Senegal: Water Tenure Assessment Report shared with local stakeholders
In the Saint-Louis Region of Senegal, stakeholders and implementing partners of the project, "Knowing Water Better: Towards More Equitable and Sustainable Access to Natural Resources for Greater Food Security" (KnoWat) met to discuss and validate the findings of the water tenure assessment conducted in Podor and Ross Bethio.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the Conseil national de concertation et de coopération des ruraux (CNCR), organized two workshops in Podor (9-10 May) and the Senegal River Basin (12-13 May). More than 80 participants learned about the approaches and mechanisms of water governance in Saint-Louis.
The two meetings allowed to validate the evaluation study’s report, but also to strengthen the visibility of the project and local actors’ involvement in its activities, and the adoption of innovations resulting from its implementation.
During the first session of each workshop, Mr Lamine Samaké, National Coordinator of the project in Senegal, and Mr Serigne Segnane, focal point at CNCR, presented the key results of KnoWat in Senegal and the activities related to water governance.
During the trainings, the participants learned about water governance tools and water tenure. Before, within the framework of the memorandum of understanding signed between the FAO and the CNCR, an awareness-raising manual and a video on water governance were developed. The video on water tenure was translated into local language, Wolof, to facilitate local actor’s understanding. These tools were shared with the participants during the session dedicated to water tenure.
In addition, the water tenure assessments were validated. The water tenure assessment results for two different research areas were presented to their respective local stakeholders by the consultants Dr Papa Faye, Sociologist and Dr Moustapha Ngaido, Jurist in order to discuss them and improve the report. After fruitful discussions, the participants validated the report through a joint statement. They insisted on the importance of valorising the results and implementing the recommendations.
Lastly, the participants initiated the process of setting up multi-stakeholder platforms on water governance to address the multiple challenges identified in the water tenure assessment. The modalities for setting up the platform were discussed, and a roadmap was established.
Following this mission, a national workshop to validate the water tenure assessment will be held in Dakar from 1 to 2 June 2022, with all actors involved in the water sector at the national level.