Developing an open-source database for the Zambezi river basin

The Zambezi river basin, one of the largest in Africa, holds significant hydropower potential, which has yet to be exploited. To make the most of this opportunity and address the challenges it poses, local stakeholders must coordinate efforts, politically, institutionally, and technically. While recent progresses on these fronts has been remarkable, legitimate concerns regarding data ownership, maintenance, and analysis still need to be addressed. This paper outlines presents the African Dams Project’s (ADAPT) water resources database, which relies on open source technology and is based on three key ideas: the total empowerment of stakeholders; the association of valuable analysis tools to data; and, an adaptable and simple architecture.