Integrating Water and Climate Diplomacy in the Orange-Senqu River

The Orange-Senqu Basin in Southern Africa is among the most developed basins on the African continent. Already affected by severe climate variabilities, future climate change could worsen existing challenges. Despite a high-level of institutional cooperation between all basin countries, existing water-related disagreements could be aggravated by the impacts of climate change.

This policy brief therefore argues that it is vital for the basin to develop short- and long-term capacities to adapt to changing climatic conditions. It looks at strategies and policies used by riparian countries at both national and regional levels and provides entry points for supporting climate change adaptation and integration of climate and water diplomacy-tools.