Regional water-governance experts met in Abidjan on 22 September 2026 to assess progress on integrated water resources management and prepare recommendations for West Africa’s ministerial authorities.

Table Of Content

Focus on implementation
Shared water pressures
Unresolved measures and institutional progress

The 13th Ordinary Session of the Technical Experts Committee of the Permanent Framework for Coordination and Monitoring of Integrated Water Resources Management brought together national focal points and technical delegations from the region’s 15 states. Representatives of transboundary basin organisations, technical and financial partners, and civil society also took part.

The meeting was convened by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS).

Focus on implementation

Delegates reviewed the implementation of 14 resolutions adopted at the 5th Ministerial Session. Their discussions also covered the ongoing revision of the West Africa Water Resources Policy and other institutional issues affecting cooperation over shared water resources.

The session’s conclusions are expected to provide the technical foundation for the 6th Ordinary Session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee on Integrated Water Resources Management. They will also contribute to the First West Africa Regional Water Forum, scheduled for 24–25 September in Abidjan under the theme “Valuing Water to Transform West Africa.”

Côte d’Ivoire’s Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Water and Forests, Conservateur Général Elvire-Joëlle Zouzou épouse Mailly, formally opened the session on behalf of Minister Jacques Assahoré Konan. She pointed to the country’s 2023 Water Code, revised National Water Policy and Water Resources Master Plan as measures supporting its institutional readiness to host the discussions.

Senegal assumed the chairmanship of the session bureau through Dr Bakary Fatty. The rapporteurship rotated among Burkina Faso, Ghana and Cabo Verde.

Shared water pressures

West Africa has 28 shared river basins covering nearly 71 percent of the region’s total land area. Speaking for ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS, Mr. KOUASSI Kouakou Alexis, Director of the ECOWAS Water Resources Management Centre, said climate variability, demographic pressure and ecosystem degradation were creating risks for food security, energy development and regional stability.

“Integrated Water Resources Management is no longer simply a methodological option. It is a necessity for survival and a powerful driver of regional integration,” he said.

The Permanent Framework brings all 15 West African states together on an equal footing under a regional water policy jointly developed by ECOWAS, UEMOA and CILSS.

Unresolved measures and institutional progress

Participants noted that two regional directives adopted by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers in December 2024 had yet to be officially published. The directives concern hydraulic infrastructure and the management of shared water resources.

The proposed West African Water Fund also remains without operational follow-up, despite a feasibility study financed by the World Bank. Participants further discussed the region’s treaty commitments, noting that eight of the 15 African states party to the 1992 United Nations Water Convention are ECOWAS members.

Dr Boluwaji Onobolu, President of the Sub-Regional Consultative Council on Water Resources, called for more systematic coordination among the council’s constituent colleges. He also urged stronger integration of gender and youth considerations into the ECOWAS Water Resources Management Centre’s activities.

Among the advances reported at the session was the technical and ministerial validation of legal instruments for establishing the Mano River Transboundary Basin Management Authority. Pillar 4 of the Regional DREVE Programme was also identified as having been co-developed with the World Bank.

The Abidjan discussions take place ahead of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference in Abu Dhabi. The African Union has designated 2026 as the “Year of Water,” while regional priorities include durable financing, effective transboundary institutions and progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 6.