1. To establish a common hydrological database for the Southern Africa region using standard HYDATA archiving, processing and analysis procedures;
2. To quantify the magnitude and frequency fo low flow events by analysing gauged data series and to characterise the spatial and temporal variability of low flows in southern Africa;
3. To develop procedures for the estimation of natural low flow measures at gauged sites, based on regional classifications of climate, soil and vegetation.

Construction of databases on river flow and spatial geographical variables so that flow statistics may be related to geographical data. Flow duration curve properties and estimation were investigated on a regional scale, together with a specific case study for Tanzania.

Eleven countries in southern Africa now use HYDATA as their national river flow archiving system;

Over 50 technical staff have received training in HYDATA operation;

A register of all 7000 gauging stations in southern Africa has been compiled;

A time series database of over 650 flow records has been assembled on a single database so that it now possible for research projects to analyse southern African hydrological data from a single source;

The GIS spatial database has information on climate, vegetation, soils, hydrogeology of each of the 750 gauged FRIEND catchments;

Estimates on available water resources across southern Africa are now available, detailing total available resource, reliable river flows (base flow) and the spatial and temporal variability of water shortages (low flows).

This focus on the collection and analysis of river flow data is a vital component of the Southern Africa FRIEND initiative and means that a great step forward has been taken towards more effective management of existing and the development of new water resource schemes.

Anon. 1997. Southern Africa FRIEND (Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network Data). IHP-V Technical Documents in Hydrology No. 15. UNESCO, Paris.

Email: fakf@mail.nwl.ac.uk