Ghana hosts seminar on national, trans-boundary water resources management in Africa

The African Development Institute (EADI) of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) in collaboration with the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) is holding a regional seminar on “National and Trans-boundary Water Resources Management in Africa” in Ghana.

The event which started March 26 will end March 30 in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.

Targeting 35 participants from Anglophone Africa, the seminar, according to the AfDB,  is a sequel to a similar one convened for their Francophone counterparts in December 2010 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

The rationale of this training event is that although significant progress has been made in Africa on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), the 2008 UN water survey revealed that the implementation of IWRM plans was ineffective due to the unsuitability or lack of appropriated instruments.

The AfDB said the trainees will therefore feature a mix of participants from African countries that have already developed and implemented instruments for IWRM; African countries not involved in the IWRM process for various reasons (conflicts, weak political will, lack of funds etc.); and finally,  representatives of regional economic organizations, basin organizations, international organizations, and scientific and technical institutions.

Participants will also conduct a review of progress at national, regional and basins/African trans-boundary aquifers in the use of instruments for IWRM.

It is therefore anticipated the outcome of the seminar will improve the management and development of water resources and basins/aquifers level in Africa, including capacity building of policy makers, senior government officials responsible for the water resources management and key development actors involved in the water sector.

By Ekow Quandzie