The State of the Environment in the Zambezi Basin 2000 marks the first time that an assessment of a single ecosystem has been undertaken and reported upon in southern Africa. Although state-of-the-environment reporting in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region is relatively new, the traditional approach has been to focus on national boundaries, natural resources or sectors. This report breaks new ground, showing the region's acknowledgement of the importance of ecosystems management in the efforts of SADC countries, which are aimed at sustainable development and regional integration.

As the largest river basin in the SADC region, encompassing eight nations, the Zambezi River Basin was a natural choice in terms of undermaking an assessment and state-of-the-environment reporting initiative. The human and ecological processes within the basin are so complex that undertaking this exercise was a challenge.

The challenges with which partners in this initiative had to grapple, mainly focused on data, which has never been collected using the ecosystems approach but along national and sectoral priorities. The challenge was then interpret the limitations of such priorities and project them across the region to get a picture on the state of the environment in the Zambezi Basin.

The State of the Environment in the Zambezi Basin 2000 looks at the shared natural resources of the basin, taking into account ecological, social and economic issues.. These three factors are critical to achieving a state of sustainability in the Zambezi Basin. The rationale for sustainable natural resource management is to achieve balance between human demands on natural resources and the natural environment's ability to meet these demands.

The Zambezi Basin plays a key role in the development of the region. The effective management and sustainable use of the basin's natural resources are of prime importance. The basin has been described as the focal point in southern Africa 'in terms of energy, wildlife, resettlement models, biodiversity, wetlands and water resources, conservation, pollution concerns, tourism etc. Many countries stand to lose a great deal if it is not well managed.' These are some of the major issues addressed in this report .

Sustainable management of the basin is therefore, crucial to the development of not only the basin states but the rest of SADC as well. The State of the Environment in the Zambezi Basin 2000 is therefore, attempt to highlight the environmental issues in the basin, and flag areas of concern.