Launched on 25 April 2023 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, the REWarD - Volta River Basin Project encountered a difficult start due to the late establishment (second half of 2024) of the Project Management Unit. However, the two Implementing Agencies (VBA and GWP- WA) were able to prepare the ground through the recruitment of four (04) consultancy firms to carry out various studies and the development of a Concept Note for the setting up and running of National Committees of Parliamentarians and an Inter-Parliamentary Committee (IPC). A Regional Project Coordinator has also been recruited.
Ultimately, this project will enable the development and provision of decision-making tools, the strengthening of cross-border planning, coordination and regional and national capacities, as well as the strengthening of ecosystem resilience for sustainable livelihoods in the Volta Basin.
The Lomé regional workshop organised as part of the REWarD-Volta project aims to ‘Strengthen the coordination and commitment of local, national and regional stakeholders for the effective implementation of the studies and initiatives set out in the project's basic documents. The opening ceremony was held under the patronage of Togo's Minister of Water and Sanitation, represented by her Director of Cabinet, Mr ADJAMA Affo Boni. It was marked by a welcome from the coordinator of Togo's VBA focal structure, a speech by the Executive Secretary of GWP- WA, a speech by the Deputy Executive Director of VBA and the opening address by the Minister's representative.
Some forty participants are taking part in this workshop, including the Coordinator of the VBA National Focal Structure, an expert in charge of transboundary basins, an expert in charge of environmental statistics and a representative of the National Water Partnership from each of the six VBA Member States, as well as the IUCN Burkina Faso Country Director, VBA and GWP-WA managers and executives, resource persons and representatives of consultancy firms.
The Volta Basin is home to a growing population estimated to reach 35 million by 2025, and faces numerous environmental, climatic, economic and social challenges. These problems, linked in particular to climate change and demographic pressure, give rise to phenomena such as deforestation, soil and water degradation, and loss of biodiversity, requiring concerted management by the VBA member states of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo.
In response to this situation, VBA, in collaboration GWP- WA, UNEP and IUCN, has launched the REWarD-Volta River Basin project, financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for a total of 7,122,000 US dollars over a period of 5 years (2023-2028). VBA and GWP-WA are the Executing Agencies and UNEP and IUCN are the Implementing Agencies. The project has four components, including Component 3, which focuses primarily on restoring ecosystems, strengthening people's resilience and promoting sustainable cross-border governance.
The aim of the project is to reverse the trends of resource degradation in the Volta Basin through ecosystem-based adaptive management, by implementing a full range of inter-sectoral interventions and establishing financial mechanisms that contribute to the sustainable use and maintenance of freshwater resources, ecosystems and biodiversity. The project started in April 2023 and will continue until 2028.
The Volta Basin, covering an area of approximately 392,390 km² with a rich set of ecosystems, many of which are of global importance, is one of the main river basins in West Africa, flowing into the Gulf of Guinea.
The two implementing partners of the REWarD Volta Basin project (VBA and GWP- WA) planned a number of activities for 2024, some of which started. The consultants' inception reports were presented at the regional workshop in Lomé. Discussions took place with a view to agreeing on the methodology and timetables for carrying out these assignments. For others, the concept notes and implementation documents have been drafted, amended and finalised. However, it was important to share the content of these documents with all the stakeholders in order to take account of their contributions for the finalisation and to agree on a clear roadmap for implementation.
The regional workshop in Lomé should identify actions to accelerate the implementation of the REWarD project. The workshop is being held in a hybrid format: face-to-face in Lomé with the experts from the countries designated to take part, resource persons, representatives of the Country Water Partnerships (CWPs) and executives from the implementing agencies; and remotely by videoconference for the other national and regional experts and the REWarD project consultants concerned.
The workshop will be structured around technical presentations, working groups, case studies and plenary discussions.