Recognising that its existing policies and organisational structures for the water sector were no longer meeting the needs of its citizens, the Government of Botswana undertook a review of its National Water Master Plan in 2006. Under the guidance of the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources (MMEWR) and based on the recommendations of the review, a reform of the water sector was initiated in 2008.

Under the reform, the DWA would relinquish its service delivery responsibilities in order to focus on water resources management as its primary function and the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) would take on the role of providing water and wastewater services for the entire country. A modern regulatory regime will also be developed, and an independent Water Resources Council established to oversee and allocate the nation’s scarce water resources. These reforms have required redeployment of staff from DWA and local municipalities to WUC, as well as capacity building in the new institutional mandates.

In July 2011, MMEWR signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SIWI to support the capacity building of DWA, WUC and other water sector stakeholders. The capacity building programme is made up of eight courses on: corporate transformation and change management; integrated water resources management; research and benchmarking methodologies; water resources policy; integrated data management; climate change and variability in water resources management; water allocation and management; and wastewater management and reuse . Each course consists of three one-week modules, spaced about two months apart. This modular structure enables participants to more effectively integrate their learning into their day-to-day work, and avoids long absences of essential staff from their duties. SIWI will also support the DWA in establishing a Knowledge Services Hub, which will be a national centre of excellence, conducting applied research, monitoring local and global trends in water management, and providing policy advice to the Department. The Hub will also facilitate cross-learning among sector institutions. It is envisaged that the Hub would continue the capacity building process initiated though this partnership.

Project Info

• Project team: Anton Earle, Ana Cascao, Chibesa Pensulo
• Partners: Ministry of Energy, Minerals and Water Resources, Botswana (MMEWR)
• Co-funded by MMEWR and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
• Timeline: January 2012 – December 2013
• Links and resources: Brochure: Botswana Water Sector Capacity Building Programme

SIWI’s research brings the ‘water perspective’ into the international discourse on land deals. The most common purpose of the recent land acquisitions is agricultural production, which means that land without enough water to grow crops has no value to investors. SIWI has been actively participating in the global discussion on the large-scale land acquisitions, particularly its connection to transboundary waters (e.g. the Nile), virtual water trading, water security and water rights.

Project Info

• Project team: Anders Jägerskog, Ana Cascão, Kyungmee Kim
• Partners: Nordic Africa Institute, Swedish Agricultural University, Uppsala University, Gothenburg University
• Timeline: 2011 – ongoing
• Links and resources:  Jägerskog, A., Cascao, A., Hårsmar, M. and Kim. K., (2012), “Land Acquisitions: How Will They Impact Transboundary Waters?“. Report Nr. 30, SIWI, Stockholm.

The SWP works to prevent conflict over shared waters by building trust and promoting cooperation. The key objective of the partnership is to establish a multi-stakeholder platform to increase political will and strengthen riparian country commitment to regional processes that advance cooperation in regions where water is, or may become, a source of conflict. Among others it will foster cooperation in ‘riskier’ environments where other organizations are less likely and not willing to operate and enhancing opportunities to learn, codify and exchange lessons in using water as a framework for multi-country cooperation.

Specifically, the SWP performs the following activities:

• Technical studies on the linkages between water resources and conflict and the benefits and costs of cooperation on shared waters.
• Facilitates shared strategic planning and donor-riparian dialogues.
• Holds high level government events, such as parliamentary conferences, to build multi-country awareness of shared water body issues.
• Supports processes to enable and finalize regional frameworks;
• Promotes regional data sharing and harmonization exercises.
• Promotes the development of shared water and environmental databases and analysis activities to enhance transparency, build participation and trust.
• Develops scenario modeling tools to allow regional parties to better understand transboundary waters in a broader context of peace, security and economic development.
• Builds capacity of transboundary water institutions in dispute resolution, public participation and management.

The SWP is a component of UNDP’s Transboundary Waters Programme and is implemented by the UNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI and the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre.

Project Info

• Project team:  Anders Jägerskog, Anton Earle, Kyungmee Kim, Joakim Öjendal (SIWI Associate, Gothenburg University)
• Client and partner: UNDP-GEF
• Timeline: September 2011- February 2014
• Links: www.watergovernance.org/sharedwaters
• Resources:
  - Background paper by Anders Jägerskog on Transboundary Waters for the Ministerial Roundtable on Transboundary Waters: “Current Status of Cooperative Efforts on Transboundary Waters“, World Water Forum, Marseille, France, March 13, 2012.
  - Shared Waters Partnership Information Brochure
  - Anton Earle, Ana Elisa Cascao, Anders Jagerskog, Ashok Swain, Joakim Ojendal, (forthcoming) “Transboundary Water Management and the Climate Change Debate“

Since 2010, SIWI and the partner organisations, Uppsala University and Gothenburg University, have organized seminars and workshops covering various topics such as the transboundary water cooperation, climate change, water security and international water law. As results, the network has generated new knowledge in the governance of transboundary waters by publishing academic papers, books and reports, and the researchers within the network have initiated new research projects on the transboundary water management. SIWI has contributed to generate new knowledge in transboundary water management and to provide the platform for the partners to connect.

Project Info

• Project team: Anders Jägerskog (network leader), Joakim Öjendal (SIWI Associate, Gothenburg University), Ashok Swain (Uppsala University)
• Funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond
• Partners:  Uppsala University, Gothenburg University
• Timeline:  2010-2012
• Links and resources:
  - Anton Earle, Ana Elisa Cascao, Anders Jagerskog, Ashok Swain, Joakim Ojendal, (forthcoming) “Transboundary Water Management and the Climate Change Debate”
  - Earle, A., Jägerskog, A. and Ojendal, J. (2010). Transboundary Water Management: Principles and Practice. London, Earthscan