Every voice must be heard in the development of the Zimbabwe National Action Plan

Summary

This was the key message to stakeholders attending an inception meeting in Bulawayo on 6 August 2025 to draft a NAP for Zimbabwe that will feed into a basin-wide Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for the entire basin.

“No one should be left behind…and every voice must be heard” in the development of the Zimbabwe National Action Plan (NAP) for the Limpopo River Basin (LRB).

This was the key message to stakeholders attending an inception meeting in Bulawayo on 6 August 2025 to draft a NAP for Zimbabwe that will feed into a basin-wide Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for the entire basin.

This follows the approval of the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) report that identified key transboundary water-related environmental challenges affecting the basin.

The SAP aims to outline basin-wide interventions to address the identified challenges, while the NAP focuses on country-specific strategies tailored to the national context.

“The NAP process must be inclusive, transparent and stakeholder driven,” LIMCOM Commissioner Mr. Gilbert Mawere said.

“We must ensure that no one is left behind and that every relevant voice is heard as we chart a course towards sustainable and equitable management of our shared water resources.”

Mr. Mawere, who is Director of Water Resources Development and Utilization in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, said as the country develops its NAP, it is critical to ensure that it is also aligned with other existing and emerging national policies to ensure applicability and relevance.

Other Riparian states that share the Limpopo namely Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique are engaged in similar exercises to develop their NAPs.

Formulation of the TDA/SAP and NAP process for the LRB is an initiative of the project “Integrated Transboundary River Basin Management for the Sustainable Development of the Limpopo River Basin.”

LIMCOM is implementing the project in partnership with the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).