Through its members, CWP-Senegal has positioned itself as a key factor in the process of capacity building of stakeholders on IWRM for their mobilisation and support in the framework of the elaboration of the PAGIRE. The capacities acquired through this process are still sought and valued in the framework of IWRM implementation.
According to the DGPRE, the implementation of the PAGIRE has resulted in a clear improvement in knowledge of the state of water resources and in the capacity to manage and plan water demand.
Administrative agents, private sector actors, local elected officials and representatives of grassroots community organisations took part in more than 14 awareness and information workshops and IEC activities in the intervention zones of the water brigades.
The participation of stakeholders in the workshops is an important means of popularizing water-related challenges with a view to better managing the resource, both at the national and local levels.
Various actors have been influenced and supported the ongoing process of IWRM planning and implementation at one time or another. These include donors (Canadian
Cooperation, EU, ADB, IDA, UNDP), universities (doctoral schools), international and non-governmental organisations (IUCN, Eau vive, EVE, Caritas), local authorities (Diembéring, Lac de Guiers), public administration (DGPRE, PEPAM), transboundary basin organisations (OMVS, OMVG) and the private sector (CSS, zirconium miners).
Capacity building has been a major contribution to the development of PAGIRE. The integration of IWRM in the implementation of the MDGs and then the SDGs has allowed many actors to become aware of the relevance of this approach. Senegal now knows the availability of water resources and has the means to monitor them. It is better equipped to provide an adequate and sustainable response to water demand.
The most visible impact results are:
- the revitalisation of the planning system in the water sector, with the mobilisation of state funding in the implementation of IWRM, the support of PEPAM to the process of territorialisation of IWRM, the involvement of more donors and NGOs in the implementation of IWRM locally and the development and implementation of IWRM programmes in the basin agencies;
- the beginning of effective implementation of IWRM with the revision of the Water Code and the strengthening of knowledge, the better participation of stakeholders in planning exercises, in projects and impact studies and the establishment of local water management frameworks.
The IWRM-PAP 2008-2015 was a pilot project in terms of water resources management
planning using the IWRM approach. Its three main strategic axes have enabled progress to be made, which has led to the IWRM-PAP 2 2018-2030:
- improving knowledge and capacity for water resources management;
- creating an enabling environment for IWRM implementation through legal, organisational and policy reforms;
- improving communication, information, education and awareness on water.
The IWRM-PAP 2008-2015 laid the foundations of IWRM in Senegal and the momentum has continued with the adoption of the IWRM-PAP 2. The strategy of territorialisation of water management advocated through the definition of geographical planning units allows for better consideration of local realities, with the involvement of different stakeholders in the governance mechanisms of the resource.
This strategy settles a series of questions, notably at the institutional and organisational
levels, but also in terms of the coherence of sectoral interventions and participation. The idea of a national master plan recommended in PAGIRE 2 and integrating all the concerns of the territories will enable the DGPRE to ensure better steering of the IWRM policy at the national level.