland community |
 |
OKACOM’s Secretariat hosted an open house for the Ngamiland community on October 21st, 2009, to inform the Okavango community about the Secretariat’s location and team members. The Secretariat’s team of five provides a point of contact for issues related to conservation and development issues in the Basin. |
 |
|
| Rovuma Basin visit |
| Ten Mozambican stakeholders from the Rovuma River Basin, shared by Tanzania and Mozambique, visited the Okavango Delta in early September 2009 as part of a week long exchange trip with the Okavango’s Basin Wide Forum. Hosted by the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) Secretariat in Maun, and guided by an Every River Has its People team, the delegation travelled with Botswana country members of the Okavango’s Basin Wide Forum to villages in the Okavango Panhandle to learn how local people who depend on the river for their livelihoods are participating in its planning and management. In November, their Batswana travelling companions paid a return visit to the Rovuma River Basin in Mozambique where a similar transboundary river basin management programme is underway with Tanzania. The exchange is supported by the German development assistance organization, InWent, whose training programmes in sustainable development have recently focused on transboundary river basins in southern Africa. |
