The Okavango River Basin agreement: an analysis. Issue 3 (1st September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Marcantonio, Richard A.
• Is Part Of: African geographical review. Volume 35:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 227
• Page End: 246
• Publication Date: 2016-09-01
• Subjects: international environmental agreements -- environmental policy -- environmental management -- conservation -- water governance; Africa -- Geography -- Periodicals; Africa -- Description and travel -- Periodicals; 916.005
• DOI: 10.1080/19376812.2016.1171157
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1937-6812

Abstract

Abstract : On 15 September 1994, Angola, Botswana, and Namibia developed, signed, and individually ratified the Agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Angola, the Republic of Botswana, and the Republic of Namibia on the Establishment of a Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM). This paper seeks to understand the context within which the OKACOM Agreement was developed and its evolution since inception, and to then utilize this information to make sound recommendations for its advancement. To achieve this, four main foci are developed and analyzed: the first section introduces and applies an analytical framework for classifying international environmental agreements and assessing externalities and transaction costs; the second section creates a summary review of the development process the Agreement underwent and the negotiated outcomes of that process; the third section explores the post-Agreement era analyzing adaptions and outcomes that have transpired since OKACOM's establishment utilizing an original taxonomy system and concluding with a resultant effects summation; and the fourth section surveys the road ahead and draws upon empirically grounded ideas from the common pool resource management literature to guide recommendations for OKACOM's trajectory.