Integrated Water Resources Management Plans
for the Maputo and Incomati River Basins
Programme: PRIMA - Progressive Realisation of
the IncoMaputo Agreement
Tripartite Permanent Technical Committee (TPTC)
Lead Consultant: Aurecon
Trans-Boundary Water
Management in Africa
Africa’s 63 trans-boundary river
basins account for:
• 1/3 of the World’s major
international river basins
• 93% of the total African water
resource
• 77% of the Continent’s
population
Maputo Basin
Incomati Basin
Background to PRIMA
 In 1986 the Governments of Moçambique, South Africa and Swaziland
signed an “Accord” to seek the cooperative management of their shared
water resources in the Maputo and Incomati River Basins.
 Maputo River Basin: Area – 30 000 km2; natural MAR – 3 600 million
m3/a; existing storage in basin – 90% MAR
 Incomati River Basin: Area - 47 000 km2 ; natural MAR - 3 500 million
m3/a; existing storage in Basin - 60% of MAR
 In 2002 the Interim IncoMaputo Agreement (IIMA) on water sharing was
signed , but implementation slow & limited
 In 2009 the Parties initiated PRIMA - “Progressive Realisation of the
IncoMaputo Agreement ”. Its primary objective is to support the Parties in
implementing the IIMA.
Objective of this IWRM Project under PRIMA
• Develop Integrated Water Resources Management
Plans for the Incomati and Maputo River Basins (one
Plan for each basin),
• which will enable the three countries to establish final
Comprehensive Agreements to follow the current
Interim Incomati-Maputo Agreement - IIMA
• which will aim to ensure the protection and
sustainable utilisation of the water resources of the
two Basins.
Process for developing IWRM Plan Phase 1
Process for developing IWRM Plan Phase 2
Maputo Basin Development Projects
Maputo Basin – Baseline and
Development Scenarios 1, 2, 3 and 4
Current-Day 1:50 Year (98% Assurance) System Yield
Baseline Water Requirement (Current-Day)
Stochastic System Modelling of Each Intervention’s
Contribution to Maputo Basin System Yield
• Configuration of complete Maputo system of subcatchments, dams, abstractions in a monthly
network model of input/output nodes and interconnecting channels
• 55 input nodes provide 77 years each of naturalised
system streamflows, previously simulated by
calibrated rainfall-runoff sub-catchment models
• Water allocations and operating rules controlled by
penalty structures
• Stochastic inflow sequences generated by a 55-D
ARMA (n,p) model that preserves serial crosscorrelations between all pairs of streamflow
sequences
Example of a
Typical
Network Model
Structure
Scenario 1: Optimised 2011 Reference Scenario
Preferred IWRM Scenario for Maputo Basin

Increase water supply to most urban areas - Swaziland

Develop irrigation projects in all three countries

Dams: Three new dams in Swaziland and two new dams in
Moçambique

Operationalise all Environmental Water Requirements

Invasive Alien Plant removal programmes

Curtail all future irrigation demands by 20%

Implement 20% WC/WDM for existing irrigation
Maputo Basin – Water Balance for Preferred IWRM Scenario
Current-Day 1:50 Year (98% Assurance) System Yield
Baseline Water Requirement (Current-Day)
Final IWRM Strategies
• Strategy for Resource Management and
Regulation of Water Use;
• Strategy for Water Resource Development;
• Strategy for Water Resource Protection;
• Strategy for Drought and Flood
Management;
Final IWRM Strategies (Cont.).
• Enabling Strategies
•
Stakeholder engagement, incl. public awareness
•
Financial,
•
Monitoring,
•
Information management,
•
Institutional organisation and governance,
•
Training and capacity building.
Current Steps towards Implementation of
IWRM Strategies for both Basins
• Tripartite Structures and their resourcing
agreed, but not established
• Organisations in each country responsible
for implementing each element of the Plan
confirmed, but necessary authority not yet
delegated
• IWRM Plan and Tripartite Structures still to
be signed off by the Parliaments of the three
countries
Thank you!
Upper Maputo River