The Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis/Strategic Action Planning (TDA/SAP) is an important milestone towards laying out foundations for the implementation of the Strengthening Transboundary Cooperation and Integrated Natural Resource Management in the Songwe River Basin’ (STCINRM-SRB) Project. The TDA as a cornerstone of the International Waters (IW) programme of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will be crucial in verifying and addressing root causes of environmental degradation and socioeconomic challenges in the SRB and insists on participatory, involvement and engagement of all implementing institutions and sectors as well as multiple stakeholders. As there has be no TDA/SAP previously done for the Songwe River Basin, despite the presence of considerable amount of data, the findings and recommendations from this TDA/SAP will be important in enhancing institutional capacity, and ensure stakeholders’ support and engagement for the implementation of the SRBDP. A full Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis and Strategic Action Planning process will further enhance the sustainability of the Programme. The main added value is to verify and address the root causes of the environmental and socio-economic challenges in the river basin. TDA/SAP will be used to support the implementation, stakeholder engagement and long-term sustainability of the SRBDP. Furthermore, the SAP will improve the strategy of the SRBDP by improving thinking, planning and implementation.
The overall goal of this work is to enable the SRBC to prepare two important documents; the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) and a Strategic Action Planning (SAP). While the technical role of a TDA is to identify, quantify, and set priorities for environmental problems that are transboundary in nature, it also provides a factual basis for the formulation of Strategic Action Planning. It is part of a larger facilitative process of engagement and consultation with all the key stakeholders from the initial TDA steps through the subsequent development of alternative solutions during the formulation of the SAP.
The SAP is a negotiated policy document that establishes clear priorities for action and identifies policy, legal and institutional reforms as well as investments needed to address and resolve priority problems of the transboundary waters. A well-defined baseline is therefore a pre-requisite for SAP preparation as it enables a clear distinction between actions with purely national benefits and those addressing transboundary concerns with global benefits.
