Dam Synchronisation and Flood Releases - agriwaterpedia.info

DAM SYNCHRONISATION AND FLOOD RELEASES IN THE ZAMBEZI RIVER BASIN: ANNEX 4 OF FINAL REPORT
when making national decisions (GOPA/DECON, September 2010). With an established
ZAMCOM, protocols and discussions will be more Zambezi focused. For decision making on
the investments mentioned in this study also other SADC protocols and co-operations are
relevant. For example for investments which influence power supply, the South African Power
Pool promotes integration and coordination of activities between different countries. It is
recommended that for these projects, SADC/ZAMCOM from the water side, involves the
power side at an early stage.
To decide in what way SADC or ZAMCOM should move forward in choosing between
investment projects that need their own input, the following considerations are recommended
(inspired by Lindemann, 2005 and Lennon and Muller, 2009):
The largest rate of success for SADC / ZAMCOM‘s involvement is in investments for
which the different governments, financiers, users (i.e. power companies) have clear
incentives and which solve a clear problem. However, the involvement may also be required
when success is not the objective, but conflict resolution and impact control;
An international process of decision making is complex and transaction costs may be high;
the time required during the process may require adaptation of the goals along the way. This
requires flexibility; and
Despite the undeniable benefits of the activities of international donor and financing
organisations, they may have negative side-effects, e.g. problems related to slow and overly
bureaucratic project implementation or a lack of ownership.
11.2 Interventions for follow-up after this study
In the previous chapter a distinction has been made between investments not to be promoted,
investments that can be recommended under certain conditions and promising investments. In
this chapter the interventions suggested are structured into three core subconcepts groups:
Improved evaluation of water infrastructure investments initiated by different actors;
Improved flood protection through flood risk zoning and structural flood protection; and
Improved interaction of energy and water management and its role in flood protection and
environmental releases.
Each of these subconcepts introduces different recommended interventions, as presented in
Figure 11.1 and further elaborated in the consecutive following intervention sheets.
It is stressed here once again that interventions following from this study have limited impact in
the decision making of multi million US$ projects that are initiated for other reasons than
improved dam management for flood protection and environmental releases. To consider the
intervention sheets as concept notes for new projects should therefore be cautiously considered.
The intervention sheets are based on the findings of the Technical Study "Dam Synchronisation
and Flood Releases in the Zambezi River Basin". Before implementation further consultation
with stakeholders and confirmation of specific details will be required.
In preparing these sheets, it should be noted that a key assumption has been the future
ratification of the ZAMCOM agreement by all basin states. As management of the Zambezi
River basin is currently limited to piecemeal management by the 8 basin states, implementation
of basin-wide strategies is unlikely to be successful until the full ratification of the ZAMCOM
agreement has been achieved. Other specific assumptions have been listed for each intervention.
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