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Press Release from The European Commission DG Environment
Poul Nielson, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, has signed a Financing Agreement of €7.3 million with South Africa to support the water sector in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The object of the project is to support sustainable integrated planning and management of water resources in the SADC region.
Water resources in the SADC region are unevenly distributed over time (seasonally) and in space (geographically) and the sharing of major river basins could be a source of conflict and political instability. Flooding, as a result of torrential rains, has taken its toll on the population while causing extensive damage to property and livestock. The year 2000 was particularly devastating along the downstream areas of the major trans-boundary rivers, especially in Mozambique.
Water management therefore constitutes an excellent vehicle for regional integration. In view of the importance of the role that water plays in ensuring the livelihood of people in the SADC region, the first attempts for a closer co-ordination of the water sector started in 1996.
The current project is planned for 4 years and will be managed by the SADC Secretariat. The project includes institutional and organisational support, creation of a Water-Sector Co-ordinating Unit to implement a Regional Strategic Action Plan, support and resource studies for the Orange-Sengu River Commission and the Maputo Basin, and expansion of SADC's “Hydrological Cycle Observing System” (HYCOS).
For further information:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/eu_africa/eu_africa_en.cfm
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