Reporting Water in Southern Africa: A Media Guide to Managing Our Water Resources was prepared from contributions by experts in the Member States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The guide was produced by the I Musokotwane Environment Resource Centre for Southern Africa (IMERCSA), which is a part of the Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC).

The participatory process in the preparation of this media guide is highly acknowledged. About 25 media professionals and water experts drawn from partner organisations and media institutions across the SADC region took part in the preparation of the guide.

Following the development of a content framework, wide consultations were held, with a review of the initial draft outline at the WaterNet Symposium held in Lilongwe, Malawi in November 2006. The participants included 10 journalists from across the region, and was intended as a needs assessment of the key issues and messages that the media practitioners wanted in the guide.