East Africa’s trans-boundary water systems are vital for regional stability, food security, and climate resilience, yet remain institutionally fragmented. This paper undertakes a comparative policy review of the water sectors of Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda to assess the extent to which national laws, strategies, and institutional arrangements enable—or impede—coordinated management of shared rivers and lakes.

Methodology:

Drawing on an analysis of legal texts, strategic plans, and grey literature published between 2010 and 2022, we evaluate alignment with the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) paradigm and with regional instruments such as the Nile Basin Initiative and the Kagera Basin Agreement.

Findings:

Findings reveal a common commitment to IWRM principles, including basin-level planning, environmental flows, and stakeholder participation, but significant gaps in transposition into national legislation and on-the-ground capacity.

Country-specific observations:

Rwanda’s 2020 Water Resources Board Strategic Plan explicitly links water security to regional cooperation and data exchange.

Uganda’s 2021 Water Policy mainstreams climate adaptation across trans-boundary catchments.

Tanzania’s National Water Policy (2002, updated 2022) emphasises large-scale irrigation and hydropower, creating potential tensions with downstream riparians.

Burundi’s 2011 Water Code provides an enabling legal framework yet lacks subsidiary regulations for trans-boundary governance.

Cross-cutting constraints:

Across all four countries, chronic under-investment in monitoring, weak basin institutions, and limited cross-border legal harmonisation undermine effective joint management.

Conclusion and recommendations:

The paper concludes with targeted recommendations for strengthening national–regional policy coherence, expanding joint financing mechanisms, and establishing adaptive governance platforms that integrate climate risk and socio-economic equity into future trans-boundary water agreements.