6. SECURITY FROM WATER-RELATED DISASTERS 6.1 People’s Protection from Floods and Droughts 6.1.1 Policy: Member States shall commit themselves to protect human life, livestock, property and the environment against the effects of water related natural and human-induced disasters. The protection of people and property is a fundamental function of Member States‟ governments, and they have the mandate and mechanisms to mobilise and manage resources to prevent and manage the impacts of natural disasters at a national, watercourse and regional level. Commitment to this policy should be demonstrated by creating conditions that reduce the risk of disaster, such as appropriate land-use planning, settlement policies, and climate change strategies. The SADC region is prone to extreme meteorological events, being susceptible to severe droughts and extreme floods. Human activities and global warming is recognised as exacerbating these natural disasters, with the related consequences on people‟s quality of life and the environment. Floods and droughts have a particular impact on domestic public health, food security and energy security, which in turn has an impact on poverty and economic development, especially in respect of the rural poor. 6.1.2. Policy: SADC Secretariat and SWCIs shall facilitate and coordinate the management of natural disasters at a shared watercourse and regional level. The management of water related natural disasters within shared watercourses should involve a range of role-players within different countries and therefore requires coordination at a shared watercourse and regional level. The SADC Secretariat and SWCIs are the most appropriate bodies to facilitate this cooperation and promote regional proactive and integrated prediction, planning and mitigation of natural disasters. Member States must actively participate in processes and mechanisms for regional cooperation around disaster management. 6.2 Disaster Prediction, Planning and Mitigation 6.2.1. Policy: The SADC Secretariat, Member States and SWCIs shall be committed to improving the region’s capacity in predicting water-related disasters associated with floods and droughts through coherent and effective regional and watercourse strategies. The ability to predict or forecast a flood or drought is fundamental to the effective management and mitigation thereof. Flooding within a shared watercourse requires the development of predictive capabilities for the entire watercourse, whereas the management of droughts requires regional early detection capability to address the implications on food security, economic integration and poverty. The development of these capabilities includes - 33 -