PRESS RELEASE 20TH OKACOM MEETING HELD 26TH JUNE 2014 -OKAVANGO ON THE VERGE OF A NEW CYCLE The Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission met on the 26th of June 2014 to discuss issues pertaining to the management of the Okavango River Basin (OKACOM). This meeting, held in Rundu, in Namibia, in the heart of the Okavango River Basin, was preceded by meetings of the OKACOM task forces and the Okavango Basin Steering Committee (OBSC) held on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of June 2014. This year’s meeting marked another milestone in terms of institutional strengthening of the OKACOM Secretariat. It marks the start of the implementation of the Year 1 of Sweden support to the OKACOM Five Year Plan for its Institutional and Capacity Development – Phase II. This capacity development effort will enable OKACOM to reconfigure its institutional architecture to effectively face the challenge of implementing the strategic Action Programme for the Cubango-Okavango River basin. The year 2014 also marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of OKACOM. As the new decade dawns, new implementation partners and associated projects join the fold, as the groundwork laid over years in creating an enabling environment begins to pay off and attracts projects that identify with OKACOM’s vision and theme areas. OKACOM has also embarked on an ambitious initiative aimed at securing its long-term sustainability while at the same time attracting much needed investment to the basin. The meeting witnessed the emergence of new partner initiatives such as the Multi-Sectorial Investment Opportunity Analysis with funding from the Cooperation for International Waters in Africa (CIWA) with technical assistance from the World Bank; the Climate Resilient Infrastructure Development Facility (CRIDF) funded by UK’s Department for International Development (DFID); the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Southern African Regional Environmental Programme (SAREP) and Grid-Arendal and the Climate Change Adaptation initiative with support from Global Water Partnership Southern Africa and funding from the German Agency for International Development (GIZ). These new emerging initiatives have high potential for synergies building with the Strategic Action Programme (SAP) and strengthening the programmatic content of the SAP. The 20th OKACOM meeting also deliberated on the structure and content of a project proposal that will guide the development of a full-sized regional project for the implementation of the Strategic Action Programme, building from the key findings of the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis, with funding assistance from the Global Environmental facility. For OKACOM ANGOLA - Mr Carolino Mendes, Co-Chairperson For OKACOM BOTSWANA - Mr Kgomotso Abi, Co-Chairperson For OKACOM NAMIBIA - Mr Joseph S. Iita, Co-Chairperson
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 08:46:54 +0000
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