African Water Association Congress: experts call for an integrated approach in West Africa to tackle climate change impacts | African Development Bank

Experts attending a joint water and sanitation conference in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, have called for cooperation between West African coastal states to address the adverse impacts of climate change in the region.

Speaking at a panel discussion on Tuesday, February 21 on “Water Security and the Yoke of Climate Change – Case of West African Coastal Cities,” Senegal’s Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, responsible for Flood Prevention and Management, Issakha Korka Diop, said the destruction caused by floods had heightened the need for cooperation.

“None of our countries can individually tackle the problem of climate change;
We need more solidarity, more joint initiatives to achieve African resilience to climate change,” Diop said.

Ivorian Minister of Hydraulic Engineering, Sanitation and Health Bouake Fofana urged coastal countries to review their planning systems to prioritize resilience to climate change. He appealed to the African Development Bank Group for support in preparing for the impacts of climate change.

Fofana said: “We face major challenges – drying groundwater, rising sea levels, dwindling water resources, and we need to boost innovation and research. We believe that the African Development Bank must continue to play a leading role in the technical and financial community. partners to support us.”

Tanko Yussif Azzika, senior policy adviser to the African Council of Ministers for Water, advocated for closer integration between West African countries. He stressed that “it is only when a country has solved its own problem and is satisfied that it is realized that there is a problem in a neighboring country. We must work together to tackle climate change.”

“Each of our countries has good practices in specific areas and it’s important to share them with others who don’t,” said Azzika, pushing for more investment prioritization.

Ousseynou Guène, divisional manager at the African Development Bank’s Water and Sanitation Department, said regional member states should take measures to reduce the impact of climate change on water resources.

He said: “We need water for human consumption, agriculture, industry and other socio-economic activities. There is a decline in water resources in cities along the coastal strip. We are experiencing water stress and could be exposed to an extreme situation in the next ten years.”It’s about time we started integrating this.”

The panel was part of the 21^st International Congress and Exhibition of the African Water Association, and the 7^e Conference on Fecal Sludge Management, opened Monday, February 20.

The joint event, co-sponsored by the African Development Bank Group, took place together for the first time and brought together experts from the public and private sectors: government officials, development partners, engineers and researchers to address Africa’s water and sanitation challenges. to be discussed under the theme Acting for sustainable resource management and access to water and sanitation for all.

Ministers from Senegal, Malawi, Niger, Madagascar, Togo and Bangladesh attended the opening plenary session.

The bank hosted a series of sessions to provide information on its funding to support the water and sanitation sector in Africa. These include the African Water Facility and its instruments, such as the African Urban Sanitation Investment Funds.