Nigeria hosts the 11th Ordinary Session of the Committee of Experts and the 5th Ordinary Session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee on IWRM in West Africa

The national IWRM focal points of the 15 ECOWAS Member States and the region’s basin organisations, the technical and financial partners and the ministers in charge of water resources of the 15 ECOWAS Member States are expected from 25 to 28 June 2024 in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria, to take part in the statutory meetings of the Permanent Coordination and Monitoring Framework (PCMF) for IWRM in West Africa. The meeting is being organised by the ECOWAS Water Resources Management Centre (WRMC).

It was during the West African Ministerial Conference on Integrated Water Resources Management held in Ouagadougou from 3 to 5 March 1998 that the then 16 ECOWAS countries made a firm commitment to move from sectoral and technocratic water resources management to integrated and participatory management, in accordance with the principles adopted by the Dublin preparatory conference in January 1992 and endorsed by the UNCED in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The application of the recommendations of this Conference led in particular to the adoption of the Regional Action Plan for Integrated Water Resources Management in West Africa (RAPIWRM-WA) by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in December 2000 and to the creation of a Permanent Coordination and Monitoring Framework (PCMF) for IWRM in West Africa by decision of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in December 2001.

Given the fact that the regional IWRM process in West Africa is today in a certain lethargy marked in particular by the non-holding of statutory meetings of the PCFM since its last bodies organised in Dakar in November 2015, The holding of the 11th Session of the Committee of Experts and the 5th Ordinary Session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee in Abuja aims to give new impetus to the regional IWRM process in West Africa with the main objective of revisiting the regional IWRM process in West Africa and identifying promising work prospects, taking into account the developments recorded in the region in terms of water resources management since 2015.

The Abuja meetings will be held in two stages. The first, to be held from 25 to 27 June 2024, will focus on the meetings of the Technical Committee of Experts (CTE), which will examine the state of implementation of the resolutions of the 4th ordinary session of the Ministerial Follow-up Committee on IWRM in West Africa, followed by the presentation of the CGRE/ECOWAS 2016-2023 activity report, the draft CGRE/ECOWAS 2024 programme and budget, the state of implementation of the PREAO and ongoing or planned ECOWAS and partner initiatives.

The second meeting concerns the Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which will be held on Friday 28 June. During this 5th Ordinary Session, several issues will be examined, in particular the draft strategic plan of the CGRE-ECOWAS 2020-2030, the draft directive on the development of hydraulic infrastructures in West Africa, the draft directive on the management of shared water resources in West Africa; the relaunch of the programme to promote new transboundary basin organisations in West Africa; the institutional study for a reform of the PCMF and the operationalisation of the Regional Water Observatory.

As a reminder, the participants expected at the 11th Session of the CTE are in particular the IWRM National Focal Points of the 15 ECOWAS Member States; the IWRM Focal Points of the Basin Organisations of the region (ABCBT, ABN, ABV, ABM, OMVG, OMVS, CBLT, MRU); representatives of the sub-regional Institutions intervening in the water sector in West Africa (UEMOA, CILSS, ALG, GWP/AO); Representatives of African Regional Institutions (AMCOW, ADB/FAE, EAA); Technical and Financial Partners (PACO-IUCN, OSS, UNECE 1992 Water Convention, ACEWATER, WASCAL); ECOWAS entities involved in water resources management (WAPP, Environment Directorate, Agriculture Directorate, Fouta Djallon Mountains Programme, PPDU, ECREEE, ARAA) and the CGRE-ECOWAS Staff.

The 5th Session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee (MMC) will be attended by the Ministers in charge of water resources of the 15 ECOWAS Member States and the ECOWAS Commissioner in charge of water resources.