Mozambique: Joint commission with Zimbabwe to manage three shared river basins: Buzi, Pungwe and Sabi

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Mozambique: Joint commission with Zimbabwe to manage three shared river basins: Buzi, Pungwe and Sabi

7:54 CAT | 21 Jul 2023

Photo: Twitter / @IucnE

Mozambique and Zimbabwe are to cooperate in the management of the waters of the Búzi, Púngoé and Save river basins – which are shared between the two countries – with the two governments on Wednesday meeting in the city of Beira to formalise the creation of a joint legal commission for the purpose.

“Today we are witnessing the launching ceremony of the Búzi, Púngoè and Save River Basins Commission,” said Mozambique’s deputy minister of public works, housing and water resources, Cecilia Chamutota. “With our sister country, we have managed to sign agreements in recent years on cooperation for the development, management and sustainable use of water resources in the Púngoé, Búzi and, recently, Save river basins.”

Chamutota said that the agreements are an important milestone because they demonstrate an “unequivocal and unwavering will” of Mozambique and Zimbabwe to contribute to the management of water resources in the river basins they share, within the regional framework of cooperation for mutual benefit while respecting the sovereignty of each of the states.

The creation of the BUPUSA Commission, as it is known, in addition to putting into practice the agreements recently signed in Harare, constitutes a “solid basis for deepening regional cooperation,” she said.

@unescoROSA is implementing the BuPuSa project aimed at reducing the vulnerability of communities to #floods by providing effective flood #Risk assessment and #Management. Project is contributing to improved management of #water resources in the tri-basin.

— UNESCOsouthernAfrica #Education #Sciences #Culture (@unescoROSA) July 19, 2023

“For Mozambique, the legal framework of SADC [Southern African Development Community] has a special value, since we share nine of the fifteen river basins of SADC, and therefore, we have a greater need to have a more fruitful cooperation framework, since, in all of them, except for the case of the Rovuma River basin, we are a downstream country with great dependence on the uses made by the upstream countries.”

She described the three river basins that cross the centre and south of Mozambique as of “strategic importance” to the country.

“These agreements to a large extent represent the good faith and intention that the parties have on the subject, however, it is necessary to ensure their fulfilment and effective implementation,” she stressed.

Chamutota added that the SADC strategy on the management of shared water resources is to encourage and create conditions for the signing of water sharing agreements between member countries.

In 2019, Chamutota recalled, Mozambique and Zimbabwe signed a set of agreements for the management of the Búzi, Púngoé and Save river basins, all of which they share; she stressed that these provide for the construction of infrastructure and follow “the principle of rational use of water, improving flood forecasting and warning systems” and the implementation of “response mechanisms to extreme events”, which are increasingly “frequent and severe.”

The documents were signed on Wednesday by ministers of the two countries and witnessed by their respective heads of state, during a trip by Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, to Harare where he was received by his counterpart, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Happening now, @IUCN joined the Govts of Mozambique🇲🇿 & Zimbawe🇿🇼 & partners in the launch of the Buzi, Pungwe, & Save (BUPUSA) Watercourse Commission which will enhance the mgt of the tri-basin water resources & facilitate cooperation btn the 2 countries🌊 #BRIDGE #Governance pic.twitter.com/3jctxSShKp

— IUCN ESARO (@IucnE) July 19, 2023

@AustrianDev‘ @BirgitWeyss today commended BuPuSa’s implementation progress at a meeting held in Beira for #Mozambique & #Zimbabwean partners.

“This meeting gives us a moment to evaluate collaborative opportunities with partners such as @GWPSAF & adapt the implementation plan”. pic.twitter.com/RBldLO7jMF

— UNESCOsouthernAfrica #Education #Sciences #Culture (@unescoROSA) July 18, 2023

Source: Lusa