BHOThe countries of the Rovuma River Basin - Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania - signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Dar es Salaam on July 31 in search of stronger cooperation in water management.

The MoU will be the reference point for future discussions on cooperation efforts in basin management in general, the drafting of a basin treaty and the establishment of the River Basin Organization in particular.

The riparian states are receiving support from SADC, working with GIZ-TWM, IUCN, GWPSA and WaterNet.

The governments of Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania intend to maximize their contributions to the mutual management of the resources of the Rovuma River Basin.

The memorandum signed on Wednesday in Dar es Salaam provides for closer cooperation on the use, development, protection, conservation and sustainable management of the Rovuma River Basin, according to a press release issued by Mozambique's Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources.

Shared by the three countries, the Rovuma River Basin stretches for 760 km, 650 km of which serves as the border between Mozambique and Tanzania.

It is rich in aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, in particular the 42,400 square kilometer Niassa National Reserve, which covers parts of the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Niassa, the development of which will probably be boosted by the implementation of the Integrated Management of Transboundary Water Resources.

The agreement was signed during the meeting of the Rovuma Basin Council of Ministers by Carlos Mesquita, Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources; Jumaa Hamido Aweso, Minister of Water of Tanzania; and Abida Sidik Mia, Minister of Water and Sanitation of Malawi.

The agreement serves as a platform for cooperation partners, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and member states to assess the progress of the basin roadmap and discuss the implementation of the subsequent project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

At the ceremony, the Mozambican government was represented by the Minister of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources, Carlos Mesquita, who said that the agreement will bring numerous advantages to the three countries, namely the opening up of member states to the development of regional projects, as well as the possibility of mobilizing funding for their implementation, resulting in economic and social benefits for the communities living along the Rovuma Basin.

Minister Mesquita also pointed out that the Rovuma River basin is almost unparalleled in the SADC region because it is among the few shared basins that are still in their natural condition, i.e. without storage infrastructure (dams).

"This river basin is rich in aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, and much of it is still intact, especially in Mozambique, where the Rovuma flows through the provinces of Niassa and Cabo Delgado," said Minister Mesquita.

"In this sense, Mozambique considers that there are many challenges for its management, with emphasis on the sustainable use and guarantee of water supply to the main water-using sectors, the vulnerability associated with water (floods and droughts), water quality and the health of the aquatic ecosystem, as well as good water governance and the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management, from the perspective of transboundary water management," he added.

These challenges "increase the need to adopt structural and non-structural measures, which require cooperative actions between the riparian states.

In the current context of climate change, in which our region has been hit by El Niño, we hope that the ongoing initiative will help create and promote integrated and sustainable resource management through the implementation of measures to ensure water security in the Rovuma River basin, in order to mitigate the occurrence of water-borne diseases such as Covid-19 and diarrheal diseases, and mitigate the impacts resulting from water scarcity."

Cooperation between the three countries also extends to the Zambezi River basin, with the creation of the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM) in 2024. However, Malawi has not yet ratified the agreement creating the commission. (Press release)