Better information on water for better decisions
Between April 2021 and January 2022, Senegal’s Directorate of Water Resources Management and Planning (DGPRE), supported by the KnoWat project, carried out an inventory of hydraulic works and water withdrawals in the Senegal River Delta. DGPRE carried out three missions in the delta. The inventory included water accounting and auditing and was undertaken to improve the available information and knowledge about water resources and withdrawals.
The inventory made it possible to update information on 67 percent of the hydraulic structures listed in the Senegal River Delta, as well as the volume of water withdrawals. It found that almost all freshwater withdrawals in the area are used either for agriculture or for drinking water. Water users mostly rely on surface water to meet their needs.
The inventory of water resources in the Senegal River Delta will facilitate evidence-based decision-making to improve water governance in Senegal. Based on new knowledge on water catchment points, DGPRE can advise decision-makers on how to protect these water sources from pollution and the proliferation of aquatic invasive plants. In addition, DGPRE aims to support water supply and agricultural enterprises, including family farms and business led by women and young people, through training and providing water-saving technologies.
Capacity building for informed use of water information
Training is a fundamental to improving information dissemination on water resources and, ultimately, to enhancing water use. In July 2021, DGPRE organized a training session on monitoring Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 6.4 (increase water-use efficiency across, sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater and reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity) and the AQUASTAT platform, as well as FAO's WaPOR and PROGRES databases.
As a result, more than fifty national experts from Senegal were able to improve their knowledge of methodologies for calculating indicators related to water use efficiency and water stress levels.
The management of data and information related to water resources is also of critical importance. To date, Senegal has established the PROGRES database, which contains data on all hydraulic structures and their hydrogeological and hydrological characteristics as well as their localization. DGPRE, with support from KnoWat, updated this database and created a link to FAO's AQUASTAT information system on water and agriculture. As a result, the PROGRES database now better meets information needs on water resources in Senegal and facilitates international reporting requirements under the SDGs.
A group of experts – drawn from several organizations – has been established to coordinate the monitoring of water resources and withdrawals in Senegal and to ensure the regular updating of information on Senegal in the AQUASTAT global information system. The group facilitates the collection, tracking and analysis of data on water resources.
Long-term availability and up-to-date data
The KnoWat project and its national partners in Senegal have designed and adopted an action plan to strengthen and sustain the achievements of the project in Senegal in terms of water accounting and auditing.
This action plan provides for considerably improving the system for collecting, monitoring and using data and information on water resources. Other data collection missions are planned regularly to cover the whole country.