INBONewsletter n° 22 - May 2014
10
Africa
Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC)
The "conventional" Lake Chad Basin
(i.e. hydrologically active) covering
967,000 km
2
is under the jurisdiction
of
the Lake Chad Basin Commis-
sion (LCBC),
which gathers six coun-
tries (Cameroon, Central AfricanRepu-
blic, Libya, Niger, Nigeria andChad).
The main challenge for LCBC is to
contribute to improving the quality
of life of people in the basin, which
passes, among other things, by
controlling the drying out of the
lake and its tributaries.
It isnecessary toensure a sounduseof
the basin’swater resources, coordinate
regional efforts and settle disputes
relating to the use of these resources.
LCBC, established in1964, initiated an
institutional reform in 2008.
In this context, the Conference of
Heads of State and Government adop-
tedon30April 2012
theWater Char-
ter of LakeChadBasin.
Various projects are implemented by
LCBC, including
the "Lake Chad
ConservationProject -Contribution
to the Development Strategy for
the Lake", funded by the French
Global Environment Facility
(FFEM).
This project which started in 2012 is
planned for a 3-year period and has
three components entrusted, among
others, to the Research Institute for
Development (components 1 and 2)
and the International Office for Water,
INBOSecretariat, (component 3):
➊
Component 1:
Summary of
knowledge anddefinitionofmana-
gement constraints;
➋
Component 2:
Reliability of the
hydrological model;
➌
Component 3:
Support for the
entry into force of theWater Char-
ter and strengthening relations
with other African basin organiza-
tions.
Component 3 should allow:
l
The implementation of the Water
Charter through its ratification by
all the Member States and prepa-
ration of appendices;
l
The signing of the United Nations
Conventionof 21May1997on the
Law on the use of international
watercourses for purposes other
than navigation;
l
The exchange of experience with
basin organizations of West and
Central Africa.
Four workshops for disseminating the
Charter, which gathered parliamenta-
rians, decision-makers, practitioners
and water users, took place in Ndja-
mena (January 2013), Niamey (March
2013), Abuja (May2013) andYaoundé
(December 2013).
These actions should allow strengthe-
ning the legal and institutional frame-
work of LCBC to ensure better integra-
tedwater resourcesmanagement in the
basin.
Dr.MoustaphaNgaido
Environmental lawyer
Conservationanddevelopment of LakeChad
The LCBCworkshop
inNiamey inMarch 2013
The Nakanbé andMouhounWater Agencies
The Water Agencies were established
in Burkina Faso by the orientation law
on water management of February
2001.
The Decree of June 2003, determining
the areas of responsibility of the struc-
tures in charge of water resources
management, has divided the country
into fiveareas: Cascades,Gourma, Lip-
tako,Mouhoun andNakanbé.
In October 2010, the French Loire-
Brittany Water Agency and
Nakanbé Water Agency signed a
Memorandumof Understanding for
cooperation
in the development of
joint actions in the field of Integrated
Water ResourcesManagement.
An institutional cooperationproject
was also implemented in late2013
by the French Adour-Garonne and
Seine-Normandy Water Agencies
and theMouhounWater Agency.
Since 2013, an institutional coopera-
tion project has also associated
the
Loire-Brittany Water Agency with
the White Volta Basin Board in
Ghana,
downstream continuity of the
Nakanbé River Basin.
In addition to direct collaboration bet-
ween agencies, these institutional
cooperation projects strengthen the
policy framework and facilitate the
implementationof common causepro-
jects in connection with the Water
Development and Management Plans
of the concerned river basins.
Dibi Millogo
NakanbéWater Agency
TheNakanbéRiver
