This initiative is part of the REWarD Volta River Basin project, which aims to structure and recognise users in each of the basin countries. It responds to a strategic need: to involve local communities in decision-making processes related to water, land, forests and associated ecosystems.
‘This is a beneficial initiative because it places local communities at the heart of sustainable water and natural resource management. The Coordination will facilitate consultation, participation and conflict prevention,’ emphasised the Prefect of Kozah during the opening ceremony.
The Togolese National Coordination was established in an inclusive manner, with the creation of a bureau of fifteen (15) members representing the Savane, Kara, Centre and Plateaux regions. At its head, Mr M. YATOMBO Tadanlenga, Executive Director of the NGO GEVAPAF, was elected president, recognised for his commitment to environmental governance and community development.
The establishment of this national coordination body strengthens the regional governance architecture of the Volta Basin, in line with the principles of integrated natural resource management, equitable representation and climate resilience. It also paves the way for institutional recognition by the administrative authorities and better coordination between users, local authorities and basin organisations.
With this step forward, Togo, like the other countries in the basin, is affirming its commitment to building water governance based on inclusion, transparency and sustainability, in line with the objectives of the REWarD project and regional commitments to preserve the Volta Basin.
These actions are taking place within the framework of the implementation of the project “Reversing the Trends of Ecosystem and Water Resource Degradation in the Volta River Basin (REWarD - Volta River Basin)”. This project was developed in close collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Volta Basin Authority (VBA), the Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP-WA) and national stakeholders.
The REWaRD – Volta River Basin project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), aims to reverse the trends of natural resource and ecosystem degradation in the Volta Basin by promoting transboundary governance, integrated natural resource management, and community resilience.
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