Water is an essential resource affecting many aspects of development as well as the natural environment. Development,
planning and management strategies of this resource should therefore be effective if drought and other
extreme disasters are to be minimized. Sustainable water resource management must also balance between
the short-term needs of the people for their social and economic development and the long-term protection of the
natural resource base. Therefore, there should exist an enabling environment in the form of policies and legislative
frameworks which are flexible and more integral, institutional frameworks that allow for infusion of stakeholders
into water resources planning and management strategies through capacity building and empowerment, and
sound management instruments geared towards efficient use of water through a water-oriented society and
information sharing support systems. These are captured under the concept of Integrated Water Resources
Management (IWRM)—a process that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land
and related resources in order to maximize the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner
without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. This is a challenge to any nation that desires to
meet the aspirations of the United Nations’ water-related Millennium Development Goals by way of providing
equitable access to water of acceptable quality and quantity. In investigating strategies for effectively planning
for and managing the effects of drought, which are eminent in Botswana, a diagnostic approach using IWRM
was adopted. Also, a few lessons and experiences drawn from some countries within and outside the Southern
African region were provided as possible models that can help contain the effects of drought in Botswana. The
paper concludes that with the current fragmented, uncoordinated institutional and legal arrangements in water
resources management, there is an urgent need to go the route of integrated water demand management as
envisaged in the overall concept of IWRM