Title

Transboundary: Cooperation for investment planning for green growth and poverty reduction in the Mekrou sub-basin
Country
Benin Burkina Faso Niger (the)
Summary

The Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP-WA) and the JRC/EU58 jointly with the Mekrou River basin riparians (Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger) implemented a concerted strategic planning process to support sustainable development in the basin (2014-2017). Sustainable resource management on a basin level becomes a challenge especially when it is transboundary and includes a natural park shared by several states.

The project has enabled collection of scientific data on water and associated natural resources, and establishment of a framework cooperation agreement between riparians, and a Master Plan for Water Development and Management (SDAGE) with an investment plan at the sub-basin level.
Related IWRM Tools
  • International Water Law (
    A2.02
    )
  • Transboundary Organisations (
    B3.01
    )
  • Information Gathering and Sharing Networks (
    B4.01
    )
  • Transboundary financing (
    D2.07
    )
Keywords
Niger River Mekrou River
Lessons Learned

Projects focusing on governance, institutional organisation or research, even if they aim to build or strengthen an enabling environment for efficient natural resource planning and management, need to include pilot physical investment actions in their design. This approach offers the opportunity to learn from these actions in preparation for large-scale investments.

Linking the institutional and scientific/technical components carried out by independent entities, with specific mandates and capacities and separate agreements, is a possible but challenging option. This option requires a significant effort in joint planning, coordination and a real-time consultation mechanism. Formalisation of coordination processes facilitates this interaction

The scale of intervention of the transboundary basin implies taking into account the levels of progress of decentralisation and implementation of IWRM in the different States.

An IWRM project, especially in a transboundary basin, requires intense dialogue at all scales. Building and facilitating a consultative mechanism to reach consensus requires a lot of time and resources.

Taking into account the concerns of the populations in the implementation of a project is a means of generating interest and a strong commitment to sustainability, an indicator of ownership by its beneficiaries.
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