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LIMCOM Agreement for Water Resource Development to Help Member Countries

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LIMCOM Agreement for Water Resource Development to Help Member Countries

(3 Minutes Read)

The formalization of the Council of Ministers as the main policy body will improve Water Resources Management and governance of the Limpopo River Basin

Limpopo River Basin Member States have signed an endorsement to the Amendment of the LIMCOM Agreement to formalize the establishment of a body for transboundary water resources development and management issues in the Limpopo basin. The LIMCOM countries are the Republics of Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The Council of Ministers from these countries recently endorsed the agreement in Musina, South Africa.

The formalization of the Council of Ministers as the main policy body will improve Water Resources Management and governance of the Limpopo River Basin, analysts say. It will also foster closer cooperation for judicious, sustainable, and coordinated management, protection, and utilization of shared watercourses.

The Council of Ministers will among other functions oversee the implementation of plans, programmes, and projects of the Commission, as well as approve the plans, programmes, and projects to be developed and implemented by the LIMCOM Secretariat and conclude any agreements with Contracting Parties, other States, institutions, or international organizations.

Speaking soon after signing the endorsement document, LIMCOM Ministers said the occasion marks a giant step in the history of LIMCOM and shows that Member States are committed to serving the people living in the Limpopo Basin.

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The Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM) was established through the LIMCOM Agreement signed in November 2003 by the four Member States — Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe — in Maputo, Mozambique. The main objective of LIMCOM is to advise and provide recommendations on the uses of the Limpopo, its tributaries and its waters for purposes and measures of protection, preservation and management of the Limpopo.  LIMCOM is headquartered in Maputo.

The catchment area of Limpopo River Basin (LRB) is estimated at 412,000 km² and the basin has a population of over 18 million people. The river flows north from South Africa, where it creates the border between South Africa and Botswana and then the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe, before crossing into Mozambique and draining into the Indian Ocean.