Regional Approach for Water Policies in Southern Africa

Abstract

In Southern Africa, the recent elaboration of treaties, protocols, new legislation, as well as political and economic changes, have encouraged and contributed to reorganising water management. The region includes around fifteen transboundary river basins, requiring a fine articulation between the reorganisation of Water Resources Management national laws and strategies to regional Protocol and River Basins Commissions. Approaches and models diverged from one State to another in the region. Since 1994, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) decided to favour policy harmonisation. What place does water have in the regional integration policy launched by the SADC? What interactions can be brought out between regional and national policies?