Today, many of the world’s river and lake basins are threatened by
environmental problems such as change in river flow, water pollution, reduced
water availability, salt water intrusion, or loss of plant and animal species.
International River Basin Organizations (RBOs) governing such rivers are
increasingly in need to address such challenges. At the same time many of them
receive technical and financial support from international donor
organizations. The paper therefore addresses the question of how international
financing institutions support adaptation capacities of RBOs. The aim is to
identify conditions under which donor support to RBOs can support adaptation
to environmental changes and improve the resilience of international water
basins. It does so by focusing on two cases in Southern Africa, including the
Orange-Senqu Basin and the Orange-Senqu River Commission (ORASECOM) as well as
the Cubango-Okavango Basin and the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water
Commission (OKACOM). The findings of the paper illustrate an ambivalent role
of international donors with regard to river basin adaptation. While they do
provide important means for adaptation in form of knowledge, financial and
technical resources, they can, at the same time, threaten the long-term
sustainability of adaptation activities
