Awareness and Communication Strategy CHAPTER 6. TRANSBOUNDARY WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT 6.1 Strategic Objectives The region is dominated by shared watercourses and the activities of one riparian country are bound to affect the other. This has been the basis for the development and adoption of regional instruments for joint and coordinated planning, development and conservation and advancement of equitable and reasonable utilisation of the shared water resources that promote peace and optimise benefits. The strategic objectives for disseminating and communicating transboundary water resources management should, therefore, include: - a) To promote river basin organisations, basin user communities, and regional and international agreements as important ingredients for improved cooperation on water; b) To promote information exchange as a means of empowering role players at all levels of transboundary water resources management; c) To improve understanding of benefits in shared resources for the advancement of social and economic development of riparian populations and regional integration; and d) To improve understanding on reasonable and equitable utilisation of water resources leading to improved co-operation in and peaceful utilisation of shared water resources. 6.2 Key Message Areas 6.2.1 Establishment and Support of RBOs and Empowerment of Basin User Communities Communicate that RBOs and Basin Water User Communities are important institutions in implementing regional instruments and initiatives and there is need to capacitate them enough to effectively carry out their functions. To who: Policy/decision makers in the water sector, River Basin Organizations (RBOs) i.e. river basin authorities and river basin commissions and Water User Communities How: Face-to-face briefings, workshops, riparian stakeholder forums, educational public events, internet/e-mail and mass media RBOs and Basin Water User Communities are important for achieving sustainable and equitable utilisation and management of water resources. These are the institutions on the ground whose failures could jeopardise peaceful utilisation of shared watercourses, international relations between riparian states and regional integration. Ideally RBOs and Basin Water User Communities should understand the merit of doing things right. They should also have a commitment to pursue goals of SADC Water Division, the Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses and sustainable utilisation and protection of the water resources in particular. The message should therefore emphasise on creating an enabling Page 28