TWENTY-FOUR officials from the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (Zamcom) and partner institutions are in Uganda this week for a knowledge exchange with the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), focused on climate resilience and the co-operative management of shared water resources.
NBI is an intergovernmental partnership of all Nile Basin countries, except Eritrea and has established itself as a leading regional institution with expertise in transboundary water management.
The visit reflects a growing trend of collaboration among Africa’s river basin organisations, enabling institutions to share expertise on climate adaptation, water governance and joint investment planning. Such co-operation is vital as millions of people across both the Nile and Zambezi basins depend on increasingly climate-stressed water systems for their livelihoods, energy and agriculture.
In a joint statement, NBI and Zamcom said the exchange built on a similar mission NBI conducted in the Zambezi River Basin in 2024, when an NBI delegation met basin institutions and visited Kariba Dam, one of Africa’s largest hydropower facilities.
“These reciprocal visits reflect growing peer-to-peer collaboration among Africa’s river basin organisations,” the statement said.
NBI executive director Nestor Niyonzima noted that the Nile River, the world’s longest, supports hundreds of millions of people whose livelihoods depend on climate-sensitive water systems.
“Working together and learning from each other strengthens the ability of regional institutions to support countries in building climate resilience, improving water governance and planning investments that benefit communities across shared water bodies,” he said.
With a drainage area of about 3,2 million square metres, which is nearly a tenth of the landmass of the African continent, Nile River spans 11 African countries.
- Zambezi Basin included in climate deal
- Zambia, Zim jointly fight Zambezi water pollution
- More action needed on water pollution
- Experts raise red flag over contamination of water bodies
Keep Reading
The Zamcom delegation, led by technical committee chairperson Elice Engebert, includes officials from ZAMTEC (Zambezi Watercourse Commission Technical Committee), Hidro-eléctrica de Cahora Bassa and the Zambezi River Authority. The Zambezi Basin spans Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and hosts Victoria Falls, a symbol of the basin’s shared natural heritage.
Zamcom executive secretary Felix Ngamlagosi highlighted that “the Zambezi River Basin, like the Nile, faces increasing climate variability that affects water availability, ecosystems, energy production and livelihoods across the basin. Learning from NBI’s experience in basin-wide planning, information systems and regional programmes will help to strengthen our collective response to these challenges.”
Participants have been exchanging experiences with NBI specialists on regional programme management, basin-wide hydrological data collection, joint investment planning and knowledge platforms such as the Nile Basin Decision Support System and the Integrated Knowledge Portal.
The mission visited a regional hydrological monitoring station in Jinja, where the Nile River begins its journey north from Lake Victoria. They also toured a modern landing site on Lake George and a zonal office and water quality monitoring laboratory at the Ugandan Water and Environment ministry, established through NBI under the Lake Edward and Albert Integrated Fisheries and Water Resources Management Project.
The exchange visit is part of the Programme for Integrated Development and Adaptation to Climate Change in the Zambezi River Basin, financially supported by the African Development Bank, with technical support from the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
