The Regional Strategic Action Plan on Integrated Water Resources Development and Management (RSAP-IWRM) was formulated in 1997-98 and approved by the SADC Summit in August 1998. It was meant to run until 2004 with a mid term evaluation scheduled in 2002. The main focus of the RSAP-IWRM was primarily to create an enabling environment for joint management of the regional water resources. It was meant to lay the institutional and enabling basis for the execution of hard infrastructure projects and other development initiatives. The Plan was based on seven strategic intervention areas under which 44 projects were identified. The implementation of the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems was at the core of the RSAP-IWRM, and was seen as a vehicle for regional integration. The Plan was and still continues to be a framework for water development and management in the SADC region.