January 15th 2010. Planning for use of water and natural resources in the Okavango River Basin - shared by Angola, Namibia and Botswana - will receive substantial support this year in the form of consolidated scientific evidence about the condition of the river and its surroundings. The Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) Environmental Protection and Sustainable Management of the Okavango River Basin (EPSMO) Project, which has been gathering information about water flow, plants, animals and human activities in the river basin for the past two years, will finalise its transboundary diagnostic analysis (TDA) report in May. It will provide essential data to support decision making by the three countries. The Basin is unusual in that its waters and shores are relatively pristine, protected for many years by low human population pressures.