Context The Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) was set up in 1964 by the four riparian states Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, with the Central African Republic and Libya joining in 1985 and 2007 respectively. LCBC is the only institution that enjoys the acceptance of all these countries when it comes to resolving cross-border issues. Its mandate is to supervise and coordinate transboundary water projects, protect natural resources, regulate and monitor water usage, and settle disputes. The reorganization undertaken in 2009/2010 has not equipped LCBC to meet the demands placed on it. Additionally, new areas of activity are emerging which require the institution to further adapt its management strategy and expand its capacities. Objective LCBC leverages its enhanced planning, cooperation and communication capacities to improve cooperation with its member states. Approach This project forms part of the programme Sustainable Water Resources Management of the Lake Chad Basin, which is being carried out in cooperation with the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources. The intention is for LCBC to evolve into an information centre and a service provider for its member states and to become more efficient and effective in performing its work using its enhanced expertise. The project is investing in the institutional reform of LCBC, the consolidation of planning processes, the setting up of a monitoring and evaluation system and an information system (regional database), and the improvement of internal and external communication. It supports human resources development, encourages specialist dialogue with other international commissions and promotes the creation of media products and publications. Improved donor coordination is to ensure that the available resources are used more effectively in future. Compower, a company based in Karlsruhe, is assisting the programme with the redesign and maintenance of the website and the establishment of LCBC's internal communication platform, providing the necessary training along the way. AHT GROUP AG, which developed the LIS Lake Chad Information System with the specialist regional databases, is supporting the expansion of LCBC's IT infrastructure. The company ibes AG from Jena has assisted with the development of the hi-tech server and the training of IT staff and will continue to do so. Königswieser & Network (Vienna), synetz international (Rösrath) and the Integrated Consulting Group Deutschland (Berlin) are providing consultancy services in organisational development, for instance with respect to the reform of LCBC, communication and capacity development activities. LCBC's expertise is being enhanced by means of peer support to the relevant departments with the preparation of the initial report on the environmental and socio-economic status of the Lake Chad Basin and the annual monitoring reports. AHT GROUP AG is also providing assistance in this context. The departments are being trained in using and maintaining the information system and the internal communication platform. At the same time, activities are conducted to enhance LCBC's expertise in the area of climate change. Results The cross-departmental Internal Experts Meeting and the Water and Climate Coordination Group, which were set up to facilitate cooperation with other institutions from the member states, have already improved coordination at international level and encouraged mutual support among the different actors. The information management system has been adapted to meet the new challenges faced by LCBC through the addition of a range of databases, improvements to the internal IT infrastructure (hi-tech server) and the establishment of a dedicated internal communication platform to improve staff communication. This is improving the efficiency of interdisciplinary and cross-departmental cooperation through the use of standardised data. This data is being utilised as the basis for the first report on the environmental and socio-economic status of the Lake Chad Basin, which is due to be completed in 2015. Thanks to the introduction of cross-departmental planning and monitoring of activities, programmes and projects, it is now possible to draw up strategic annual operational plans in time for the annual meetings of the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers agreed in April 2015 to implement the reform proposals drafted by the project in order to increase the effectiveness, efficiency and expertise of LCBC.
