Management of the Zambezi Basin: Social, Political and Economic Considerations

In the framework of IIASA's Water Resources Project, a decision support system is being developed to help decision makers to understand and solve conflicting problem related to water resources in the shared river basins. The Zambezi basin was chosen as a case study due to the importance of the water problem in the countries of southern Africa. The Zambezi Action Plan elaborated under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program and signed by most of the riparian countries, creates a unique possibility in Africa for cooperation between the interested governments in solving common water resources problem. This paper focuses on the social, economic, and political problems of crucial importance for better understanding of environmental issues in the Zambezi basin. The introduction of sophisticated mathematical tools in the water resources decision processes should be always accompanied by deep understanding of human dimension of development. This paper addresses the need for improved relationship between nature and human activity in the case of the Zambezi river basin