Awareness and Communication Strategy significantly affects the availability of water resources. Surface runoff is higher in the northern parts of the region and most rivers are perennial; but surface runoff is lowest in the southern and western parts of the region, and many rivers are ephemeral. In addition, the region is prone to extreme meteorological events - such as droughts and floods - that affect water availability. This high variability in availability of water resources has led to localized deficits in water. Projections of population, water demand, and water development indicate that by 2025 some SADC countries will experience water quality and quantity problems in the dry season, other countries will experience “water stress” and “absolute scarcity”. SADC countries are dependent on groundwater for both domestic and commercial water needs. The projections cited above are threatening the traditional surface water sources resulting in SADC member states becoming increasingly dependent on groundwater. Groundwater is the source of water for over 70 percent of the population in the SADC region, yet there is inadequate awareness and capacity to implement effective management of groundwater and drought in the region. 8.2.2 Sustainable Water Resources Development and Management Everyone’s Business Communicate that interested and affected stakeholders should be empowered to actively participate in water resources planning, development and management in order to ensure ownership and sustainability of the water resources infrastructure. To who: The general public (special focus on communities, youth and women), government ministries especially development planners, public and private and business sector (industry, mining, electricity etc), farming sector (commercial and small scale), NGOs, environmentalists and cooperating partners. How: Primary education, public awareness campaigns, public events, publications, mass media, advertisements, personalities, entertainment, demonstrations, multistakeholder dialogues, presentations in nonwater sectors, and extension services. The centrality of water in the achievement of MDGs and advancing SADC regional cooperation, integration and poverty eradication, makes water resources development and management to be a universal responsibility. It is, therefore, important that everyone should be aware of the cardinals of managing water and related resources in order to successfully contribute and participate in creating the necessary water security in southern Africa. The messages should, therefore, be positioned to encourage everyone to play role in creating the necessary water security that ensures water availability for all sectors, facilitates climate change adaptation measures, protects vulnerable communities from effects and impacts of floods and droughts and protect water itself from pollution and degradation. Page 35