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The report examines seven transboundary river basins—Congo, Okavango, Red, La Plata, Danube, Mekong, and Jordan—to evaluate how ecosystem services (ES) are integrated into Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). It finds that while IWRM planning is common, actual implementation is weak and often focuses on traditional services like hydropower and navigation, neglecting critical ES such as carbon sequestration and flood regulation. The authors argue that moving toward an ES-based 'benefit-sharing' model, supported by economic instruments like Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), can overcome political, institutional, and financial barriers to sustainable transboundary water management.

Following the April 2002 ceasefire, Angola faces immense reconstruction needs, including the reintegration of approximately 105,000 ex-combatants and the resettlement of 4.3 million internally displaced persons. While the country possesses vast oil and mineral wealth, structural crises persist in health, education, and agriculture. A critical strategic concern is the Okavango River Basin; as Angola develops the headwaters in Kuando-Kubango province, potential increases in water abstraction and dam construction could negatively impact the downstream ecosystems and water security of Namibia and Botswana. Cooperation is managed through the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM), but Angola's lack of technical capacity and hydrometric data hinders its participation in integrated water resource management.