National Water Policy.

This National Water Policy revises the National Water Policy of 2004. The reasons for this revision are: to provide for a clear vision and holistic policy direction for the water sector; to assess the progress made in the implementation of the 1994 Policy and update it taking into consideration the key developments in the water sector in Zambia and international best practices for water resources management; to re-align the Water Policy with international frameworks; to re-examine the role of the water sector and priorities of the national development planning process; to integrate cross cutting issues such as gender, HIV/AIDS and climate change; and to re-examine the institutional and legal framework and align it to modern principles of water resources management and harmonise it with other pieces of legislation. The Policy is divided into eight Chapters: Introduction (1); Situation Analysis (2); Rationale (3); Vision, principles and outcomes (4); Policy measures and implementation (5); Institutional framework and implementation (6); Cross-sectoral issues (7); Implementation framework (8).
The Minister of Energy and Water Development in his Foreword states: 'The revised National Water Policy embraces modern principles of water resources management and endeavours to deal with the daunting challenges of poverty reduction. In addition it takes into account other interventions, such as the National Decentralisation Policy'. The Government recognises the important role of the water sector in the overall socio-economic development of the country and in fulfilling World Food Summit targets and Millennium Development Goals. The overall vision of the Policy is to optimally harness water resources for the efficient and sustainable utilisation of this natural resource to enhance economic productivity and reduce poverty'. In water resources management, reference must be had to the following international instruments: The UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of Shared Watercourses 1997; The Revised SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses 2000; Zambezi River Authority Act, 1987 implementing an agreement between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Guiding Principles for Water Resources Management recognised by this Policy include, among other things, gender equity in accessing water resources. Policy statements and objectives concern the following sectoral areas: water resource management (intended as catchment management of water resources, stakeholder consultation and involvement, assessment, monitoring, water conservation and preservation of its acceptable quality and quantity, efficient and equitable water allocation to all users and disaster preparedness); water resources development; water for food and agriculture, for fisheries, for tourism, for water supply and sanitation, wildlife, mining, industry, environment, energy; integrated land and water resources management in order to enhance sustainable land use; water for transportation; water for national heritage. Cross-cutting issues include: national strategic planning and development; stakeholder and community level participation; administration of water permits; data information and reporting gender; capacity building; climate change; research and development; hiv/aids; financing and private sector participation.
The Ministry responsible for water, is the lead institution in the water sector. The Water Sector Advisory Group acts as advisors to government on sector policy issues. The new focus in water resources management is managing water resources using the catchment as the management unit. The management of water resources will be carried out by catchment councils. In order to ensure that the Policy measures and strategies are carried out, an effective monitoring and evaluating system shall be put in place.