Page 70 - CIWA-AR24

Southern Africa

(capacity, staffing, resources), and several decades, primarily from lack to strengthen core sector
financial resources needed to of management and enforcement, capacities and knowledge. It will
function sustainably and effectively. and climate change is expected to include action-oriented knowledge
It will also assess the potential of significantly impact the quality and products and promotion of
establishing networks of CSOs in availability of water in the lake. This knowledge sharing on key topics
Southern Africa such as the Nile activity will provide an for transboundary WRM and
Basin Discourse. evidence-based, participatory climate resilience and support and
approach to assess the complement activities being
2. Citizens’ engagement in socioeconomic impacts of the financed under the RCRP. This
transboundary WRM, particularly declining fisheries population and the component will also provide
around biodiversity, ecosystem impact of climate change. It will also just-in-time-support to respond
services, and livelihoods. This promote stakeholder participation to urgent demands from project
activity will develop and implement from both countries to advance countries and RBOs on the
guidelines and just-in-time support sustainable lake management. above-mentioned issues in both
for improving citizen engagement in components.
transboundary WRM, programs, and This component will also include
projects to strengthen livelihoods support to the Okavango River Basin 3. Continuing mainstreaming of the
with a strong emphasis on the role of Water Commission (OKACOM), the Equal Aqua tool on gender inclusion
biodiversity and ecosystem services LIMCOM, Orange-Senqu River and citizen engagement.
in improving environmental (including Commission (ORASECOM), and the
water quality) and social conditions. International Commission of the Progress
Currently, most livelihoods projects Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin This grant launched in FY24 and has
are small, isolated community (CICOS), which have expressed a implemented multiple activities:
activities. Larger livelihood desire for scaling up dialogue and
investments will allow identification of investment cooperation. A regional capacity-building workshop,
a more systematic series of pro-poor Enhancing Regional Collaboration and
interventions at the basin level that Component 2 includes: Climate Financing Capacity in Eastern
prioritize resilience to climate and and Southern Africa, was held in
other non-climatic uncertainties. 1. Implementation of a remote Johannesburg, South Africa in May
Support for the operationalization of monitoring and management 2024. Hosted by the SADC Secretariat,
the CORB Endowment Fund is also platform. This will include a the event marked the launch of the RCRP
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envisaged, which will lead to the PowerBI-based (or similar) Regional Steering Committee, the first
development of at least one interface that tracks RS data on face-to-face regional capacity-building
Livelihoods Improvement Program. storage and manages flood risk meeting of RCRP countries on technical
and investment site selection topics that are pivotal to ensure the
3. A binational fisheries management under the RCRP. This is expected to program’s regional resilience impact.
plan for Lake Kariba. Lake Kariba, an yield more efficient and transparent With over 70 participants from Comoros,
artificial lake covering 5,580 square monitoring of the impact of program Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, and
kilometers, primarily provides activities on resilience in the region South Sudan, regional organizations
water for hydropower production. and enhance access to information (ENTRO, the Nile Equatorial Lakes
However, this water resource now on water-related investments. Strategic Action Program [NELSAP], the
serves many users, and its Transparent and low-cost African Union [AU], and SADC) and
sustainability is threatened by approaches for remote monitoring regional climate experts, the workshop
invasive weeds, water pollution, of transboundary water focused on strengthening regional
cyclic droughts and floods, infrastructure help overcome capacity to access mitigation and
competing uses, and multiple information asymmetries and adaptation financing and to improve
legislative provisions. The lake, which reduce risks related to water resources management.
is part of the Kavango-Zambezi disinformation, paving the way for
Transfrontier Conservation Area, is improved cooperation. As part of Enhanced skills on WRM will be pivotal
shared between Zambia and this activity, support will be provided for the RCRP’s implementation, which
Zimbabwe. It accounts for 35 to countries on the use of data to includes the promotion of regional
percent and 90 percent of Zambian make informed decisions. risk-financing solutions, support for
and Zimbabwean fish production, regional/global exchanges to African
respectively, and the industry is a 2. Strengthening the capacity of RCRP countries, and global expertise to
source of food security, health, and countries for transboundary WRM. support countries to access climate
income generation. The fisheries Given overall capacity and finance. The event (i) launched the RCRP
population has been decreasing for institutional gaps, this activity aims Regional Steering Committee, (ii) reached

38 https://www.okacom.org/sites/default/files/documents/CORB%20Fund%20Factsheet.pdf
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