Globally, most of the major river basins are under stress due to cumulative impacts of climate change, over-allocation of water resources and poor water quality. In the Zambezi River Basin, there is evidence that, even with the existence of large infrastructure water storages, frequent droughts have caused both short-term and long-term water management disruptions resulting in interrupted water availability, and declining river health across the river basin. Various studies undertaken to measure and implement environmental flows indicate that the key to improving rivers' health is maintaining more natural and variable flows including good water quality. To achieve long term sustainable goals, there is a considerable opportunity for a "mindset shift" towards nature-based solutions in the Zambezi Basin, that focus on protection of freshwater biodiversity as well as maintaining the ecosystem services by sustaining natural flow variability or keeping flow regimes similar to natural flows. 

Up to date, the Zambezi Basin continues to develop numerous methodologies and studies to determine e-flows and aims for dam re-operation releases to sustain ecosystem services. Like any other river basin with existing infrastructures, integrating e-flow requirements is relatively challenging in changing operations of existing dams hence the actual implementation of Eflows is minimal. However, stakeholders and Dam operators in the Basin are expressing the need to consider re-operating existing dams to sustain hydropower production while maintaining ecosystem services that have already been affected by the construction and operation of dams. For over a decade now, WWF and partners have been supporting the development of flow forecasting, dam synchronization and implementation of Eflows in the Zambezi Basin. This session will provide insights into how e-flows and dam operation in the Zambezi Basin are evolving (and expected to in the near future) from eflows recommendation to practice of Dam re-operation.