Co-HYDIM-SA holds stakeholder engagements to co-develop early warning information systems

To advance sustainable water-resource management in southern Africa, the Co-HYDIM-SA project (Co-Design of a Hydrometeorological Information System for Sustainable Water Resource Management in Southern Africa), one of the seven projects under the WASA initiative, is developing two early warning information systems (EWIS). These include the Cuvelai Basin Early Warning and Information System (CUVEWIS) for the Cuvelai-Cunene Basin and a dedicated EWIS for the Gaborone Dam. Both systems represent major milestones for the project and are being co-designed with key stakeholders, including local communities. This collaborative, community-centred approach is essential for fostering local ownership and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the systems beyond the project’s lifespan.

The stakeholder workshops were held on 25 September 2025 in Gaborone, Botswana, and from 30 September to 1 October 2025 in Oshakati, Namibia, for the Gaborone Dam EWIS and CUVEWIS, respectively. The events brought together key participants from all beneficiary countries, with around 30 stakeholders attending in Gaborone and about 50 in Oshakati. The workshops were scheduled around the project’s annual meeting, which took place on 29 September 2025 in Oshakati.

During the sessions, participants provided valuable input on the planned systems, sharing their expectations and offering practical recommendations. A central theme in the discussions was long-term sustainability, particularly the need for capacity building, the adoption of open-source software, clear data-sharing protocols, and securing early buy-in from beneficiary countries. The group also drew lessons from other River Basin Organisations on how to ensure the successful development and implementation of such systems. The workshops further explored opportunities for data and information exchange with other existing platforms in the region, including the potential for interoperability. In addition, they provided an important platform for the project team to request supplementary hydrological data, which will be crucial for evaluating the models underpinning the EWIS tools.

The CUVEWIS workshop also underscored the strong collaborative principles at the heart of the WASA/Co-HYDIM-SA initiative. The event was co-hosted with the local basin organisation CUVECOM, together with the GEF-funded CUVKUN project, which partnered with Co-HYDIM-SA for the system’s development. During the workshop, the CUVEWIS Technical Working Group was formally introduced, a team of specialists drawn from water-sector institutions in both Angola and Namibia. The group will play a key advisory role, guiding the project team throughout the development of the CUVEWIS platform.