The 5% increase is an indication that the elements of IWRM are institutionalized and implementation is in progress within the country. A clear proof of this is the 44% overall score in the “ institutions and participation” section (making it the highest scored section) of the 2020 country report clearly showing laws involving the private sector and vulnerable groups in IWRM, policies and clear mandates for the country’s Ministry of Urban and Rural Water Resources through the Directorate of Water Resources to lead IWRM planning.
The stakeholder consultation which was organized by the Ministry of Urban and Rural Water Resources in collaboration with the Chad Country Water Partnership (CWP-Chad) brought together over sixteen stakeholders from ministries, the private sector, civil society, research institutions and focal points of Transboundary Basin Organizations (CBLT , NBA) to assess the degree of implementation of IWRM in the country.
Speaking at the stakeholder consultation, the Director of Water Resources and country focal point for SDG 6.5.1. Mr. Nassour Saleh Terda, reiterated the importance of monitoring IWRM and called on all participants to “engage fully in discussions to enrich country-led responses to challenges in the implementation of IWRM”. He concluded with a word of appreciation to Global Water Partnership Central Africa (GWP-CAf) represented at the the workshop by the Regional Coordinator, Mr. Hycinth Banseka and CWP-Chad represented by the Country Chair , Mr. Cherif Neissa for the financial and technical support throughout the monitoring process.
The consultation was characterized by presentations on the monitoring and reporting process as well as group discussions on the different sections of the report; Enabling Environment, Institutions and participation, Management Instruments and Finance. For Chad like most countries within the Central Africa region, one of the main challenges of implementing IWRM remains finance with a decrease from 26% (2017 report) to 20%.
To ensure that the country keeps making progress in the implementation of IWRM, the stakeholders made the following key recommendations to the government:
- Revise the water code by adding more IWRM elements and prepare all implementation texts before submission to the National Assembly;
- Develop a National Action Plan for Integrated Water Resource Management for Chad and facilitate the integration of this into development projects in order to mobilize funding;
- Prepare a National Water and Sanitation Policy and Strategy document;
- Expand specific IWRM training in the national education system through the integration and insertion of IWRM modules in academic and professional training, to improve the development and implementation of policy, planning and management documents related to water resources.
The Chad stakeholder consultation was held within the framework of the second round of reporting on SDG 6 particularly indicator 6.5.1 to its custodian the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) coordinated by Global Water Partnership (GWP) in collaboration with CAPNET- UNDP through the SDG6 IWRM Support program. The SDG 6 Support Program aims at supporting governments in not only monitoring, but in designing and implementing country-led responses to improve IWRM at all levels .
The Chad stakeholder consultation concludes the 2020 SDG 6.5.1 reporting process for GWP supported countries within the Central Africa Region – a highlight for GWP-CAf.