8 8.1 WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT River Basin Approach 8.1.1. Policy: Member States will adopt a river basin or watercourse approach in the planning, development and management of water resources. This applies, in particular, to shared watercourses within the spirit of the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses. Within a river basin, water flows from the furthest point (on the boundaries of the basin) to the lowest point. There are physical interactions between activities on land and water systems, between activities upstream and downstream, between surface water and groundwater. Thus basing the planning of water resources on the basin as a whole ensures greater attention to the on-going processes and interactions which take place within the watercourse. The basin is a “natural” boundary and most suitable for planning, whether or not the basin crosses internal administrative boundaries or international borders. In watercourses shared with non-Member States, this approach may be applied in respect of those catchment areas that are wholly within the SADC region. Where possible, opportunities to engage non-Member States, who are within a shared watercourse, will be explored. 8.1.2. Policy: Watercourse States will prepare and implement river basin development plans in an holistic and integrated manner, with the involvement of stakeholders to achieve equitable and efficient utilisation. Planning of water resources has to be people-centred and should be carried out in such a manner that the stakeholders, particularly the users, feel they own the plan. Involvement of all stakeholders ensures that the concerns of those who would benefit from and those who would be prejudiced by the plan have had an input into the planning process. The challenge, particularly in a transboundary context, is to find effective ways for stakeholder participation, given that there will always be a range of stakeholders, involving a mix of socio-economic groupings. The more articulate and well-resourced groups should not be allowed to dominate the process. A holistic and integrated approach requires the consideration of the totality of activities and processes and their inter-relationships. Integration should be at the level of physical systems, such as joint exploitation of ground and surface water and at the operational level, such as managing competing demands on the available water resources. 8.1.3. Policy: The planning, development and management of shared watercourses will consider the integrated use of surface and ground water resources, the reuse of water, proper pollution management and the provision of environmental requirements. In a river basin, surface water and groundwater systems are closely related. Baseflow of most rivers is highly dependent on groundwater and in some cases pumping groundwater depletes the baseflow. Surface irrigation yields return - 37 -