News & Events

Kara, 13 August 2025 — Following in the footsteps of Mali, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso, Togo has taken a major step forward in participatory governance of the Volta Basin. Following a national workshop held in Kara, the country officially established a National Coordination of Natural Resource Users, thereby demonstrating its commitment to sustainable, inclusive and concerted management of the basin's resources.

Koudougou, August 7, 2025 — As part of the REWarD Volta River Basin project, Burkina Faso has taken a decisive step forward by establishing its National Coordination Committee for Users of Natural Resources in the Volta Basin. This initiative is part of the regional objective to structure, represent, and recognize users in each of the basin countries in order to strengthen their role in natural resource governance.

The West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) Commission, with the support of Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP-WA), is organizing a regional capacity-building workshop for young people on the theme “Water security and climate resilience in West Africa: Opportunities for youth employability and entrepreneurship.”

Following Mali and Benin, Côte d'Ivoire has established its National Coordination of Users of Natural Resources in the Volta Basin (CNU). The event took place on 25 July 2025 at the end of a national workshop held in Bouna in the Bounkani region within the national portion of the basin in Côte d'Ivoire.

On 18 July 2025, stakeholders in the Beninese section of the Volta River basin established a national coordination committee for natural resource users in the basin. The event took place in Natitingou and was chaired by the Prefect of Atakora, Ms Déré Lydie M. CHABI NAH.

After a long period of inactivity, marked in particular by the failure to hold statutory meetings of the Permanent Framework for the Consultation and Monitoring (PFCM) bodies for nearly a decade, a revitalisation of the regional IWRM process in West Africa has been underway since 2024, notably with the organisation of the 11th Ordinary Session of the Technical Experts Committee (TEC) and the 5th Ordinary Session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee (MCC), which were held in Abuja from 21 to 24 June 2024.

The ECOWAS Water Resources Management Centre (WRMC) held the 12th ordinary session of the Technical Committee of Experts (TCE) of the Permanent Framework for Coordination and Monitoring of IWRM in West Africa (PFCM/IWRM-WA). The meeting took place on 9 July 2025 in Dakar, Senegal.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) together with the African Union Commission (AUC), Global Water Management (GWP) and Africa Water Investment Program Secretariat (AIP Sec) organised a training on Climate Resilient Water Projects, Investment and Integrated Water Resources Management in Dakar, Senegal on 7 and 8 July 2025.

As part of the WMO's technical assistance to the project to strengthen climate resilience in Burkina Faso (HYDROMET-BF Project), GWP- WA has coordinated the raising of awareness of hydrometeorological risks and impacts at the end of June 2025.

On 26 June 2026, Mali established the first National Coordination of Users of Natural Resources in the Volta Basin. National conferences are to be held in each of the six countries of the Volta Basin with a view to establishing a representative, structured and recognised National Coordination of Natural Resource Users through the validation of co-opted organisations, the adoption of constitutive texts, the work plan and capacity building, and the initiation of official recognition procedures with the administrative authorities.