South Africa and Botswana are teaming up to monitor water quality and manage invasive aquatic species in the upper Limpopo river basin.

Through a memorandum of agreement (MoA), the two countries will cooperate on the joint monitoring of water quality and ensure that the water in the river is safe for drinking, fishing and recreation, while protecting the downstream countries from any water quality impact.

The Joint Management of Water Quality and Aquatic Invasive Species in the Upper Limpopo River Basin MoA is set to be signed by South Africa’s Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina and Botswana’s Water and Human Settlements Minister Onneetse Ramogapi during the Sixth Session of the South Africa-Botswana Bi-National Commission (BNC), taking place in Gaborone from May 20 to 21.

The two countries, underpinned by strategic water cooperation, share water resources in the Limpopo river basin, and are both members of the Limpopo Watercourse Commission, which was jointly established by South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to ensure the protection, ecosystem-based management, development and equitable use of the shared river basin.

The Limpopo river basin is a critical transboundary water resource that supports the livelihoods of a population of about 14-million people across the four nations through agriculture, domestic water supply, industry, biodiversity and economic development.

“The river transverses across the four countries, and South Africa and Botswana as the upstream members, have a responsibility of ensuring that the quality of water in the basin does not negatively impact the other countries,” the Department of Water and Sanitation said in a statement.

The upper Limpopo river basin includes the Crocodile West, Marico, Mokolo and Mogalakwena catchments in South Africa, and the Notwane, Lotsane, Motloutse, Mahalapye, Tswapong, Bonwapitse and Tuti rivers in Botswana.

Majodina also participated in the Ministers Meeting preceding the BNC session to engage in ongoing cooperation on transboundary water resources between the two countries and consider the progress made on the joint feasibility study on the Lesotho-Botswana Water Transfer (LBWT) project.

The LBWT project aims to supply water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use by Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa through a 700 km water conveyance pipeline from a dam on the Makhaleng river, a tributary to the Orange-Senqu river in the lowerlands of Lesotho.