Shire River Basin Programme
Enhancing Malawi communities’ quality of life by managing water resources better
A heritage of project involvement in Africa extending back over 80 years has imbued Zutari with a deep understanding of the needs of diverse communities. In 2014 and 2015, the company provided a range of project management and environmental services to the Shire River Basin Management Programme (SRBMP), a World Bank-funded project in southern Malawi.
The Shire River is the country’s largest river and is vital to its economy. At the time, the catchment was home to 22% of the country’s 17 million people. Major challenges of the SRBMP project were addressing poverty and deteriorating natural resources in the Shire Basin and in the wider Malawi area.
The company’s water unit in Cape Town undertook the project, assisted by other units as well as various local and international experts. The water unit led the process to develop national guidelines on the management of integrated catchment areas and rural infrastructure in Malawi.
The overall objective of the SRBMP was to increase sustainable social, economic, and environmental benefits by effectively and collaboratively planning, developing, and managing the river basin’s natural resources.
The overall objective of the SRBMP was to increase sustainable social, economic, and environmental benefits by effectively and collaboratively planning, developing, and managing the river basin’s natural resources.
The approach was to address the interlinked challenges of poverty and a deteriorating natural resource base, not only in the river basin, but also in Malawi as a whole, with the aim of reducing the process of environmental degradation and improving the productive potential of natural resources.
The guidelines were designed to be used by relevant government departments, their development partners, district offices, extension officers, village communities, and other stakeholders in Malawi. It facilitated the management of all the natural resources at a smaller scale, which enabled both the government and land owners and stakeholders to become involved in the day-to-day management of the catchment to ensure the sustainable and reasonable use of the resources.
The project had a strong training component through which national and regional government, district, and NGO staff were trained in the application of the guidelines. Participants were taught about the importance of the ecosystem and the services the environment provides, and how to manage their environments more holistically and sustainably through a catchment management approach. More than 110 catchment management guidelines were compiled as well as a technical toolbox of how-to guidelines.
Over 200 extension workers in various districts around the country were trained to provide support to their villages in developing action plans. These included not only natural resource rehabilitation, prevention, and management activities, but also livelihood improvement and social issues such as health and education.
Over 200 extension workers in various districts around the country were trained to provide support to their villages in developing action plans.
*The Aurecon Africa business has been officially renamed Zutari as at 21 July 2020. Zutari acquired Aurecon Middle East on 20 November 2020.
