The West African sub-region is beset with challenges related to ineffective administration of water sources and is in dire want of a brand new type of administration to sort out water -related issues.
The problem necessitated the collective motion of consultants and authorities officers from the 15- member international locations of the Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS), who converged in Abuja on Friday for the fifth strange session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee (MMC), assembly to brainstorm on a framework for coordination and monitoring of Built-in Water Assets Administration (IWRM).
ECOWAS Commissioner for infrastructure, Vitality and Digitization, Sediko Douka, in his remarks in the course of the assembly, defined that West African states have been dedicated to built-in water administration resulting in an motion plan in 2000 and framework in 2001. He pressured the necessity for a brand new type of water administration to sort out water associated issues.
The ECOWAS commissioner acknowledged that the essence of the ministerial monitoring committee assembly was to revitalise cooperation and implementation of the regional water insurance policies for improvement of the area.
Throughout the assembly, the Commissioner disclosed that ECOWAS has assured that Nigeria will get not less than 55 p.c of the worldwide water fund due to its giant inhabitants and contribution to the regional bloc’s levy.
Consultants consider that Nigeria, like most West African international locations, has ample water sources, however faces a critical problem in enhancing entry to this useful resource as a result of quickly rising demand pushed by excessive inhabitants development, urbanization, and rising residing requirements ensuing from financial development.
ECOWAS mentioned that collaborative efforts of member states in the direction of an built-in water useful resource administration (IWRM) are essential to sustainable regional socio-economic improvement including that extra funding is required to push this initiative.
The assembly is essential due to the prevalence of water-related issues that are detrimental to the financial and social improvement of the West African international locations.
The necessity for a brand new water sources administration is already contained within the suggestions of the United Nations Convention on Atmosphere and Sustainable Improvement (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992.
Recall that since 1998, ECOWAS member states had been totally dedicated to the IWRM course of, which culminated within the adoption of a regional motion plan in 2000 and a everlasting coordination and monitoring framework (PCMF).
Based on commissioner Douka, “This dedication to sub-regional cooperation stems from a shared political imaginative and prescient by all member states, as expressed within the “Ouagadougou Declaration” of 1998.
“These broadlines have efficiently guided our efforts in built-in water sources administration for nearly three a long time now,” he mentioned.
He mentioned additional that the Abuja assembly will strengthen the resolve to revitalize the PCMF of IWRM and assess the implementation standing of the West Africa Water Assets Coverage (WAWRP) adopted in December 2008 by ECOWAS leaders.
“The WAWRP represents a novel expertise within the improvement of a standard sectoral coverage for West African regional integration organizations (ECOWAS-WAEMU-CILSS).
“The assembly agenda will tackle problems with essential significance for the promotion of IWRM and sustainable improvement in West Africa,” he mentioned.
He described ECOWAS’ Regional Initiative for the Improvement, Resilience, and Valorization of Water Assets (DREVE), as an bold structuring and progressive programme that’s supported by the World Financial institution and different West African integration organizations.
The regional bloc is assured that regardless of all of the challenges, the implementation of this initiative would positively change the fortunes of the ECOWAS bloc by way of sustainable improvement.
In his remarks, Nigeria’s Minister of Water Assets and Sanitation, Prof. Joseph Utsev, described West Africa’s ample water sources because the hub of its financial improvement, stressing that water sources would affect positively on well being, schooling, tourism, meals safety and power, if correctly harnessed and coordinated.
He known as for extra collaborative efforts by member international locations to take advantage of the potential of the water sources within the area to handle challenges like local weather change, poverty, unemployment and inequality.
He mentioned “The sub-region has a large amount of potential, and thru working collectively, we are able to foster a area that may remedy its challenges – from local weather change, poverty, unemployment, inequality, and extra.”
The fifth Peculiar Session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee of IWRM in West Africa was held with the intention to revitalise the regional IWRM course of by reviewing the implementation of resolutions from the 4th Peculiar Session.
Earlier, the assembly by members of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), comprising water sources consultants from Member States and West African basin organisations held from June 25-27, 2024, for the eleventh strange session of the technical knowledgeable committee (TEC) of the Everlasting Framework for Coordination and Monitoring of Built-in Water Assets Administration (IWRM) in West Africa.
