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Cross-Cutting Themes: Biodiversity & Conservation
Sustainable Groundwater Management in SADC Member States— Across operations, CIWA continues to strengthen environmental
Phase II continues knowledge generation across transboundary and social safeguards, apply nature‑positive design features,
aquifers—e.g., transboundary diagnostic analyses and basin and use science‑based tools for planning and adaptive
hydro‑census studies—while strengthening participatory management. Lessons include the value of rigorous Environmental
research and citizen science on the value of biodiversity and GDEs. and Social Impact Assessments and biodiversity measures
Ongoing work spans the Save Alluvial TBA (Mozambique/Zimbabwe), (e.g., establishing protected areas and fish passages, controlling
Songwe Basin (Malawi/Tanzania), Inco-Maputo Basin (Eswatini/ invasive aquatic plants, and maintaining environmental flows) to
Mozambique/South Africa), Shire TBA, and Coastal Sedimentary mitigate impacts and enhance ecological integrity around large
Aquifer IV (Angola/Namibia). The program links groundwater water infrastructure and programs. These lessons inform upstream
protection, ecosystem health, and community livelihoods and will analytics and the design of new operations, complementing the
keep testing practical solutions to regional groundwater challenges CIWA Biodiversity Framework and pathways for resilient, nature-
that affect biodiversity and ecosystem services. positive water management.
Notably, previous CIWA work through the Southern Africa Drought CIWA’s FY25 portfolio continues to embed biodiversity and
Resilience Initiative (SADRI) technical assistance in the Great conservation into transboundary water cooperation, guided by
Limpopo Trans‑Frontier Conservation Area Joint Management the CIWA Biodiversity and Conservation Framework finalized in
Board’s Pafuri‑Sengwe Node led to a new project from the Coca FY24. The framework’s vision is to improve transboundary water
Cola Foundation for a three-year program focused on landscape management that supports biodiversity conservation so that
management in the Pafuri area. This Great Limpopo project is communities are more climate-resilient, livelihoods are sustained,
helping safeguard biodiversity and secure water supply, improving and nature’s services are safeguarded.
water governance, promoting agroforestry and land restoration, and
helping residents better prepare for droughts through practices
such as climate-smart livestock grazing.
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