Rules and Procedures on the Sharing of Data and Information for the Cubango-Okavango River Basin

In an endevour to monitor the status of the basin hydrological, ecological and socio-economic dimensions and driven by national policy priorities, OKACOM developed a Data Sharing Protocol in 2010. While the protocol has been a key instrument in guiding the Okavango Basin monitoring activities by each member state and collectively as a regional tool, it has since out-lived its applicability and thrust looking at the changing data management environment. A review was hence commissioned in 2019 through the support of the EU Programme on Transboundary Water Management in the Cubango-Okavango River Basin. The final approved Rules and Procedures on the Sharing of Data and  Information for the Cubango-Okavango River Basin as a product of the review exercise and was finalised in May 2021. In using this document Member States will be better equipped to cooperate, harmonise action, adopt common applications, build institutional and technical capacity through a suite of data sharing procedures that have been commonly agreed between them. This instrument has taken cognisance of the emerging trans-boundary river basin dynamics, the prevailing policy needs, the changing climatic situation in the region and globally and the dire need to improve socio-economic status within the CORB.