Organization for the Development of the Senegal River
| Total Population | 5,597,6005,597,600,000,000 millionmillion |
|---|---|
| Total Area | 434,518434,518 km² 167,767.4 mi² km2 |
| Climate Descriptors | Moist tropical (Köppen A-type), Semi-arid/steppe (Köppen B-type), Moist, Monsoon |
| Predominent Land Use Descriptors | agricultural- cropland and pasture, rangeland |
| Important Uses of Water | Agriculture or Irrigation, Hydropower Generation |
| Water Features: | Senegal River |
| Water Projects: | Manantali Dam |
Contents
Summary
The Senegal River, the second-largest river in Western Africa, originates in the Fouta Djallon Mountains of Guinea where its three main tributaries, the Bafing, Bakoye, and Faleme contribute 80% of the river's flow. After originating in Guinea, the Senegal River then travels 1,800 km crossing Mali, Mauritania and Senegal on its way to the Atlantic Ocean. [1]Following the independence of the basin countries, tension remained in the region due to the instability of the political powers and the influence of neo-colonial states such as the United States and the Soviet Union. Throughout the turmoil following World War II into the 1970s, the Senegal River continued to be a common link between the basin countries. There was a desire between them to cooperate in the management of the basin so that all countries would benefit from its development. This aspiration has been carried into the twenty-first century as Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal work cooperatively toward more effective basin management. The history of cooperation over this river basin has led to numerous multilateral agreements, projects and organizations over the last 25 years. The Manantali Dam has been working at full capacity since May 2003 providing each of the basin countries with electricity based on the amount the invested in the dam project.The Senegal River Charter, signed in 2002, sets the principles and procedures for allocating water between the various use sectors, defines procedures for the examination and acceptance of new water use projects, determines regulations for environmental preservation and protection and defines the framework and procedures for water user participation in resource management decision-making bodies.
Natural, Historic, Economic, Regional, and Political Framework
Image 1. Map of the Senegal River Basin.[2]
Background
The Senegal River, the second-largest river in Western Africa, originates in the Fouta Djallon Mountains of Guinea where its three main tributaries, the Bafing, Bakoye, and Faleme contribute 80% of the river's flow. After originating in Guinea, the Senegal River then travels 1,800 km crossing Mali, Mauritania and Senegal on its way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Following the independence of the basin countries, tension remained in the region due to the instability of the political powers and the influence of neo-colonial states such as the United States and the Soviet Union. Throughout the turmoil following World War II into the 1970s, the Senegal River continued to be a common link between the basin countries. There was a desire between them to cooperate in the management of the basin so that all countries would benefit from its development. This aspiration has been carried into the twenty-first century as Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal work cooperatively toward more effective basin management.
The river is a key resource for all three countries. Large herds of cattle, camels, goats and sheep migrate season to season across these borders and herders rely on this water source to sustain their herds. The basin region receives only an average of 660mm of rainfall per year, therefore the Senegal river waters represent the key to agriculture in the region. On the left bank, the surface area of community-based irrigated fields grew from 20 hectares in 1974 to 7,335 hectares in 1983 and 12,978 hectares in 1986. After agriculture, fishing is the largest economic activity in the region. Other river based economic activities include sugar cane production, rice framing and, to a lesser extent, mining,
Two dams, Manantali and Diama, were built in 1986 and 1988, respectively, in order to provide fresh water for agriculture and municipal uses and, in the case of the Manantali Dam, eventually to produce hydroelectric power for the region. These two dams were part of an economic growth strategy for the region that would reduce the investment risk and reduce poverty by increasing income-generating activities. The Manantali Dam was put on line in 2002 and is now supplying the three basin countries with 547 gwh/yr.
The Problem
There are a few areas of concern in regards to the Senegal River basin. The first is that of the climate. Beginning in the 1960s, the region suffered a continuous drop in rainfall until the mid-1980s. Because of the local populations' dependence on rainfall for crops, the droughts caused severe disruption in the economies of the basin states. The impacts to the economy were a result of the affects of the drought on the environment. Erosion, saltwater intrusion, drop in groundwater, vegetation loss among other impacts were felt in the entire region resulting in the exodus of large numbers of inhabitants from the rural areas towards the cities. The extreme poverty in the region makes these populations very vulnerable to changes in the climate.
In the 1960s and 1970s this problem led the countries of the Senegal River basin to look at ways to work together to mitigate the disastrous affects of severe droughts. Unlike other international water bodies, cooperation over this basin did not grow out of a conflict over use of the Senegal River resources. Instead the catalyst for cooperation was the vulnerability of the populations of the basin states. These four countries believe that collaboration on the development of this resource would improve the standard of living of all involved.
Problems in the basin today focus on the detrimental health and environmental and agricultural impacts of the two dams. Seasonal flooding and water movement decreased dramatically after the dams were built. This has caused an increase in the incidence of numerous waterborne diseases: diarrhea, schistosomiasis and malaria. The reduction of flooding also prevents pollution from industrial agricultural from flushing out of the basin. The dams have caused a reduction in pastureland, degradation of river fisheries, increased soil salinity and riverbank erosion. Traditional agricultural and pastoral productions systems have been superceded by irrigated, in some cases industrial size, agriculture. This emphasis on irrigation has created problems for social cohesion and access to land in some areas of the river basin, and in some cases artificial flooding has been so poorly planned that it has wiped out crops.
The basin countries expected to see a decrease in the rural-urban drift once irrigation was more feasible, but this has not happened. Politics also play an important role in decisions regarding the yearly artificial flood levels; they often vary according to the policies of current basin country governments.[3]
A separate, but equally worrisome issue is the pressure on this resource from a rapidly increasing river basin population: 16% of the population of the three river basin countries- Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal -live in this basin, and this population is growing at a rate of 3% per year.
Attempts at Conflict Management
During the 1960s, as the newly independent African states established their national identities and put in place their national infrastructures, there was a large movement among the Senegal River basin states to act jointly in the development of the basin.
The first step to this mutual development of the Senegal River basin came in 1963 when, after several meetings between the basin states, the four countries signed the Bamako Convention, which recognized the Senegal River as an international waterway and created the Interstate Committee (CIE, Comité Inter-Etats pour l'Amenagement du fleuve Sénégal) to oversee its development. The CIE's main goal was to use a multilateral approach when developing technical capacity and financial support for the Senegal River. The CIE and the basin states were encouraged to present individual proposals to international aid agencies for funding, but not without approval of the CIE. This would guarantee coordinated management of the basin, and prevent any unilaterally beneficial projects. The Bamako Convention, and a year later, the Dakar Convention, introduced a framework for future development of the basin for mutual benefit of all countries.
In meetings between the heads of state of the four countries in 1965 and 1966, proposals were made to improve the already existing infrastructure of the CIE and move beyond the Senegal River basin to look at linkages between other West African rivers. The goal was to reinforce the idea of cooperation through the development and integration of the region's economies. However, due to tensions that arose between Senegal and Guinea in January of 1967, Guinea suspends its participation in the CIE. Mali and Mauritania, still interested in the regional integration of the Senegal River basin, managed to bring all four heads of States back to the negotiating table in November of 1967 in Bamako, Mali, to revive collaboration.
In late 1967, several ministerial meetings took place to revive the idea of cooperation. These meetings resulted in the Labé Convention, signed on March 24, 1968, which created the Organization of Boundary States of the Senegal River (OERS, Organisation des Etats Riverains du Sénégal). The goals of OERS were more comprehensive than those of the CIE. Because its objectives were not limited to the valorization of the basin, the member states attempted to politically and economically integrate the basin through the standardization of legislation, the improvement of education and the further breaking down of borders to allow increased trade and labor movement. This initiative demonstrated the interest these four countries had in treating the river basin as an international resource.
The economic cooperation of the member states of OERS advanced with various ministerial-level meetings in the transportation and economic sectors, but when political instability of the basin occurred in 1970, difficulties arouse within the organization. The nature of OERS was such that decisions were made unanimously, and when Guinea was absent for two meetings in 1971 (due to regional political instability), negotiations came to a halt. Consequently, Guinea withdrew from OERS in 1972 and the organization became defunct.
The desire for regional integration remained with Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal, however, and the three countries established the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS, Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du fleuve Sénégal). One of the most important aspects of this convention is that Guinea did not participate, but it did not object either, which has allowed the process to move forward with less difficulty. The organization created two types of shared infrastructure, physical and institutional, which were designed to accomplish the goals of OMVS:
- The development of food security for the populations of the basin.
- The reduction in the economic vulnerability of OMVS states to external factors such as climate changes.
- The acceleration of the economic development of member states the preservation of ecosystem balance in the sub-region and particularly in the basin.
- Secure and improved revenue of the valley populations.
By the early 1990s when Senegal began to realize that the OMVS objectives were not going to be obtained, they drew up The Master Plan for the Integrated Development of the Left Bank. This plan shifted development focus from the establishment of irrigated agriculture to a more integrated form of development. They would continue to promote irrigated agriculture without jeopardizing other uses of the water such as flood-recessional farming while at the same time promoting an artificial yearly flood. However, the OMVS felt that this plan was an affront to the authority of the OMVS, and did not allow its implementation.
Outcome
The history of cooperation over this river basin has led to numerous multilateral agreements, projects and organizations over the last 25 years. The Manantali Dam has been working at full capacity since May 2003 providing each of the basin countries with electricity based on the amount the invested in the dam project. Mali is receiving 52% of the benefits, while Mauritania receives 15% and Senegal 33%. An additional benefit of this dam has been the fiber optic cables used for the transmission lines, which telecommunications companies can also use (see Organization for the Development of the Senegal River, pp. 448-461, for a more complete list of positive and negative effects of the dams).
The Senegal River Charter, signed in 2002, sets the principles and procedures for allocating water between the various use sectors, defines procedures for the examination and acceptance of new water use projects, determines regulations for environmental preservation and protection and defines the framework and procedures for water user participation in resource management decision-making bodies.
Following this charter, the GEF funded a four-year Water and Environmental Management Project to provide a framework for sustainable development, and trans-boundary land-water management in the Senegal rive basin. The project has five goals:
Analysis, Synthesis, and Insight
Individuals may add their own Analysis, Synthesis, and Insight (ASI) to a case. ASI sub-articles are protected, so that each contributor retains authorship and control of their own content. Edit the case to add your own ASI.
Learn moreASI:Organization for the Development of the Senegal River: Insights from the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database
Contributed by: Aaron T. Wolf, Joshua T. Newton, Matthew Pritchard (last edit: 12 February 2013)
- ^ Product of the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database, Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University. Additional information about the TFDD can be found at: http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/research/case_studies/OMVS_New.htm
- ^ Product of the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database, Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University. Additional information about the TFDD can be found at:http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/research/case_studies/OMVS_New.htm
- ^ Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (1972). Senegal River Basin, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Pilot Case Studies, A Focus on Real-World Examples, pp. 448-461.
