Knowledge of the state of water resources in Mauritania remains a major constraint challenging the development of a long-term vision for the water sector and the efficient management of extreme events (drought and floods) that are expected to become more intense and frequent due to climate change. Also, the absence of coherent and well informed monitoring and evaluation system doesn’t facilitate the monitoring and reporting of Mauritania’s progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In order to consolidate the water resources monitoring and evaluation system in Mauritania, and within the framework of WACDEP Programme (Water, Climate and Development Programme), GWP-Med is preparing in collaboration with the National Water Resources Center (CNRE) a study that aims in a first phase to assess of the current situation of the water resources monitoring and evaluation system and in a second phase to develop an action plan for the reinforcement of this system. The action plan will cover not only the technical aspects but also the organisational and regulatory aspects including the human and financial resources, the operational procedures, etc.
In this context, a national consultation workshop was organized on December 15th, 2017 to present and discuss the results of the assessment of the current situation of the national water resource centre and the water resources monitoring and evaluation system.
This workshop was opened by M. Cheikh Zammel, the General Director of the National Water Resource Center and gathered representatives from key stakeholders involved in the water sector : the Ministry of hydraulics and sanitation, the national company for water distribution, (SNDE), the national office for water distribution in rural areas (ONSER) the ministry of environment and sustainable development, the national meteorological office, civil society, etc.
The identified gaps of the water resources monitoring and evaluation system were classified in different categories: institutional, regulatory, financial, human resources, etc. Discussions on the possible actions aiming to fill these gaps and improve the situation were initiated.
The suggested actions to improve the monitoring and evaluation of the water resources in Mauritania will be consolidated and will fully integrated in the five-years National Action Plan for the drinking water and sanitation that is under development by the Ministry of Hydraulics and Sanitation with the assistance of UNICEF.