Learning to share: peer exchange to build groundwater data governance in the Mono Basin

In May 2026, IWMI and the Mono Basin Authority (MBA) convened a two-day technical workshop in Cotonou, Benin, under the G4DR project. Supported by the IW:LEARN Twinning Programme, the workshop brought together three experienced West African river basin organisations — the Niger Basin Authority (NBA), the Volta Basin Authority (VBA), and the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) — to share knowledge on groundwater monitoring and transboundary data sharing with the younger MBA. The exchange generated concrete inputs to a rehabilitation plan for piezometric stations in the Mono Basin, a draft data sharing protocol, and a platform design concept — while demonstrating the transformative value of structured peer learning between transboundary water institutions.

The G4DR project (GEF ID 10970) is a four-year initiative to enhance water security and climate resilience across Africa by unlocking the potential of groundwater. Executed by IWMI and implemented by FAO, G4DR operates in Benin, Malawi, Mozambique, Togo, and Uganda. In the Mono Basin — shared between Benin and Togo — the project focuses on Component 3: demonstrating on-the-ground benefits of integrating groundwater into water resources planning. Activities include rehabilitating piezometric monitoring stations, installing automatic data loggers, strengthening community engagement through a Youth Ambassador model, and building the governance foundations for cross-border data sharing between MBA’s two member states.

The Mono Basin faces two interlinked and longstanding challenges:
•  Degraded monitoring infrastructure: Existing piezometric stations are largely non-functional, limiting understanding of aquifer dynamics, recharge processes, and surface water–groundwater interactions across the basin.
•  Absence of data sharing governance: Even where data exists, it remains fragmented between Benin and Togo with no binding protocol compelling either country to share openly. Without harmonised, cross-border data, evidence-based water management at the basin scale remains out of reach.
For a relatively young institution like MBA, both challenges are compounded by limited institutional experience. There are no readily available models to follow — building a transboundary data system requires navigating technical, political, and legal terrain that takes decades to learn.
 

The IW:LEARN Twinning Programme sponsored the participation of NBA, VBA, and LCBC in the Cotonou workshop, enabling a structured two-day exchange. On Day 1, IWMI and SATINGO presented plans for piezometer rehabilitation and datalogger installation, alongside MBA’s Youth Ambassador community engagement model. A comparative session mapped current data collection practices in Benin and Togo, establishing an honest baseline for the design work ahead.

Day 2 was dedicated to peer learning. Each twinned organisation presented their existing data platforms, inter-state sharing arrangements, governance models, and cost structures. Breakout groups then produced: (1) a draft framework for a Mono Basin data sharing protocol; and (2) a design concept for a basin-wide data platform. The day concluded with a formal IW:LEARN Twinning interview, capturing reflections and commitments from all four basin organisations.

VBA’s participation was especially relevant: the Volta Basin shares both Benin and Togo as member states, making VBA’s experience in multi-country data governance directly applicable. LCBC and NBA, each with over 60 years of institutional history, provided the long view on what it takes to build and sustain inter-state cooperation.

Tangible outputs from the exchange include:

•  An agreed plan and timeline for the rehabilitation of piezometric stations in the Mono Basin.

•  A draft data sharing protocol framework, drawing on tested approaches from NBA, VBA, and LCBC.

•  A design concept for a Mono Basin data platform, with options for hosting, governance, and cost-sharing.

•  Strengthened institutional relationships between MBA and three peer organisations committed to ongoing support.

Key lessons learned:

•  Groundwater governance benefits from horizontal learning: MBA’s Youth Ambassador insight, LCBC’s reframing of Lake Chad’s restoration challenge through groundwater, and VBA’s data platform experience all demonstrated the value of knowledge that only comes from practice.

•  Twinning is most effective when embedded in substantive work: Integrating the exchange within an operational workshop — rather than organising a standalone event — ensured that peer learning immediately fed into concrete outputs.

•  Participation and inclusion are preconditions for success: Multiple participants cited multi-stakeholder involvement, including women, local communities, and youth, as essential to durable basin governance.

Others replicating this model should anticipate:

•  The need for careful selection of twinned partners: relevance is not just thematic but geographic and political. VBA’s shared membership with Benin and Togo was a particularly strong basis for applicable knowledge transfer.

•  Resource requirements: IW:LEARN Twinning Programme funding was essential for covering travel. Without dedicated support, participation from peer institutions is unlikely.

•  Institutional readiness of the host: The exchange is most productive when the host institution has clear, specific questions it wants answered. MBA’s concrete challenges — protocol design, platform architecture — gave the twinned organisations a useful focus.