A workshop of the African collectives of the Water and Sanitation Civil Society took place in Cotonou from 24th to 26th January 2017. It brought together eight (8) countries from West and Central Africa, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
Guinea has developed since some years its IWRM roadmap and with it appears the necessity to build the capacities of the actors. As part of the capacity-building of the state and non-state actors involved in the IWRM process, an awareness, information, exchange and experience-sharing workshop was organized on 12th and 13th January 2017 in Conakry. Fifty participants took part in the meeting. The official ceremony was chaired by Mr. Ismaël DIA, Water Adviser of the Minister of Hydraulics and Energy.
The Burkina Faso Water Partnership (CWP-BF) organized the first edition of the Water and Sanitation Trophies on Friday, December 2, 2016 in Ouagadougou. The purpose of the event was to magnify, encourage and give visibility to the men and women who have distinguished themselves in the field of water and sanitation. The ceremony was held under the patronage of the former minister of water and current president of the National Assembly, Salifou Diallo, under the presidency of Ambroise Niouga OUEDRAOGO, Minister of Water and Sanitation and the co-sponsorship of Mats HÅRSMAR Chargé d'affaires at the Swedish Embassy in Burkina Faso and Mr. Cheick Fantamady KANTE, Country Representative of the World Bank in Burkina Faso.
M. Bila Compaoré nicknamed Moussa is the chief of the Kogoloweogo association set up since the early 80’s during the revolution period for the reforestation through tree planting in Komki Ipala, 45 km in the west of Ouagadougou. The association involves most of the population of the village of Komki Ipala but is ruled by a group of 21 persons including four women. He is almost 60 but very active and enterprising. “The implementation of this project taught us lots of things that I will personally try to implement in my own field such as making bunches, surrounding walls, land scarification or semi moon to capture rain for the soil”, says Moussa.
The end of the rainy season has brought some very interesting news to farmers working with the Integrated Drought Management pilot project in the Mali central municipality of Gouendo. A field visit carried by the regional Project manager accompanied by the Permanent secretary of CWP Mali set a light encouraging results of the pilot action and the happiness of the beneficiaries.
Following the outcome of the Post - National Consultation on Food Security and Water in Sub- Sahara Africa held in Abuja with relevant agencies and department in the Ministry in - charge of Agriculture on 12th May, 2016, a decision was reached to constitute a working group (WG) that will mid-wife the Nigeria - Country Project (WEFE Initiative).
Mr. COMBARI Diadonné Amidou, the mayor of Matiacoali is very enthusiastic with the material delimitation of the route for the cattle transiting from Niger to Benin. Every year the transhumance creates lots of conflicts between cattle breeders and farmers leading at time loss of life. The Prefect of Matiacoali is more specific on “the issue of conflicts between these two groups is a crucial reality in this area. The tribunal of the department has registered an average number of 18 conflicts between August 18 when I started service here and December 2016. The delimitation of these corridors for the benefit of the population will contribute to reduce drastically the conflicts”.
The Country Water Partnership (CWP) of Niger in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, urban sanitation and sustainable development through the directorate of wildlife, hunting and protected areas is building a water reservoir for the wildlife of the W Park. The stock of 200 hundred thousand hectares has 30 water reservoirs of which only four are permanent i.e. they don’t totally dry up during the long dry hot season.
A meeting of the Coordination Bureau of the African Network of Basin Organizations (ANBO) and the last meeting of the Steering Committee of the project "Strengthening Transboundary Water Management Institutions (SITWA)" have been held in Dakar, Senegal on 28 and 29 November 2016.
The Gambia Country Water Partnership is a young partnership established in December 2011 and accredited in 2016. Among other things funding remains a major constraint. Inadequate and slow responses to proposals have delayed the implementation of planned programmes and the establishment of a more formal secretariat. But the Partnership continues to make efforts to mobilize resources to enable it carry out its activities