Southern Africa’s water resources are characterized by uneven spatial and temporal distribution and high rainfall variability as well as disparate socio-economic development both between and within states. Also, more than 70 percent of the water allocated to existing users such as agriculture, industry and households is located in shared river basins. This emphasizes the strategic importance of transboundary water resources as a focal area of cooperation to ensure equitable and sustainable access to these strategic resources by all. In April 2008, Germany, in her role as lead ICP for the SADC water sector and through the GTZ-implemented support programme titled ”Transboundary Water Management in SADC”, was tasked by the SADC Water Division and the Water Strategy Reference Group (WSRG) to survey all ICP support activities in the transboundary (regional) SADC water sector. The results of this survey were documented in October 2008 in the form of a technical and an executive summary report respectively. The reports were agreed by the WSRG to be updated biannually, one month ahead of the equally biannual WSRG meetings.

Since then, the SADC Water Division has set up the ‘SADC Water Sector ICP Collaboration Portal’ at http://www.icp-confluence-sadc.org/ to (1) foster the exchange of relevant data between all ICPs in the water sector, and (2) to inform the public about the cooperation between the SADC-WD and her ICPs. The survey data is an important element of this electronic information hub as the organisations themselves update their support projects and programmes. This executive summary presents the 4th update and includes an overview of the main programmes and projects to date, October 2010, of 20 bi-lateral and multi-lateral International Cooperating Partners (ICPs) cooperating in the SADC water sector focusing on their transboundary (regional) water support. The findings are based on the analysis of data and information of currently 72 support projects or programmes. The main characteristics of the programmes and projects are presented in the accompanying technical report. Both, the executive summary and the technical report form part of an ongoing inventory of ICP support to the SADC region as it is anticipated that new ICP programmes and projects with a different thematic and geographic focus will follow. It is envisaged that the reports assist in identifying the needs and gaps of collaboration at shared river basin level.

Interesting findings compared to past updates:

• More ICP involvement as 72 activities were captured in this report compared to 64 in the previous report dated April 2010.
• New projects and programmes are often developed as joint cooperations between different bi- and multilateral ICPs.
• More projects and programmes follow the planning and implementation of the SADC Regional Strategic Action Plan on Integrated Water Resources Management (RSAP- IWRM).