West African water officials assess governance gaps ahead of regional forum

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire — Regional water-governance officials and technical representatives have begun reviewing progress on shared water-management commitments ahead of West Africa’s first regional water forum.

The 13th Ordinary Session of the Technical Experts Committee of the Permanent Framework for Coordination and Monitoring of Integrated Water Resources Management opened in Abidjan on 22 September 2026. The two-day review 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).

The meeting brought together national focal points and technical delegations from the 15 West African States, transboundary basin organisations, technical and financial partners, and civil society representatives.

Review of regional commitments

Delegates examined the implementation status of 14 resolutions adopted at the 5th Ministerial Session. Their discussions included the revision of the West Africa Water Resources Policy and unresolved measures linked to the proposed West African Water Fund and a cooperation agreement with Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar.

Participants also noted that two regional directives adopted by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers in December 2024 were still awaiting official publication. The proposed water fund, meanwhile, has not received operational follow-up despite a feasibility study financed by the World Bank.

The session also considered regional accession to the 1992 United Nations Water Convention. Eight of the 15 African States party to the convention are ECOWAS members, while Benin’s formal accession is expected in November 2026.

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

Institutional progress and regional pressures

Delegates recorded the establishment of the Mano River Transboundary Basin Management Authority as an advance. Its legal instruments have received technical and ministerial validation, according to the session report.

The report also identified the co-development of Pillar 4 of the Regional DREVE Programme with the World Bank as another area of progress.

West Africa has 28 shared river basins, covering nearly 71 percent of the region’s total land area. Speaking on behalf of the three co-organising institutions, Mr. KOUASSI Kouakou Alexis, Director of the ECOWAS Water Resources Management Centre, said climate variability, demographic pressure and ecosystem degradation were creating direct 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, while calling for scientific rigour and forward-looking analysis.

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

Speaking for Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Water and Forests, Conservateur Général Elvire-Joëlle Zouzou épouse Mailly linked the country’s readiness to host the session to the adoption of a new Water Code in 2023, a revised National Water Policy and a Water Resources Master Plan.

Focus on coordination and inclusion

Dr Boluwaji Onobolu, President of the Sub-Regional Consultative Council on Water Resources, called for closer coordination among the Council’s constituent colleges. He also urged greater attention to gender and youth considerations in regional water governance.

The session’s recommendations are expected to provide the technical basis for the 6th Ordinary Session of the Ministerial Monitoring Committee on Integrated Water Resources Management.

They will also feed into the First West Africa Regional Water Forum, scheduled for 24 to 25 September 2026 in Abidjan under the theme “Valuing Water to Transform West Africa.” The regional discussions are taking place ahead of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference in Abu Dhabi and during the African Union’s designated “Year of Water.”