Activities
Assessment of current biophysical and socio-economic status, uses and potential of project basins
i. Fieldwork is being undertaken in all three partner countries, collecting biophysical and socio-economic information for basin profiles. ii. In the Fish River Basin, a land cover map is being produced through remote sensing and a field survey. Landsat TM scenes over the area are presently being classified based on the field-collected data. iii. Baseline data are being collected and analysed for all three river basins, which will provide a basis for decision-making in these areas. Through the project, this information will finally be published in a book describing the three project basins.
Investigating appropriate forums for the integrated management of water and other resources in the three project basins
In order to assess the potential for establishing basin management committees in the three project basins, several meetings have been held with stakeholders in each partner country. Project activities are presented, and the possible benefits and the viability of establishing information forums are discussed. In Botswana, the Government has decided to include ERB-SADC in the Boteti River Basin as a pilot study of the Okavango Delta Management Plan. In Namibia, a stakeholder forum has been formed, involving all major stakeholders in the Fish River Basin; stakeholder forum meetings are held regularly, giving members opportunity to discuss issues in the basin, and to get feedback on progress with the implementation of the project. Appraisal reports are being developed in each of the three project basins, with the aim to document the biopysical, social and legal frameworks withing which a possible basin management institution would have to operate. Appart from the focus on project basins, these appraisal reports are also intended to give an overview of approaches to basin management adopted in other basins in the project countries and elsewhere.
Best practices and lessons learnt towards basin management in the project basins
A number of case studies in the three basins will be carried out and documented during the Project. In the Fish River Basin, a case study on eight demarcated communal farms in the basin was conducted by two students from the Polytechnic of Namibia.Uusing participatory GIS, the students collected information about the biophysical conditions on these farms – now and in the past – and learnt about the management practices the farmers apply. The results from this study are intended to support decision-making towards improved land management on the farms. Also in the Fish River Basin, two other Polytechnic students conducted two case studies, one investigating the Karakul industry in the basin, and one studying the function of the Affirmative Action Loan Scheme in the Fish River Basin. The AALS enables communal farmers to buy commercial farms. A group of geography students from Stockholm University, Sweden, conducted a study in Aussenkehr, investigating the grape production, water and sanitation issues, sediment load in the Orange River above and below the Aussenkehr farm, and the socio-economy of the population of Aussenkehr. For further information about these case studies, please contact Carole Roberts at DRFN.