Message officiel
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE ECOWAS
Water is a strategic resource in West Africa. It is essential for life, fuels economies and unites our nations in a context of high water interdependence where every country - with the exception of the Cabo Verde Islands - shares at least one river basin with one of its neighbours. With the drastic reduction in water resources, against a backdrop of climate change, issues relating to water governance are more than ever at the heart of our regional integration process in West Africa. While water resources can sometimes be a source of tension or even conflict between stakeholders and between countries, they can also be a powerful driver of cooperation, peace, and economic and social development when properly managed.
Fully aware of this situation, ECOWAS has taken the lead in the regional integrated water resources management (IWRM) process, which involves all Member States and all Transboundary River Basin Organisations since the Regional Conference on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) held in March 1998 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
This Conference marked a decisive step in the regional adoption of IWRM as a strategic framework for addressing the challenges associated with water scarcity, pollution and the management of shared resources. Since March 1998, several important decisions based on the guidelines of the Ouagadougou Conference have been taken, including notably: the adoption of the West African Water Resources Management Action Plan (PAGIRE-A0, French acronym) in 2000; the establishment of the Permanent Framework for IWRM Coordination and Monitoring in West Africa (CPCS-AO, French acronym) in December 2001; the adoption of the West African Water Resources Policy (WAWRP) in December 2008; the adoption of the IWRM Action Plan for 2030, specific to the UEMOA region; the promotion of new transboundary river basin organisations in West Africa; the adoption of the Directive on Shared Water Resources Management in West Africa and the Directive on Water Infrastructure Development in West Africa in December 2024: The institutionalisation of a regional water forum comes just at the right time to fill a gap, by creating a platform for dialogue that brings together, every two years, stakeholders active in the water and sanitation sector in West Africa to share knowledge, foster political commitment and find solutions to the challenges associated with water resources management and sanitation in West Africa and the Sahel. We look forward to the 1st edition of the West African Regional Water Forum (FREAO, French acronym), which will take place in Abidjan, in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, on 25 and 26 September 2026, under the theme ‘Let’s Value Water to Transform West Africa’, for fruitful discussions, in line with the African Water Vision 2063 and its associated policy, and in this ‘Year of Water’ in Africa.
Dr Omar Alieu TOURAY
