Project description
Title: Cooperation with river basin organisations
Commissioned by: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)
Financier: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)
Country: Africa, transnational (located in Uganda)
Lead executing agency: African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), based in Kampala (Uganda)
Overall term: April 2005 to December 2008
Context
The Africa Action Plan adopted by the G8 in 2002 classifies transboundary water management as a peace and security issue. It calls for improved cooperation and coordination around international rivers in Africa so that conflicts over water distribution and use rights can be identified and managed in good time. In response to this, Germany has launched its own G8 Initiative under the leadership of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), at the hub of which is cooperation among African watershed organisations.
The lead partner of the German G8 Initiative is the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW). Since it was founded in 2002, the council has given considerable impetus to policymaking in the African water sector and is now recognised and established as a consultative ministerial body of the African Union (AU). Strengthening regional cooperation and coordination amongst the river basin organisations and regional integration communities such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) that operate under the aegis of the AU is one of the goals of the AMCOW work plan.
Objective
The efficiency of the individual river basin organisations is raised by facilitating the exchange of experience and expertise amongst personnel.
Approach
The project comprises three components:
- Facilitating cooperation among river basin organisations
The exchange of individual experience among the African river basin organisations is facilitated through regional seminars, study tours and the exchange of experts.
- Setting up an Africa-wide database for infrastructure development
- GTZ provides technical and organisational advice. The system ensures the supply of valid, reliable data and affords easier access to international partners in cooperation, particularly in the field of transboundary water management.
- Providing institutional advice to AMCOW
AMCOW will receive advisory services in capacity building. Resources and services will be supplied in order to clarify the different interests, roles, functions and responsibilities of the various institutions at regional level. Major elements include setting up a support office for the Ugandan presidency and providing support to an AMCOW strategy unit.
Results achieved so far
Cooperation experience to date has shown that direct exchange among practitioners in river basin management can lead to tangible outcomes in practice. Personal contacts result in the establishment of networks that can be drawn on when required. The exchange of experts is intended to improve the work of the river basin organisations, for example in the design of management plans or fostering cooperative relations.
To clarify the different roles, functions and responsibilities of the various institutions, a negotiating process was set in motion that already addresses conflicts and is seeking to settle these through cooperation. The Conference of African River and Lake Basin Organisations in Kampala in 2006 marked a milestone here by specifying the role of the river basin organisations in the African water sector in more detail.
Strengthening policymaking structures in the African water sector will reinforce water as an issue in Africa and focus attention on essentials. These include for instance improving drinking water supplies for the poorer sections of the population, involving the private sector, and protecting water resources from overuse and contamination.
Further information
