The Zambezi River Basin (ZRB) is one ofthe most diverse and valuable natural resources in Africa.Its waters are critical to sustainable economic growth andpoverty reduction in the region. The overall objective ofthe Zambezi River Multi-Sector InvestmentOpportunity Analysis (MSIOA) is to illustrate the benefitsof cooperation among the riparian countries in the ZRBthrough a multi-sectoral economic evaluation of waterresources development, management options and scenarios fromboth national and basin-wide perspectives. Better managementand cooperative development of the Basin's waterresources could significantly increase agricultural yields,hydropower outputs, and economic opportunities.Collaboration has the potential to increase the efficiencyof water use, strengthen environmental sustainability,improve regulation of the demands made on natural resources,and enable greater mitigation of the impact of droughts andfloods. Seen in this light, cooperative river basindevelopment and management not only provide a mechanism forincreasing the productivity and sustainability of the riversystem, but also provide a potential platform foraccelerated regional economic growth, cooperation, andstability within the wider Southern Africa DevelopmentCommunity (SADC).