IWRA Executive Office

OS1h Multi-stakeholders and institutions for IWRM

abstract 135

The Niger River and Water Resource Management

Author(s): An example of transboundary management
Author(s): Gilles Rocquelain, Bruno Voron, Guillaume Fabre
BRL, 1105 avenue Pierre Mendès France, 30001 Nîmes cedex 05 Tel. +33 466 87 50 00 ﷓ Fax. +33 466 87 51 03 gilles.rocquelain@brl.fr, bruno.voron@brl.fr, guillaume.fabre@brl.fr

Keyword(s): Water availability, use and management

Article:

Poster:

Session: OS1h Multi-stakeholders and institutions for IWRM

AbstractConference talk

Subject: Water availability, use and

management
Introduction

Today there are 95 million people living in the Niger River basin. In 2025, there

could be as many as 155 million. Their living conditions are under threat because the Niger is drying up and getting a

fair share of water is one of the greatest challenges the nine riparian countries have ever had to face.
The NBA

(Niger Basin Authority) therefore launched a study process known as the "joint vision" to prepare a sustainable

development action plan.
Goals
- to prepare an action plan for sustainable development (SDAP) in the

Niger River Basin
- to set up the technical instruments required to perform the study, for identifying scenarios,

assessing them and monitoring actions.
- to take account of the demand and resource evolution trends related

to climate change.

Methods

The approach included:
- identifying the water demand with forecasts

for various periods (up to 2025) for the various water usages
- setting up a hydraulic model, which will

make it possible to:
o assess the present functioning of the system
o plan development and

improvements
o and assist future management of the system
- to establish evaluation criteria, some of

which are monetary (agricultural production, hydropower...) and others depend on their social or environmental

impact,
- and to define a territorial breakdown based on the assets and potential of uniform zones (Development

Zones) extending beyond administrative State boundaries.

Findings

The studies enabled the

following:
- establishment of shared demand scenarios, including assumptions to be used when certain

data are lacking,
- comparison of numerous development scenarios in response to the issues highlighted in the

Shared Vision, seeking in particular to meet the water demand everywhere in the river basin for the same levels of

priority (principle of equi-satisfaction). The SDAP confirms the levels of priority applicable at Development Zone

scale.
- proposal of a decision aid to characterise scenarios according to economic criteria, but also integrating

political (sharing the benefits of the water) and hydraulic (equi-satisfaction) concepts.

Conclusion

The

interest of this method is its iterative, integrated approach to the different stages: the demand database was interfaced

with the hydraulic model. The main issues defined in the SDAP were translated into scenarios and tested with the

hydraulic model then assessed with the decision-aid.

Permanent consultation between member countries and

consultants made sure that everyone took up the approach and its methods within a limited timeframe.
Innovative

in its principles, both in the choice to prioritize demands and to manage development zones as opposed to

transboundary management, this approach was a way of shifting the planning framework to place the emphasis on

the river basin as a whole.

Events

The congress

Programme

Practical Infos

The Niger River and Water Resource Management