16th OKACOM Meeting

HOORC governance specialist Dr Lapologang Magole watches a presentation about the Okavango SAP by EPSMO Project's Chaminda Rajapakse

The Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) held its 16th Meeting in Gaborone last week. The meeting included sessions of the Commission's institutional and hydrological task forces, the Okavango Basin Steering Committee (OBSC) and the Open Dialogue Forum -- a day dedicated to sharing key Okavango Basin issues with external stakeholders. Highlights of the week were the Commission's approval of the Hydrological Data Sharing Protocol -- an agreement among Angola, Botswana and Namibia to facilitate exchange of information that can help predict and mitigate the impacts of floods and droughts -- and honouring of OKACOM's retired Commissioners. The Commission also approved a schedule for finalization of the Okavango River Basin Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) and Strategic Action Programme (SAP) reports.