Free Flow

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Participation in the management of the

Niger, Senegal and Congo river basins

Christophe Brachet and Daniel Valensuela, Deputy Secretaries, International Network of Basin Organizations

here are 276 transboundary rivers and lakes and more

than 300 aquifers shared by riparian countries around

the world. Transboundary basins cover 45 per cent of

the world’s lands, linking two or more countries through water

resources located above and below the Earth’s surface. Many

of the world’s populations and ecosystems therefore depend

on water resources crossing national borders. Emerging crises

related to population growth, climate change, urbanization,

increasing demand for energy and food or regional instability

affect water resources management. The International Network

of Basin Organizations

(INBO) appreciates how

this situation

becomes more complex with transboundary waters.

The willingness of states to cooperate regarding water manage-

ment may derive from specific issues or common goals, regional or

community dynamics or a risk of conflict. Establishing

transboundary basin organizations broadly fosters

cooperation. Whatever the structure model of the organi-

zation, it is advisable that mechanisms are planned to

promote public and stakeholder participation and

supported by methods and means for consulting the

people concerned. Such mechanisms are implemented by

countries and basin organizations of three major trans-

boundary rivers in Africa: the Niger, Senegal and Congo.

The Niger Basin Authority (NBA), established in

1964 by the nine states sharing the Niger River Basin

(Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ivory Coast,

Guinea, Mali, Niger and Nigeria) led to a shared

vision process marked by the adoption in 2008 of an

Action Plan for Sustainable Development and a Water

ransboundary

ater

anagement

Schoolchildren around the Niger Basin model during the first regional forum of basin resources users