Because the Orange-Senqu river basin intersects four countries (including essentially the whole of Lesotho), traverses various geographical regions and biomes, and supports a wide array of water demands, there is a great need for Integrated Water Resource Management. To facilitate such joint management efforts the Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM) was established by the Governments of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa through the “Agreement for the Establishment of the Orange-Senqu Commission” on 3 November 2000 in Windhoek, Namibia. ORASECOM was the first commission established following the regional ratification of the Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses in the Southern African Development Community.

Meeting the water requirements of the population, economy and environment of the Orange-Senqu River basin is a significant challenge. With limited surface water resources available to meet increasing demands, managers and decision-makers need to consider all options, including sustainable use of groundwater, new water infrastructure and opportunities to conserve water. GIZ Transboundary Water Management in SADC programme is supporting ORASECOM in this framework since 2004 with assistance for its secretariat, technical support for the development of a basin-wide IWRM plan and of awareness raising tools, like the Orange-Senqu River Awareness Kit. GIZ is also facilitating the harmonization of the diverse “International Cooperation Partners” (ICPs) as appointed Lead-ICP.

Projects:

• Economic Accounting of Water Use in the SADC Region
• GIZ - Transboundary Water Management in SADC Phase III
• Orange-Senqu River Awareness Kit (OSRAK)
• SADC Groundwater Grey Literature Archive
• SADC Water Information Sharing Hub (SWISH)
• Southern Africa Water Wire
• Support to Phase II of the Basin-Wide ORASECOM IWRM Plan
• TV Documentary "Bridging Waters"

Documents:

• Economic Accounting of Water Use: Inception Report
• Economic Accounting of Water Use: Project Report - Final Report
• Economic Accounting of Water Use: Report on Capacity Building of Member States and River Basin Management Staff
• Economic Accounting of Water Use: Standardised Methodologies for Economic Accounting of Water Use in SADC
• Economic Accounting of Water Use: Training Manual
• Review of Existing Infrastructure in the Orange River Catchment
• SADC Water Information Sharing Hub (SWISH) - Final Report
• SADC Water Information Sharing Hub (SWISH) - Inception and Assessment Report
• SADC Water Information Sharing Hub (SWISH) - Technical Specifications and Gap Analysis
• Support to Phase 2 of ORASECOM Basin-wide IWRM Plan - Inception Report
• terraviva World Water Day 2011
• Work Package WP1: Strengths and Weaknesses of existing modells
• Work Package WP3: Development of Water Quality Monitoring programme and Data Management Framework
• Work Package WP4: Downscaling Methodology and Ongoing Climate Modelling Initiatives
• Work Package WP5: Delineation of Resource Units
• Work Package WP5: Desktop EcoClassification
• Work Package WP5: Environmental Flow Requirements, Main Report
• Work Package WP6: The Promotion of Water Conservation and Water Demand Management in the Irrigation Sector

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