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IRBM
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Square Monthly Updates August 2007
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  Southern Africa
Okavango
The Challenge

Water scarcity in Southern Africa is a growing concern. Population growth and associated demands for domestic, farm, and industrial use are increasing stress on limited water resources. Seventy percent of the region's watersheds are shared between two or more countries. What happens upstream affects people, wildlife and ecosystems downstream. Regional responses and coordination are required to insure equitable allocation and use of water resources within river basins.

The Response

USAID's regional environmental program in Southern Africa focuses on improving management of shared river basins. USAID consulted with the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) and river basin stakeholders, non-governmental organizations and other donors in the design of the Integrated River Basin Management Project (IRBM), a four-year, US$6 million initiative.

OKACOM and its technical advisory body, the Okavango Basin Steering Committee (OBSC), will implement IRBM in collaboration with government ministries, active non-governmental organizations in the basin, communities, regional academic and research institutions, and businesses and local governments that use and manage the resources in the Okavango River Basin.

IRBM combines with other basin-wide initiatives, such as the Environmental Protection and Sustainable Management of the Okavango River Basin Project (EPSMO), financed by the UNDP-Global Environment Facility (UNDP-GEF) and the Every River Has Its People Project (ERP), supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) in the implementation of improved river basin management activities. IRBM will also liaise and coordinate with numerous national initiatives and programs.