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ACROSS NATIONAL BORDERS Elephants are just one of the problems making life difficult for people in the Kavango Zambezi region. In an effort to identify transboundary solutions, 15 African countries formed the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Text Philipp Hedemann PHOTO: GUY STUBBS PHOTO: 38 akzente 04/2013 COMMITMENT > SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY Kinshasa, Dem. Rep. Congo Dodoma, Luanda, Tanzania Victoria, Angola Seychelles Lusaka, Zambia Lilongwe, Malawi Antananarivo, Madagascar Harare, Zimbabwe Port Louis, Windhoek, Mauritius Namibia Gaborone, Botswana Maputo, Mozambique Pretoria, South Africa Lobamba, Swaziland Maseru, Lesotho Towards balanced economic development The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been in existence since 1980, when it was formed as an alliance of countries known as the Southern African Develop- ment Coordination Conference (SADCC). Its transformation into the present-day SADC took place in 1992. The member states are Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The regional organisation strives for politically stable, socially equitable and sustainable economic development in order to alleviate poverty in the region. Members have signed 27 protocols, in which governments commit to step up and strengthen their cooperation and promote good governance, peace and security. In 2008, 12 of the member states es- tablished an SADC free trade area. The principal executive institution is the SADC Secre- tariat, which is responsible for strategic planning and coordination of joint SADC pro- grammes. It organises and manages SADC meetings, including the Summits of Heads of Foraging elephants can cause State or Government and the meetings of the Council of Ministers. Stergomena Lawrence conflicts, so the conservation Tax from Tanzania became the SADC’s Executive Secretary in August 2013. of these animals requires a transboundary approach. www.sadc.int hey came by night. They selected the The park is intended to attract tourists – and (BMZ), the graduate agronomist is an advisor choicest titbits and trampled the rest they love the pachyderms. Peggy, on the other to the Food, Agriculture and Natural Re- T into the ground. The racket that Namib- hand, detests them – at least, when they de- sources (FANR) Directorate of the Southern ian farmer Peggy Tukuhupwele made and the stroy her maize crop. ‘It’s really much too early African Development Community (SADC, fire she lit to scare them off failed to impress to harvest the crop, but unless I bring in the see box). The Directorate is a specialist de- them. By the next morning, Peggy was few remaining cobs now, the elephants will partment within the SADC Secretariat, based slumped exhausted by the embers of the fire. simply come back for the rest another night,’ in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. Martin Yet again, she had been up all night, doing all she says. Schneichel and his colleagues from the region she could to protect her crop, and yet again, ‘As you see here in the Kavango Zambezi are developing strategies to enable people and the elephants had won. Peggy lives in the Ka- conservation area, elephants and other wild- wildlife to coexist in peace, and to conserve vango Zambezi region, the world’s second- life aren’t bothered by invisible national bor- and utilise the natural environment while largest conservation area, which covers ders,’ says Martin Schneichel. Working on be- combating poverty at the same time. ‘And as 444,000 square kilometres spanning Namibia, half of the German Federal Ministry for Eco- the elephants show, this can only work if we PHOTO: GUY STUBBS PHOTO: Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe. nomic Cooperation and Development adopt a transboundary approach.’ » akzente 04/2013 39 e r The SADC members have been working to- Tukuhupwele’s devastated field of maize in Na- Despite the war-torn past, there have been no gether since 1980 in order to identify joint so- mibia and drives back to Botswana. The 1,500 inter-state conflicts in the Southern African re- lutions to regional challenges and alleviate km tributary of the Zambezi flows through gion since the SADC adopted its joint ap- poverty through socially equitable and sus- Angola, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. The proach to problem-solving. tainable economic development. Having pro- rivers are both a blessing and a curse for the re- vided more than EUR 300 million for the gion, which is plagued by frequent droughts Gaps in the architecture SADC since 1995, Germany is its largest bilat- but also by floods. ‘Almost all the major rivers eral partner within the international donor in Southern Africa cross several national bor- But the challenges are immense. All the SADC community, focusing particularly on the con- ders. The demand for water is increasing every- members are already suffering from the impacts servation and sustainable use of natural re- where. Concerted efforts by the riparian states, of climate change. Reforestation programmes sources, regional economic integration, trans- with an emphasis on sustainable solutions, are are important elements in combating this par- boundary water resources management, sup- essential in order to ensure equitable distribu- ticular problem, but it is becoming apparent port for peace, security and good governance tion of water resources,’ says Thomas Schild. that the institutional architecture in the mem- and strengthening the capacities and perfor- He heads a programme funded by BMZ, the ber countries is too weak to allow effective im- mance of SADC institutions. Australian development agency AusAID and plementation of the agendas set by the SADC the UK’s Department for International Devel- Secretariat and its specialist directorates. For Ecosystems under pressure opment (DFID), which focuses on trans- that reason, all German programmes in the boundary water resources management in the SADC include institutional and human capac- ‘More than half the SADC countries’ GDP SADC region. ity building and training components in the in- comes from agriculture, mining and forestry,’ Whether the projects deal with conserva- dividual SADC states. explains Martin Schneichel. ‘But the ecosys- tion and sustainable use of natural resources, On behalf of BMZ, GIZ has been involved tems are coming under increasing pressure economic integration, water resources manage- in the Southern African countries for many from rapid population growth, the expansion ment or good governance, all Germany’s pro- years outside the SADC context as well. In- of farmland, and the impacts of climate change. grammes to support the SADC are about much deed, GIZ has been operating in Botswana for a For the communities in and around the na- more than just the technical issues. ‘If we can good 35 years. When Botswana gained its inde- tional parks, there could be a future in ecotour- bring the 15 SADC countries around the table pendence in 1966, it was one of the world’s five ism or in creating wildlife corridors, for exam- to solve shared problems, such as the impacts of poorest countries. But then diamonds were dis- ple.’ Southern Africa has a vast abundance of climate change and water resources manage- covered. Botswana is now one of the few Afri- natural resources, including a network of pow- ment, this will yield a peace dividend which is can states to be classed as a middle-income erful rivers. Martin Schneichel has to cross one almost impossible to quantify,’ says Jochen country. There are significant gaps, however, in of them – the Chobe – when he leaves Peggy Quinten, GIZ’s Country Director in Botswana. its system of vocational training. In recent years PHILIPP HEDEMANN (40); ULF NERMARK (41) PHOTOS: 40 akzente 04/2013 COMMITMENT e Keneilwe Mpunga holds the dung left by el- ephants on her trampled field. She is now being trained to maintain a new electric fence. r Peggy Tukuhupwele and her son Mario spent the night out in the field to protect it from elephants. Her ambition is to become a safari guide. t Water- saving farming tech- t niques in Botswana there have been frequent complaints, particu- a result, the country has a high level of youth genuinely helped the country to progress,’ says larly from the diamond industry, that many vo- unemployment. ‘In order to address the prob- Jochen Quinten. It’s a view which is shared by cational school graduates are not appropriately lem, Botswana has asked us to improve its voca- the Government of Botswana. ‘Germany has skilled for the workplace, largely because they tional training based on Germany’s dual system. done much to support us, particularly in areas have not received relevant practical training. As The aim is for ‘Trained in Botswana’ to be rec- such as food safety, agriculture, water supply, ognised as a quality seal in the near future,’ says health and energy,’ says Keineetse Lepekoane, Norbert Weiß, GIZ coordinator of the BMZ- a Director in the Ministry of Finance and De- funded programme Capacity Development to velopment Planning. ‘And that was very im- GERMAN SUPPORT FOR achieve the ‘Botswana Vision 2016’. portant in the early days. But the advice being THE SADC provided in new areas such as vocational train- Expanding the vocational ing is exactly what we need today.’ BMZ training system Peggy Tukuhupwele is hoping that she too • Transboundary water resources will soon have a chance to undergo training in management One person who will benefit is Omphile God- ecotourism. She would love to become a safari • Support for peace, security and good frey Kgosimore. After a three-month crash guide and show off her super-sized visitors to governance course, the 22-year-old now works in the man- the tourists. All being well, instead of eating her • Strengthening the reform agenda and ufacturing operations of the Indian diamond out of house and home, these once unwelcome management structures of company Shrenuj.

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