PROGIRESS: a strategic alliance for the resilience of water systems in West Africa

The PROGIRESS project (Project to Improve the State of Natural Resources and Biodiversity within the framework of the Integrated Surface and Groundwater Resources Management Project in the SRB and SMAB) is a major initiative under the Team Europe Initiative for African transboundary basins, with a budget of €15 million over five years.

The Team Europe Initiative is the European Union’s financing strategy for developing sustainable, high-quality infrastructure worldwide. The fact that the PROGIRESS project forms part of this strategy means that the initiative is not limited to mere development aid, but is part of a broader geopolitical and economic vision. The Team Europe Initiative combines the resources of the European Commission, Member States (e.g. the AFD for France), financial institutions (European Investment Bank – EIB) and even the private sector.

PROGIRESS’s intervention strategy is based on the following three strategic objectives (SO) aimed at improving the state of resources and regional governance:

• Strengthening monitoring and sustainable management: establishing a permanent mechanism for monitoring water quality in the Senegal River and optimising the use of groundwater in the BASM to prevent the depletion of aquifers.
• Improving biodiversity and natural resources: operationalising the Fouta-Djalon Massif observatory and combating the proliferation of Typha, which threatens ecosystems and economic activities.
• Promotion of hydrodiplomacy: support for cooperation between states (Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau) to make water a lever for peace and shared development.

Under the auspices of the European Union Delegation to Senegal and through three implementing agencies (the AICS – the Italian agency – for SO 1, the AFD for SO 2 and the Geneva Water Hub for SO 3), and coordinated by the OMVS and the OMVG, PROGIRESS is implementing a strategy centred on water quality monitoring, biodiversity conservation — particularly in the Fouta-Djalon massif — and the control of invasive species such as cattail.

The challenge is twofold: to guarantee a sustainable resource for millions of people whilst strengthening hydrodiplomacy in a region where transboundary management serves as a model of stability.

Within this multi-stakeholder framework and as part of OS 2, the International Water Agency (IWA) provides technical and methodological expertise, focusing in particular on knowledge and governance of critical ecosystems.

This support covers three areas of action:

OiEau’s involvement ensures the transfer of the necessary expertise so that the tools developed, such as the observatory, become sustainable decision-making tools for local and regional authorities.