WINDHOEK, May 16 — A climate resilience and sustainable development plan for Africa’s Zambezi River Basin has received 703 million U.S. dollars in funding from the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the Climate Investment Funds, a senior Namibian official said on Thursday.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform Inge Zaamwani made the announcement during the 12th Ordinary Meeting of the Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM) Council of Ministers in Windhoek, the Namibian capital.
“The financing includes 60 million U.S. dollars from the Climate Investment Funds, 388 million U.S. dollars from the African Development Bank, and 255 million U.S. dollars from the World Bank,” she added.
Zaamwani said the five-year initiative, titled “Nature, People and Climate Investment Plan for Africa’s Zambezi River Basin Region” and officially endorsed on Feb. 28, will support climate resilience, transboundary water cooperation, and sustainable development in the region.
The Zambezi River Basin, Africa’s fourth-largest river basin, spans about 1.3 million square km across eight countries and supports nearly one-third of the population of those riparian states. ZAMCOM is an intergovernmental organization established by the eight countries that share the Zambezi watercourse, including Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Namibia currently chairs the body. (Xinhua)
