Projects

In recognition of the commitment of OKACOM in managing the Cubango-Okavango River Basin, USAID/Southern Africa supported the Commission's institutional development through the Okavango Integrated River Basin Management Project (IRBM), a four year, US$8.3 million initiative. OKACOM and its technical advisory body, the Okavango Basin Steering Committee (OBSC), implemented the project in collaboration with government ministries, active non-governmental organizations in the basin, communities, regional academic and research institutions, businesses and local governments that use and manage the resources in the Okavango River Basin. The Project supported institutional strengthening of OKACOM and the establishment of the Secretariat, management of biodiversity and rural resources and, participatory community governance in river basin resources.

The Project comprised of four components which included (1) organizations’ ability to manage river basin resources enhanced; (2) information systems for biodiversity and natural resource management improved, (3) community management and local governance of natural resources enhanced, and (4) special projects and SADC Water Division supported. These four distinct but interrelated components all focused on improving integrated river basin management in the Cubango-Okavango River Basin. ARD, Inc. managed the IRBM contract for USAID Southern Africa.

The IRBM project supported sustainable development activities in the Cubango-Okavango river basin as well as providing interim secretariat services to OKACOM.

The final report of the project was released in late 2009. USAID initiated a follow-on project, SAREP, in 2010.

The EPSMO Project was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) on behalf of GEF, in support of OKACOM. The project was executed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2001. The objective of the project was to prepare a transboundary diagnostic analysis (TDA) (as follow up to the pre-liminary TDA that was competed in 1998) of hydro-environmental threats and to formulate a strategic action program (SAP) to facilitate joint management of the water resources of the Okavango River Basin and the protection of its linked aquatic ecosystems and biological diversity. The project ended in 2010.

The long-term objective of the EPSMO Project was to achieve global environmental benefits through collaborative management of the naturally integrated land and water resources of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin. The specific objectives of the project were to:

1. Enhance the depth, accuracy and accessibility of the existing knowledge base of basin characteristics and conditions
2. Develop and implement, through a structured process, a sustainable and cost-effective programme of policy, as well as legal and institutional reforms and investments to mitigate the identified threats to the basin’s linked land and water systems through the Strategic Action Programme (SAP)
3. Assist the three riparian nations in their efforts to improve their capacity to collectively manage the basin

The TDA is a scientific and technical assessment of the shared management issues and problems, both existing and emerging, of the Cubango-Okavango Basin. For priority issues, the analysis identifies the scale and distribution of the potential environmental and socio-economic impacts at national, regional and global levels. Through an analysis of the root causes it identifies potential remedial and/or preventative actions. The GEF International Waters (IW) TDA/SAP ‘best practice’ approach underpins the methodology used in the development of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin TDA. The TDA was the scientific basis for the compilation of the OKACOM Strategic Action Plan (SAP).