Integrated Water Resources Management

Experts work on the IWRM

The Technical Director of the LCBC, Mr. Mana Boubakari, proceeded this Monday, September 16, 2019 in N’Djamena, the official opening of the regional workshop and capacity building of experts from LCBC member states in Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM).

This workshop, which brings together more than thirty participants composed of directors, experts and focal points of the Member States of the LCBC, has a double objective: to proceed, on the one hand, to the evaluation of the implementation process of the various national NAPIWRM (National Action Plan for Integrated Water Resources Management); and on the other hand, to strengthen the capacities of the various experts on the guiding principles of an integrated management of the Lake Chad Basin.

For the Lake Chad Basin, faced today with complex multidimensional challenges, the economy is largely dependent on natural resources including water, which is essential for agricultural and rural development. Under the combined effect of climate change and human pressure, these resources have been shrinking in recent years, leading to the proliferation of invasive aquatic species, the drying up of headwaters, the degradation of watersheds, the compromise of life, etc. It is therefore essential for Member States and communities to adopt an integrated approach to the management of this precious resource, with high economic value, and to ensure its sustainability. This is precisely the purpose of IWRM (Integrated Water Resources Management): to balance the interests of stakeholders and user groups for the benefit of all, in the short, medium and long term.

This is why, within the framework of the project “Reversing water and land degradation trends in the Lake Chad Basin”, each member state of the LCBC has been provided with a National Integrated Water Resources Management Action Plan for its national portion of the Lake Chad Basin, explained the Technical Director.

On the eve of the implementation of the Lake Chad Basin Water Charter, this sub-regional organization in charge of harmonious and efficient water management and coordination of the sustainable socio-economic development of the Basin deemed it useful to revisit the different PANGIREs, in terms of uses and impacts, in order to measure the progress made, strengthen sub-regional cooperation and promote the generalization of IWRM in all the Member States and within communities, for the harmonious development of the Lake Chad Basin, while preserving the needs of future generations.

The work, which is being carried out under the supervision of the West and Central Africa offices of the Global Water Partnership, ends on September 19, 2019.