This nine-country, five-year, single-phase, US$ 13 million GEF-funded Project, with joint implementation support by UNDP and the World Bank, will engage stakeholders at the local, national and regional levels to ensure that activities occur at the appropriate levels following the principle of subsidiarity for environmental management.
The Project development objective is, to provide the nine riparians an opportunity to define a transboundary framework for the sustainable development of the Niger River Basin, through strengthened capacity and better understanding of the Basin’s land and water resources. The development objective’s achievement will be monitored through the following results indicators: i) an institutional and management system established and operational for the Project; ii) enhanced local, national capacity and increased awareness of the challenges and issues in the Basin; iii) improved regional, national, local data and information management, and increased dialogue and exchange within and between riparians; iv) regional linkages and networks established and operational; v) demonstration pilot projects applied, validated and packaged for scaling-up and microgrant program executed and documented; and vi) the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) and Strategic Action Plan (SAP) completed and disseminated.
The six Project components, the component allocation, and the Implementing Agency (IA) support for the components are summarized below:
• Component 1: Institution Building (USD 3.52 million, Bank implementation support): The component activities augment existing regional and national institutional capacity to manage and implement concurrent regional projects, and focus on strengthening the regional and national institutional capacity, to promote good management practices and good governance.
• Component 2: Capacity Building and Public Awareness (USD 1.62 million, UNDP implementation support): The component activities are designed to raise environmental awareness in target communities, facilitate consultations, and build capacity on issues relating to environmental management at the local, national and regional levels.
• Component 3: Data and Knowledge Management (USD 1.13 million, Bank implementation support): To complement the ongoing work on water and environment data collection that is being done in the Basin’s countries, the component will evaluate the status of the Basin’s hydrologic, environmental, and socioeconomic data, and identify the institutional modalities needed for data collection, sharing and dissemination for decision-makers.
• Component 4: Regional Forum (USD 0.38 million, UNDP implementation support): This component will facilitate the exchange of lessons and good practices from other regional projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, expand on IW:Learn, and strengthen the relationship with existing pan-African and international networks of Basin organizations, such as the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD/Sub-Regional Action Program), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Water Sector Coordination Unit, etc.
• Component 5: Demonstration Pilots and Microgrant Program. (USD 5.0 million, UNDP implementation support): This component aims to support two paralleling efforts in all nine Basin countries. The first assists communities in tackling environmental problems, through the implementation of nine priority demonstration pilots. This will demonstrate good practices in managing land and water resources.
• Component 6: TDA and SAP Preparation (USD 1.35 million, Bank implementation support): The component activities will finalize the preliminary TDA conducted during Project preparation in the main stem countries (Benin, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria) by extending the diagnostic analysis process to the remaining four riparian countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad and Côte d’Ivoire). Through, and on the basis of, this extended priority identification process, countries will prepare a SAP, coordinated by NBA. The SAP will focus on the land and water issues and complement the Niger Basin’s Shared Vision’s multi-sectoral Sustainable Development Action Plan.
Other (not set)
Benin , Burkina Faso , Cameroon , Chad , Cote d'Ivoire , Guinea , Mali , Niger , Nigeria , Regional
River
Budget
USD 29,902,000
Total Cost of the project
USD 13,000,000
GEF Allocation to project
Partners
The main focus is on helping the poorest people and the poorest countries, but for all its clients the Bank emphasizes the need for:Investing in people, particularly through basic health and educationFocusing on social development, inclusion, governance, and institution-building as key elements of poverty reduction Strengthening the ability of the governments to deliver quality services, efficiently and transparently Protecting the environment Supporting and encouraging private business developmentPromoting reforms to create a stable macroeconomic environment, conducive to investment and long-term planning.
m The aim of the Niger Basin Authority is to promote cooperation among the member countries and to ensure integrated development in all fields through development of its resources, notably in the fields of energy, water resources, agriculture, forestry exploitation, transport and communications, industry.
Contacts
Executive Secretary
Regional Coordinator
Water Resources Development Engineer
Technical Director
Regional Technical Advisor