16 / 148
2
1
THE ZAMBEZI
RIVER BASIN
The Zambezi River Basin drains parts of
eight countries and is the most shared river
system in southern Africa. The river basin
is shared by Angola, Botswana, Malawi,
Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia
and Zimbabwe. The Zambezi River and its
dense network of tributaries discharge an
average of 2 600 cubic metres per second
(m
3
/s) of water, a rate in the same range as the
Nile (2 830 m
3
/s) and the Rhine (2 200 m
3
/s)
(Beck and Bernauer 2010). The basin has
abundant water, fertile land and soils for
agriculture and diverse habitats that are
home to large populations of wildlife. This
natural capital defines the basin’s economic
activities which include agriculture, forestry,
manufacturing, mining, conservation and
tourism. The basin is also a centre for
scientific monitoring and research.