CONGO RIVER BASIN: challenges and current initiatives

International Commission of the
Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin
« CICOS »
5th World Water Forum - Italian Side Event
“the Po valley compares itself
with big international basins”
CONGO RIVER BASIN:
challenges and current initiatives
Benjamin NDALA
General Secretary
1
Situation of the Congo River basin
¾ 1/3
of the basin
in the northern
hemisphere, 2/3
in the southern
¾ Area
3 700 000 km²
¾ 9 countries
¾ 25 000 km of
waterways
1st basin in Africa
and 2nd in the world
2
CICOS legal framework
¾ The
agreement establishing a Uniform
framework for the river system and
creating CICOS was signed on 6
November 1999 by the 4 Heads of
State of Cameroon, Central Africa,
Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo
(Angola is now observer)
¾ An Addendum to the agreement
extending the mandate of CICOS to
IWRM was signed on 22 February 2007
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Major issue in the
river basin: Inga
Congo
dam
Biggest hydropower potential in the world:
44 000 MW - 225 km downstream Kinshasa
Installed capacity: 351 MW + 1424 MW
Inga
4
PROBLEMATIC and PROJECTS
¾ Water
transport promotion
(GTZ, World Bank)
¾ Monitoring of water resources
(Congo HYCOS, WMO)
¾ Strategic planification (AWF)
¾ Management of halieutic resources
(FAO)
¾ Water infrastructures (hydropower…)
5
Oubangui low water problems
Modules Oubangui à Bangui
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
The basin faces severe low-water, notably
for its tributaries situated in the northern
hemisphere, such as the Oubangui River 6
2004
2000
1996
1992
1988
1984
1980
1976
1972
1968
1964
1960
1956
1952
1948
1944
1940
1936
0
Oubangui low water problems
(continuation)
¾ Consequence: interruption of navigation on
Oubangui river
•
•
•
•
4 days per year from 1935 to 1971
40 days per year from 1972 to 1982
107 days per year from 1983 to 1989
More than 200 days per year since 2002
¾ Project
of transfer of Oubangui waters to
Lake Chad: environmental and social
impacts must be seriously studied
7
African Monitoring of
Environment for Sustainable
Development Program
¾ African
Union / European Union;
CEMAC / CICOS
¾ Central Africa region Thema: Management
of Water Resources
¾ Low waters alert system and water cycle
modelling
¾ Training sessions, sensitisation of
stakeholders and decision-makers
8
Infrastructures simulation
¾ Agreement
Addendum: “the projects
likely to have significant impacts on
shared waters, (…) must be object of
the commission opinion and/or of a
states consultation before their
authorisation”
¾ Construction by CICOS of decision
making support tools (prospective
scenarios simulation)
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Thank you for your attention
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