Online Reporter
Prosper Ndlovu,[email protected]
ZIMBABWE has started the process to develop a National Action Plan (NAP) for the management of its component of the Limpopo River Basin, working closely with other regional peers – Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique who are also part of the water resource ecosystem.
Among the key objectives, the meeting seeks to identify and prioritize water related environmental problems that are of a transboundary nature within the Limpopo River Basin, leading to adoption of integrated remedial action plans.
Water resources development stakeholders who include environmental, climate, agriculture experts, consultants and sub catchment area representatives are attending the one-day meeting in Bulawayo, which is being hosted by the Government of Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
The development of NAPs follows the approval of the Limpopo Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) that identified some of the key water-related environmental challenges affecting the basin.
In this, the meeting will among other issues interrogate how the NAP for Zimbabwe also feeds into the development of a basin-wide Strategic Action Plan (SAP).
The development of the TDA/SAP and NAP process for the Limpopo River basin is being undertaken as part of the project, “Integrated Transboundary River Basin Management for the Sustainable Development of the Limpopo River Basin.”
The Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM) is implementing the project in partnership with the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
The integrated water resource management programme is being implemented across the four neighbouring countries and is aimed at enhancing the wellness of communities who depend on and are living within the river basin.
Issues of environmental conservation, inclusive participation in curbing land degradation and climate change, among others are at the heart of the meeting.
