Book Description

Southern Africa is characterized by a large number of international river basins, inherent climatic variability, and a natural maldistribution of perennial rivers. The region also has a history of political instability, driven by liberation struggles against the former colonial powers, apartheid and the Cold War. Southern Africa's transboundary rivers and their associated ecosystems could become either drivers of peace and economic integration or sources of endemic conflict. Water scarcity has also placed limits on the future economic growth potential of the region s four most economically developed countries. Regional organizations such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and continentwide initiatives such as the African Council of Water Ministers (AMCOW) have identified the development of water resources as an integral part of regional economic development. Various projects and programmes have been promoted to contribute to the sustainable development of the region's water resources, involving physical infrastructure projects such as water transfers & storage works as well as a range of institutional and policy development initiatives. The United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) has recognised the potential opportunity to engage and optimize the capabilities of the United States in ways that effectively address the specific goals of the Southern African region, in particular addressing the water resource development and management issues. This report is intended to provide a brief narrative description of the various projects being developed through SADC and suggest modes of cooperation with regional organizations for the USACE.