Zambezi River Basin

Recommendations

• A number of Trans Frontier Conservation Areas can be found in the Basin:

• Rapid population and urban growth in the Zambezi River Basin must be aligned with improvement in service delivery, particularly in larger basin cities which have experienced notable expansion in the last two decades. • Tree-planting programmes need to be strengthened in all basin states, moreso in areas where notable loss of forest cover has been observed. • Sustainable fire management practices should be strengthened particular during the dry season due to the threats posed by wildfires. • Basin countries should increase percentage of land area reserved for wildlife, as loss of biodiversity is increasingly. • Angola and Zimbabwe are encouraged to become parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands to enhance wetland conservation efforts in the basin. • Angola is also encouraged to become party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants do not threaten their survival in that country and the neighbouring countries. • As invasive species are a significant driver to biodiversity loss in major water bodies basin states are encouraged to adopt sound land and water management practices to reduce spread of alien species. • Basin states should deepen their efforts in moving towards sustainable development through green economies and green growth as adaptation andmitigation strategies to address the impacts of climate change, as well as an opportunity to create jobs and livelihoods. • Basin states need to recognise the importance of indigenous knowledge systems in sustainable development and when considering new climate change adaptation strategies. • Decision-makers need to enhance efforts in reversing the loss of biodiversity.

• Kavango- Zambezi TFCA, covering Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe; • ZIMOZA, covering areas in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia; • Niassa-Selous TFCA, covering parts of Mozambique and Tanzania; • Lower Zambezi-Mana Pools, between Zambia and Zimbabwe; and, • Liuwa Plain-Kameia TFCA, which includes areas in Angola and Zambia.

• Eleven of the 13 Zambezi river sub-basins are transboundary in nature.

• Transboundary lakes include Lake Malawi/ Niassa/Nyasa and Lake Kariba.

• Invasion of alien species is a major threat in Lake Kariba between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

• Planned inter-basin water transfers include Bulawayo MatabelelandWater Supply Pipeline.

• Groundwater is the major source of water for most of the population.

• More than half of the population does not have access to safe water and improved sanitation.

• The Basin is prone to drought, floods and water-related diseases such as cholera and malaria. • Mining activities cause serious environmental problems. In the Zambian Copperbelt there are 21 waste rock dumps with approximately 77 million tonnes generated fromunderground shaft mining covering an area of 388 ha. • The Protocol on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons adopted by SADC in 2005 aims to develop policies that facilitate the movement of people and goods across borders in the SADC region. • The Kazungula bridge between Botswana and Zambia, Katima Mulilo bridge between Namibia and Botswana, as well as launch of a One Stop Border Post at Chirundu between Zambia and Zimbabwe are major developments in facilitating the movement of people and goods.

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