Home Page - Economic Accounting of Water in SADC

Punda Maria, South Africa.

Source: Andre 2008

Economic Accounting of Water (EAW) is a practical framework that assists in the understanding of the role of water in the economy of a country or River Basin. This website presents the outcomes and lessons learned from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Project on Economic Accounting of Water Use, including pilot projects in four countries and two river basins in SADC. These lessons allowed the development of standardised methodologies, indicators and best practices.

Economic Accounting of Water

Provides a background to the basic principles of Economic Accounting of Water (EAW), outlining why it is important, how it is carried out and provides a background to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Economic Accounting for Water Use project. Read more

Pilot Projects

Presents six pilot projects undertaken during the SADC EAW project, assessing the success of the pilot in terms of relevance to policy and economic conditions and highlighting specific lessons learned from the countries and river basins involved. Read more

Lessons Learned

A series of lessons learned from the pilot projects enabled the development of recommendations on EAW, in terms of a Methodology for compiling Water Accounts, Capacity Development and Institutional arrangements. Read more

Indicators

Indicators are used to sythesise complex information and act as benchmarks in the development of Water Accounts. Read more

Policy Implications

Seven policy recommendations have been identified to inform water and economic policies, including sustainability, water pricing (tariffs), financing of water-related development projects, pollution control, water allocation to users, benefit sharing and the concept of virtual water trade. Read more

Implementation Guidelines

Economic Accounting of Water (EAW) can be an effective decision support tool. Suggested implementation guidelines are presented. Read more