Zambezi Basin Leaders Call for Investment in Land, Water and People

With 51% of the basin’s land classified as moderately degraded, delegates called for investment on a scale that matches the social, economic and ecological challenges facing Africa’s fourth-largest river.

The Zambezi River Basin could become a powerful centre of climate-resilient growth if governments, financial institutions, businesses and local communities invest in its land, water systems and people as one connected development priority, participants at UNCCD COP17 said. The basin stretches across eight countries, covers about 1.37 million square kilometres and supports 51 million people, yet around 44% of its residents live below the poverty line, while floods, droughts, weak infrastructure and environmental damage place growing pressure on households and national economies. With 51% of the basin's land classified as moderately degraded, delegates called for investment on a scale that matches the social, economic and ecological challenges facing Africa's fourth-largest river.

Projects Must Deliver More Than Environmental Gains

The call emerged during the COP17 side event, 'Restoring Landscapes and Livelihoods in the Zambezi Basin: Scaling Up Integrated Land and Water Solutions for Climate Resilience,' where government representatives, development partners, climate finance institutions, civil society organisations and regional bodies examined ways to expand practical solutions across national borders. African Development Bank Division Manager for Agricultural Research, Production and Sustainability Laouali Garba said projects combining land restoration, food production, community resilience, ecotourism and employment would have a stronger chance of securing public and private finance than isolated environmental projects with limited economic benefits.

PIDACC Zambezi was presented as one model for turning that approach into action. Supported by the African Development Bank and involving the Zambezi Watercourse Commission, known as ZAMCOM, alongside other partners, the initiative brings land management, water security, ecosystem recovery and climate-resilient livelihoods into a shared investment framework. Its financing structure combines public resources, grants, concessional funding, climate finance and development partner support, creating conditions that can reduce risk and encourage private investors to participate. Related work is being expanded through the Climate Investment Funds-backed Zambezi Region Nature, People and Climate Investment Plan.

Regional Planning Can Unlock Sustainable Finance

World Bank natural resources management consultant Laurent Frapaise urged decision-makers to treat the basin as a connected development system shaped by communities, economies, ecosystems and several branches of government. Investments need to be financially viable without sacrificing their environmental or social value, while ministries responsible for water, agriculture, energy, land, tourism and finance must work together instead of pursuing disconnected programmes that compete for funding or produce limited results.

Another major effort, the 'Strengthening Zambezi River Basin Management towards Climate Resilience and Ecosystem Health' project, has secured Global Environment Facility financing through the African Development Bank. The project will support integrated Water-Energy-Food-Environment planning, healthier ecosystems and stronger cooperation between the countries sharing the river. These activities also feed into the Southern African Great Green Wall Initiative, linking the basin's needs with wider regional work on drought resilience, water security and landscape restoration. Participants identified public-private partnerships, guarantees, risk-sharing tools and affordable credit for small and medium-sized enterprises as useful ways to attract investment into agroforestry, restoration businesses and sustainable value chains.

Women and Communities Must Shape the Investments

Communities cannot be treated only as beneficiaries once projects have already been designed, speakers said, because residents understand how degraded land, unreliable water supplies and climate shocks affect daily life. Prof. Hesphina Rukato of the Centre for African Development Solutions stressed that gender-responsive investment must recognise the different circumstances faced by women across the basin. Access to land, finance, water, equipment and decision-making power will determine whether women gain meaningful economic opportunities from restoration programmes or remain excluded from the resources those programmes create.

Targeted support is needed so women can participate in planning, implementation and local enterprise development, with fair access to income, training and productive assets built into projects from the beginning. Participants called for closer cooperation among governments, development finance institutions, climate funds, businesses, civil society groups and river basin organisations, arguing that shared planning can transform restoration from a collection of small environmental activities into a basin-wide investment programme that protects nature, creates jobs and strengthens communities against an increasingly unstable climate.