Zambezi river basin

The Zambezi watercourse in located in southeastern Africa and covers an extensive area of approximately 1.4 million square kilometers. It has a large hydropower capacity, since it contains the world’s largest artificial reservoir by volume, Lake Kariba.

The basin’s resources are shared by 8 states along the water bank with a current population of 30 million inhabitants. Management of the basin water resources takes place at the national level, but in a cooperative manner under the 2004 ZAMCOM agreement. Due to the scale of the drainage area and large (growing) population to support, sustainable development in the basin requires careful consideration of many WEFE nexus issues and trade-offs.

The GoNEXUS dialogues will assess the nexus issues for the Zambezi with the help of local basin experts and stakeholders. These issues range from modelling activities such as hydro-power development and coordinated management to  agricultural development for food security and  environmental protection and ecosystem services provision. They will also assess the impacts of mining activities and changing patterns of land use under the pressures of future climate and population change. From these dialogues, a series of solutions will be co-designed to help the Zambezi river basin face its future population and climate challenges.

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