SADC has put in place regional regulatory policy, strategies and plans that provide the enabling environment for the implementation of the SADC water sector programmes and plans.

The SADC Member States adopted the Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses in 2000, in recognition of the need for a regional legal framework to guide sustainable resource management and development. The overall objective of the SADC Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses, which came into effect in 2003, is to foster closer cooperation for judicious, sustainable and coordinated management, protection and utilisation of the 15 SADC shared watercourses, and advance the SADC agenda of regional integration, poverty alleviation and economic development.

The principles and requirements of the Revised Protocol are operationalised through the SADC Regional Strategic Action Plans (RSAPs), which are being implemented in a phased manner to reflect the evolving needs and capacities of the region. SADC is now implementing its fourth phase of the RSAP. In order to strengthen the enabling environment for the coordinated management and development of water resources in the region, the SADC Water Division and GiZ have commissioned the development of Guidelines on Protocol Implementation in response to Priority Intervention P1.3 Development of Guidelines to enhance cooperation and P2.5 Development of Guidelines for Protocol Implementation (e.g. Planned Measures).