Video Lesson

Lesson Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Explain the importance of regional cooperation for use of Transboundary Rivers;
• Describe the role of regional institutions in avoiding water use conflicts

Brainstorming Questions

What does regional cooperation on sustainable use of shared rivers imply?

Do you know regional organizations working on sustainable use of shared rivers?

Keywords

• Regional cooperation
• Regional institutions
• Sustainable use

Dear Online Learner! Rivers and lakes frequently pass across numerous governmental and jurisdictional confines that typically have diverse priorities, intentions, and interests. Due to political and/or institutional complications, shared resources of a single basin cannot be managed rationally on a long-term basis. In addition to this, some form of governing rule is required to harmonize the relations between the riparian societies and organizations to achieve effective water use and management over the shared watercourses to maximize human welfare and safeguard the environment.

Some people argue that shared watercourses would be major sources of conflict and war between world countries.

National, regional, or international institutions (organizations) are thus considered basic components for alleviation of potential disputes.

There are many bilateral and multilateral examples of this in different parts of the world. Of the 263 shared basins of the world, 176 (67%) had bilateral conventions.

Nevertheless, 79% of the covenants of the past were in watercourses crossing three or more riparian countries.

Most joint covenants from multilateral basins were also bilateral types (2:1). This indicates that many of the agreements were intentionally excluding one or more riparian countries within a given catchment. Examples;

The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI)

Dear Online Learner! The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI): was a pact created to coordinate Nile basin resource management and socio-economic development in the riparian states. It was initiated in December 1992 with the creation of a Technical Cooperation Committee for the Promotion of Development and Environmental Protection of the Nile Basin (TECCONILE).

It was first initiated by six Nile River riparian states (Egypt, Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania & Zaire).

Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, and Burundi were observers at the initial time. Between 1997 and 2001, considerable progress was made in designing structures and institutions for a new regime in the basin. Then the TECCONILE was replaced by the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) in 1999 at Waterbury in 2002; with Ethiopia joining as a full member.

The NBI was first signed by Ministers of Water Resources of riparian states on 22 February 1999 in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The main objective of the multilateral pact was to promote:

• Sustainable socioeconomic development in the basin states,
• Equitable utilization and benefit of the basin resources,
• Recognition of the rights of all riparian states, and
• Nile Task to prepare an inclusive legal Framework for equitable and sustainable use.

The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA):

• Created by Lesotho and the RSA by signing the treaty in 1986.
• Aimed to undertake a project to transfer water from the head-reaches of the Orange River to the key industrial areas of the RSA in the Pretoria-Witwatersrand Vereeniging region.

A Joint Permanent Technical Commission (JPTC)

Dear Online Learner! A Joint Permanent Technical Commission (JPTC) and two governmental bodies (the LHDA in

Lesotho and Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) in the RSA) were created to ensure the implementation of the project in their respective areas.

The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA): was a bilateral River basin organization (RBO) created between Zambia and Zimbabwe over the use of the Zambezi River which has many riparian countries. The objectives were to:

• Operate and maintain the Kariba dam,
• Investigate new projects,
• Collect data and link it with the national utilities.

The Kagera Basin Organization (KBO)

• Created in 1977 by Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania and later joined by Uganda in 1981.
• Aimed to strengthen the cooperation.

SAPP: Southern African Power Pool

• Created in 1995 to take improvement of the supply of power in the South African region.
• Kariba Dam (on the Zambia/ Zimbabwe border) at the center of the regional scheme that can play the “buffer” role.

SARCCUS: Southern African Regional Commission for the Conservation and Utilization of the Soil:

• Established by South African countries sharing transboundary Rivers.
• Aim to coordinate the conservation of water and soils on the shared River basins.

IJC: The US-Canada International Joint Commission (IJC)

• An international institution working on water management in the Great Lakes Region of North America.
• Created by Waters Treaty signed between the USA and Canada in 1909.
•  Is successful in resolving all transboundary issues referred to it.