The Iullemeden-Taoudéni/Tanezrouft Aquifer System (ITTAS) Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) report validation regional workshop kick-started this Monday, October 23 in Nouakchott.
The opening ceremony was chaired by Mr. Moulaye El Hassen Ahmedou, Acting Secretary General of the Ministry of Hydraulics and Sanitation (MHS), with the presence of Mr. Mohamed Lemine KHATTRI, Director General of the National Center for Water Resources of Mauritania, Mr. Abdel Kader Dodo, OSS Water Department Coordinator and Mr. Allomasso Tchokponhoué, Regional Coordinator of the NB-ITTAS project.
This four-day meeting is organized by the Sahara and Sahel Observatory in collaboration with the National Center for Water Resources of Mauritania as part of the NB-ITTAS* project and aims to validate the Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) regional report. It constitutes the last step before the formulation of the ITTAS aquifer system regional Strategic Action Program (SAP).
The regional workshop, which brings together representatives of countries and national and regional institutions (Ministries of Water, Agriculture, Environment, the Niger Basin Authority) and civil society, will also aim to prepare the launch of pilot projects to demonstrate good practices for integrated and joint management of surface and groundwater resources which will support the SAP development process.
TDA is an approach recommended by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for international waters, the aim of which is to identify major transboundary problems and their impacts on surface and groundwater resources.
*The NB-ITTAS regional project aims at “Improving IWRM, Knowledge-based Management and Governance of the Niger Basin and the Iullemeden-Taoudeni/Tanezrouft Aquifer System | ITTAS”, which covers 11 countries, namely: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria.