2.2 Key Issues 2.2.1 In the early 1990s the SADC secretariat coordinated the preparation of the action plan for integrated development and management of water resources in SADC. The Regional Strategic Action Plan for Integrated Water Resources Development and Management in the SADC Countries (1999 - 2004) was formally approved by SADC Heads of States in September 1998. The review and analysis of the water sector, done in preparation of the Plan, identified key issues or constraints to effective development of the water sector. These are: (i) A weak legal and regulatory framework. (ii) Inadequate institutional capacities of national water authorities, and regional or river basin organizations. (iii) Weak policy framework for sustainable development of national water resources. (iv) Poor information acquisition, management and dissemination systems. (v) Low levels of awareness, education and training with respect to economic, social, environmental and political issues regarding water resources development and management. (vi) Lack of effective public participation by all stakeholders particularly women and disadvantaged groups. (vii) Infrastructure that is inadequate and unable to meet the growing demands for service. 2.2.2 In the light of the above constraints, the RSAP-IWRMhas the following strategic interventions to address these mainly institutional issues:  improving the legal and regulatory framework at national and regional levels;  improving national and transboundary river basin management, planning and coordination;  strengthening linkages among macro-economic, social and environmental policies;  improving information acquisition, management, and dissemination;  supporting awareness building, education and training;  promoting public participation; and  investing in infrastructure. A number of projects and interventions are currently being implemented with financial support from several cooperating partners. One of the programmes involves the establishment of a regional policy framework for integrated water resources development and management in SADC. .2.3 In addition to the above institutional issues, which RSAP is addressing, the other water resources management issues in the region include: i) ii) Water availability and demand are not matched. The region has areas of water scarcity and areas of abundance. The challenge is equitable allocation of available water resources to various users, particularly with respect to transboundary water resources. In this context consideration should be given to the concept of sharing benefits of water resources development through a negotiated process. High variability of available water resources, which impacts on reliability. There is a need for regulating the variable flows so as to secure reliable supplies under varying climatic and hydrological conditions. The construction of storage dams, inter-basin transfers and large scale water distribution networks has to be seen in this -8-