Eight Nations Advance $130M Zambezi Plan to Protect Food, Water and Livelihoods

The workshop took place ahead of an appraisal mission that will review the programme’s design, making this an important preparation stage before implementation.

For communities across the Zambezi River Basin, a failed rainy season can threaten harvests, electricity supplies and household incomes, and severe flooding can destroy farmland that families depend on. Eight countries sharing the basin have agreed on priority actions to advance a $130 million regional programme designed to strengthen food security, protect livelihoods and help ecosystems withstand growing climate pressures.

Representatives from Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe met in Harare from 9 to 11 September to shape the Programme for Building Resilience of Food, Livelihoods and Ecosystems in the Zambezi River Basin. The workshop took place ahead of an appraisal mission that will review the programme's design, making this an important preparation stage before implementation.

Protecting a River That Sustains Millions

The Zambezi Basin supports agriculture, fisheries, drinking water and tourism around Victoria Falls, and supplies the Kariba and Cahora Bassa hydropower dams. Its importance across so many parts of daily life leaves millions exposed when river conditions change, with drought reducing electricity generation and floods damaging farmland. A warming climate and rising demand for water are increasing pressure on this shared resource.

Four components underpin the programme: natural resources management, community climate resilience, institutional capacity and knowledge, and coordination. Proposed activities include restoring degraded landscapes, improving water management, supporting climate-smart agriculture and strengthening the connections between production, processing and markets. Economic opportunities for women and young people are central to the planned benefits, linking environmental protection with employment and stronger household livelihoods.

Dr Laouali Garba, the African Development Bank's Manager for Agricultural Research, Production and Sustainability, urged partners to turn policies and mobilised resources into practical results. He identified community resilience, food security, jobs for women and youth, and climate change mitigation as outcomes that should guide work across the basin.

Connecting National Projects With Regional Needs

Participants examined technical designs, financing allocations, implementation arrangements, geographic priorities, and environmental and social safeguards. Discussions covered gender inclusion and alignment with national priorities, the Strategic Plan for the Zambezi Watercourse 2018–2040 and the Southern Africa Great Green Wall Initiative. Zambezi Watercourse Commission Executive Secretary Felix Ngamlagosi stressed that investments should respond to each country's needs and contribute to shared results across the basin.

The meeting brought together ZAMCOM, the African Development Bank, Zimbabwe's government, the Climate Investment Funds, and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and its Global Mechanism. National focal points from the Southern African Development Community region, river basin organisations, dam operators, technical partners, civil society and private-sector representatives contributed to the discussions.

Speaking for the SADC Secretariat, Dr Dumsani Mndzebele welcomed coordination among investment streams supported by the Climate Investment Funds, the Bank, the African Development Fund and the Global Environment Facility. He highlighted sustainable agriculture, nature-based solutions and better land and water management, reinforcing the importance of investments that address connected environmental challenges.

Turning Commitments Into Community Benefits

Cathrine Mutambirwa, a programme coordinator at the UNCCD Global Mechanism, called for closer cooperation between land and water sectors, noting the direct relationship between drought and water resources management. Engineer Tinayeshe Mutazu, speaking on behalf of Zimbabwe's Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri, stressed national ownership, clear implementation plans and robust safeguards as requirements for delivering benefits on the ground.

Workshop recommendations urged basin countries to allocate at least 10% of their national budgets to priority areas under the programme, maintain community engagement, track gender outcomes, strengthen land governance and use aligned approaches to measuring results. These were recommendations from the meeting, with the programme's design still subject to appraisal.

African Development Bank Country Manager for Zimbabwe Eyerusalem Fasika closed by emphasising landscape restoration, climate-resilient agriculture and opportunities for women and youth. Preparing a high-quality programme capable of attracting financing remains a shared responsibility, with success ultimately measured by stronger livelihoods and healthier ecosystems across national borders.