Water Resources Management and Development Unit

About the WRMDU
Projects & Activities
Meetings & Events
Publications
Contacts

About the WRMDU

The Water Resources Management and Development Unit is part of the Agriculture Group of FAO'S Regional Office for Africa. The unit has a mandate to : promote water resources assessment, management and conservation for sustainable agricultural development; to asses and monitor the current situation of water availability, sustainability and environmental degradation in the region, provide technical advice for identification and formulation of important water issues;

The unit also focusses on the promotion of most appropriate technologies and management practices and advice with regards to water resources programmes, projects and activities for national, regional and international support;

The unit is also participating in water resources and agricultural and rural sector reviews to identify national/regional needs and to prioritise the management, development and conservation of water resources. The unit works closely with other RAF units as well as with the water resources officers in the FAO Sub-regional office in Harare and the Water Resources, Development and management Service (AGLW) at FAO Headquarter in Rome.

Projects and Activities

1. Technical backstopping of field projects within the region, mainly the water component projects of the SPFS. The unit is backstopping projects in the following countries: Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroun, Chad, Rwanda, Benin, Togo, Guinea Bisao, Cap-verde etc.

2. Identification and formulation of water control projects in the framework of SPFS in most countries of the region

3. Water harvesting case studies have been carried out in four selected countries in Western and Central Africa ( Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cameroun, Niger) to assess the water harvesting techniques and their economic performance.

4. Promotion of private irrigation, peri-urban and urban irrigation

5. Wetland development and management

6. Sustainable development of onchocerciasis-freed zones

Meetings and Events

A Sub-regional workshop on water harvesting was organized in Niamey, Niger from 26-29 october 1999 in collaboration with AGSP and ICRISAT.

A Sub-regional experts consultation on water vision for food was organized in Accra in the context of the preparation of the World Water forum.

A working group on participatory design of sustainable wetland development was organized in Accra.

Inter-agency Group meeting on water ( IGWA) was organized in Accra in collaboration with UNECA and UNEP , in february 2000.

A workshop on the integration of irrigation and aquaculture was organized in Accra from 20-21 september 1999

Publications

1. Proceedings of the workshop held in Niamey, 26-29 october 1999 on water harvesting techniques in western and central Africa is in progress.

2. Participatory design of wetland development and manaagement in progress.

Contacts

Moise Sonou,
Senior Water Development Officer
Moise.Sonou@fao.org

Sourakata Bangoura,
Water Resource Officer
Sourakata.Bangoura@fao.org

FAO Regional Office for Africa
PO Box 1628
Accra Ghana
Phone: +233 21 701 09 30
Fax: +233 21 701 09 43

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