Abuja, Nigeria | September 8-10, 2025
The Sahara and Sahel Observatory, in collaboration with the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), officially launched in Abuja the regional workshop on best practices for shared groundwater management in the Iullemeden-Taoudéni/Tanezrouft Aquifer System (ITTAS), under the theme of groundwater recharge and increasing access to water.
The opening session featured a keynote address by Ms. Soumaya Mouhli, OSS Water Expert, who praised the progress made since 2019 thanks to close collaboration between partner agencies - UNDP, UNEP, NBA, UNESCO, and UNIDO - under the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) and the OSS joint coordination. Her intervention was followed by a welcoming address by Mr. Umar Ibrahim Mohamed, Director General of NIHSA, who expressed his satisfaction with the concrete impact of the project on improving access to water in the Sokoto region and who renewed Nigeria's commitment to the principles of integrated water resources management and regional solidarity.
Speaking respectively, Prof. Murtala Abubakar Gada Usman, from Danfolio University – Sokoto, Ms. Amaka Odili, Consultant to the Ministry of Justice in Nigeria, and Mr. Stephen Jabo, Technical Advisor to the Director General of NIHSA, emphasized the importance of an integrated, participatory, and sustainable approach, explaining that groundwater recharge and increasing access to water is much more than a technical solution, but rather a lever for strengthening regional resilience and ensuring equitable and sustainable access to water, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 6.
Since its creation, the OSS has supported its African member countries in the sustainable management of natural resources in a climate change context. In the water sector, it encourages the collaborative management of transboundary aquifers through knowledge development, the creation of common tools, and support for shared assessments of risks and potential uses. As part of the NB-ITTAS project, which aims to improve the management, governance and conservation of water resources, the OSS acts as one of the four implementing agencies, ensuring the implementation of the TDA/SAP (Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis / Strategic Action Program) process recommended by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).