Providing a platform for representatives from stakeholder entities interested in the Zambezi River Basin, to share information and experiences around the benefits of trans-boundary water cooperation in the context of basin-wide planning.
The Zambezi River is the fourth-longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. It flows through Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania; Zambia and Zimbabwe. Rich in mineral deposits, fossil fuels and aqua-life, the river provides water for drinking, fisheries, irrigation, hydro-electric power production, mining and industry, ecosystem maintenance, and other uses.
This forum brings together ZAMCOM Partners and their Constituents, Regional and International Cooperating Partners, Cross-Sectoral Stakeholders, representatives from National Stakeholders Coordination Committees (NASCs) across the 8 states surrounding the Zambezi River Basin .
"Fostering regional integration is key to water resource management in the region," Honourable Lloyd Mulenga Kaziya, Zambia's Minister of Water Development and Sanitation and Environmental Protection
"The ongoing Stakeholders Forum is a good opportunity to reflect on how the Zambezi water should be managed"
"The mounting pressure on the river basin calls for common understanding and appreciation of the challenges and opportunities presented to the basin "
"Integrated planning and sustainable development should be at the center of all interventions being implemented"
"It is important to look after and manage the water better than we have done before," Dr Bishop Edward Chomba, Permanent Secretary in charge of water in the Ministry of Energy and Water Development, Zambia.
"It is key for women to participate in water matters in the language they understand better"
"The water we have is borrowed from future generations, so we need to manage it well"
"Before tackling any African crisis it is imperative to address how to manage water"
"SADC pledges its support towards the goals and objectives of ZAMCOM", Dr Kenneth Msibi, SADC Secretariat
“It is key to create an enabling environment for building gender mainstreaming capacity into river basin organisations and government structures,” Rennie Munyayi , Projects Coordinator, Namibia University of Science and Technology