His Excellency, Carlos Alberto Fortes Mesquita, the then Minister of Public Works, Housing, and Water Resources for Mozambique, stressed the importance of maintaining the health of the water resources in these river basins. 
“The signing of the BUPUSA SAP constitutes an important milestone in the integrated management of water resources shared within the regional cooperation framework and will guide the implementation of the BUPUSA Commission’s Agreements and joint projects in the tri-basin,” says H.E. Mesquita.
“Mozambique is one of the African countries most exposed to extreme climate risks. The impacts of cyclones, floods, and droughts in the recent years have proven to be disastrous, as they worsen food security and reduce productivity, thus lowering the quality of life of Mozambican citizens,” he said. “Therefore, Mozambique has been at the forefront of implementing regional programmes on water resources and operationalising regional policies and strategies in this area. The signing of the BUPUSA SAP is a clear demonstration of Mozambique’s commitment, alongside the Zimbabwean Government, to integrated management of water resources and ultimately, poverty alleviation within the BUPUSA watercourses”.
His Zimbabwean counterpart, Hon. Dr. Anxious Jongwe Masuka, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, stressed the important role played by the SAP in strengthening cooperation in transboundary water resources planning development and management, urging the two governments to prioritise implementation of the framework.
Hon. Masuka urged the BUPUSA Member States to prioritise the implementation of the Strategic Action Programme and the National Action Plans. Photo Credit GEF-BUPUSA Project
“The management of transboundary water resources is complex and requires cooperation, coordination, and commitment from all stakeholders”, he said. “The BUPUSA SAP is critical for addressing the transboundary environmental problems affecting the BUPUSA basins and will unlock financial support for the benefit of the three shared watercourses”.
The BUPUSA SAP comprises seven transboundary priority interventions for the basins, namely:
- Strengthening basin-wide source to sea management capacity
- Sustainable groundwater management
- Improving sustainable water supply for socio-economic development
- Reducing water and environmental pollution
- Rehabilitation of land degradation hotspots
- Adopting and implementing a basin-wide environmental flow regime
- Strengthening climate resilience
Most of the challenges in the BUPUSA Tri Basin interact with climate change and have the same underlying and root causes, which are largely attributed to inappropriate resource use and practice. A Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA), commissioned in the tri-basin, identified five environmental problems, namely: reduced availability of water, deterioration of water quality, land degradation, changes in flow regime, and increase in extreme climate events.
Makeshift tailing dams made by artisanal miners in Penhalonga, Mozambique, attempting to address the compromised quality of water due to unsustainable mining practices in the tri-basin. Photo credit: Davison Saruchera.
Realising the need for a coordinated approach to remedying the challenges in the tri-basin, the member states established the Buzi, Pungwe, and Save Watercourses Commission (BUPUSACOM) in May 2023 and subsequently launched this first tri-basin commission in Southern Africa in July 2023.
IUCN commended the Mozambique & Zimbabwe governments for their collaboration on governance and sustainable management of the BUPUSA tri-basin over the past 20 years and congratulated them for the successful development of the SAP.
“The commitment by the two countries to jointly pursue environmentally sustainable development in the BUPUSA landscape, as expressed in this strategic plan, is commendable,” said Mr. Davison Saruchera, IUCN’s Regional Programme Manager for Integrated Water Resources, assuring that IUCN will continue working in the basin to support the BUPUSACOM, especially focused on the important components identified in this strategic plan.
Mr. Alex Simalabwi, Executive Secretary for GWPSA, said his Secretariat is proud to have supported the governments of Mozambique and Zimbabwe in the development of the BUPUSA SAP, and pledged GWPSA’s continued support through the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP).
“Climate change and frequent hazards threaten our water resources, impacting millions and widening the water investment gap”, said Alex Simalabwi. “The BUPUSA SAP aligns with the AIP’s vision to mobilise USD 30 billion annually for climate-resilient water infrastructure to meet Sustainable Development Goal 6 on Water and Sanitation”.
The BUPUSA SAP contains medium to large infrastructure projects which can be jointly implemented, culminating in benefit sharing of the water resources by the two riparian states.
“Infrastructure development is the key to improving the livelihoods of communities within the basins. The SAP proposes the development of irrigation schemes and the construction of dams to supply water for various purposes to both Mozambique and Zimbabwe,” said Mr. Elisha Madamombe, Regional Coordinator for the GEF-BUPUSA Project and Interim Executive Secretary for BUPUSACOM.
“Water quality is a major issue of concern within the BUPUSA Tri-basin, whose communities are heavily dependent on water resources for their livelihoods. The BUPUSA SAP also talks to the blue economy mainly on mining and fisheries”, said Mr. Madamombe. Photo Credit: GEF-BUPUSA Project
The SAP, together with the TDA, and National Action Plans (NAPs) were developed under the Management of Competing Water Uses and Associated Ecosystems in Pungwe, Buzi, and Save Basins (GEF-BUPUSA) project implemented in the basins by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) was the regional executing partner supporting the tri-basin’s Member States.
The BUPUSA SAP was signed during the inaugural Council of Ministers Meeting for the Buzi, Pungwe, and Save Water Courses Commission (BUPUSACOM). The BUPUSACOM Council of Ministers, comprising the Ministers of water resources from the BUPUSA Member States, is the supreme decision-making body of the Commission.
For more information about the SAP refer tothe brochure in English and Portuguese