Four Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries will now be able to collectively manage their water resources more efficiently with the launch of the Limpopo Watercourse Commission.

Launched in Maputo, the Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM) will help South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique — which all share the Limpopo River Basin — better organise their water management resources .

The basin has a total catchment area of approximately 408 000 km² and very diverse characteristics, covering different climatic and topographic zones, as well as land use types, including protected areas.

In 1986, the four states made a commitment to manage their water resources together with the establishment of the Limpopo Basin Permanent Technical Committee. In 2003, this cooperation was fostered through the multilateral agreement to establish LIMCOM.

This month’s launch was attended by the ministers responsible for water in the four countries, SADC and river basin organizations, among others. The signing ceremony of the host agreement between the government of Mozambique and the current chairperson of LIMCOM also took place on the day.

“The ministers… reaffirmed the commitment of LIMCOM and member states to the promotion and implementation of the SADC Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses, which aims to foster closer cooperation for judicious, sustainable and coordinated management, protection and utilisation of shared watercourses and advance the SADC agenda of regional integration and poverty alleviation,” said SADC.

 

(SAnews.gov.za)