OiEau and the Niger Basin Authority strengthen coordinated management of Upper Niger dams

As part of the DYNOBA project, funded by the French Development Agency, the International Office for Water (OiEau) and the Niger Basin Authority organised a workshop in Conakry from 9 to 11 September on coordinated dam management and its operationalisation in the Upper Niger sub-basin.

This event brought together six executives from the NBA Executive Secretariat, a dozen national experts from Guinea and Mali, and three experts from OiEau. Also present were a representative of the Organisation for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS) and, via videoconference, specialists from the consulting firm DHI and the AFD.

Through feedback, presentations on the general concepts of coordinated dam management and practical group work, the workshop aimed to:

• Strengthen the understanding of concepts related to coordinated dam management by ABN executives and national experts;
• Facilitate the operationalisation of this approach in the Upper Niger sub-basin;
• Support the development of skills among teams, particularly in the use of models, from basin diagnosis to the production of technical notes for decision-makers, including monitoring and reporting;
• Train trainers so that ABN executives can in turn pass on this knowledge to national managers and experts;
• Promote international best practices by presenting examples from other basins.

Coordinated dam management is a major challenge for the future of the Niger Basin, where multiple needs coexist: drinking water supply, irrigation, energy, ecosystem preservation and population safety face to floods and droughts.

This workshop demonstrates the willingness of all parties to strengthen their capacities to meet the challenges of sustainable water management, in a spirit of solidarity and consultation.

By providing national institutions and experts with shared tools and a common understanding of the issues at stake, the DYNOBA project is helping to promote integrated water governance at the regional level.