Addressing Transboundary Concerns in the Volta River Basin and its Downstream Coastal Area

The Volta River Basin Region comprises four coastal states (Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin) and two land-locked countries (Burkina Faso and Mail).In 1998, recognizing the need to address priority transboundary concerns in the basin, Ghana and its respective authorities proposed an initiative on integrated ecosystem management of the Volta River basin, which resulted in GEF PDF-A grant awarded in 1999. At the Accra Workshop, a working group comprising the six riparian countries focused on the identification of the perceived water-related environmental problems. This regional inter-ministerial meeting resulted in the Accra Declaration, which was a statement formally agreeing to collaborate on the integrated management of the Volta Basin and strongly recommended the preparation of a project document seeking funds from GEF for this purpose. Preparation of the present project brief, together with the preliminary TDA and SAP, was facilitated through a Global Environment Project Development Facility Block-B (GEF-PDF-B) grant.

This project proposal, Addressing Transboundary Concern in the Volta River Basin and its Downstream Coastal Area has a primary focus on some of the major environmental problems as a result of human activities, by reducing those activities that lead to water scarcity, land and water degradation (LWD).

The project has three main components and their associated objectives identified by the root cause analysis carried out during the project preparation process: (i): Build capacity and create a regional institutional framework for the effective management of the Volta Basin; (ii): Develop regional policy, legal and regulatory frameworks for addressing transboundary concerns in the Volta Basin and its downstream coastal area and (iii) Initiate national and regional measures to combat transboundary environmental degradation in the Volta Basin.

Project website http://gefvolta.iwlearn.org

Waterbodies Volta

TDA/SAP
Volta Basin Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis(TDA) Volta River Basin - Preliminary (TDA) Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis Volta River Basin Preliminary Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis, Final Report. 2002. Volta River Basin: Preliminary Strategic Action Programme, Final Report. 2002. Volta Basin Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis Volta Basin Authority Strategic Plan

Documents & Resources
File “Addressing Transboundary Concerns in the Volta River Basin and its Downstream Coastal Area” Project Brief Volta Project Brief: Annex A maps_graphic Volta River Basin report Volta Basin TDA -WEB

General information
GEF ID	1111
Project type	Full-Size Project
Status	closed (Project Completion)
Start Date	01 Aug 2007
End Date	31 Dec 2013

GEF characteristic:
Focal Area	International Waters
GEF Allocation to project	USD 5,347,380
Total Cost of the project:	USD 15,721,780

Results
YES - See results data (1111)

Partners

Countries Benin , Burkina Faso , Cote d'Ivoire , Ghana , Mali , Togo , Regional Lead implementing agency UN Environment (UNEP) Executing agencies Direction de l' Amenagement du Territoire, Benin Direction Nationale de l' Hydraulique, Burkina Faso Direction de l' Environment, Cote d'Ivoire Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST), Ghana Direction Nationale de l' Hydraulique, Mali Direction de l' Ecologie Generale et de la Rehabilitation du Milieu, Togo United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)

Project contacts
Yaw Opoku-Ankomah Angelika Quaye Project/Web Assistant Hubert Onibon Regional Project Coordinator