The Sahara and Sahel Observatory is organizing the first Steering Committee meeting of the NB-ITTAS Project “Improving IWRM, Knowledge-Based Management and Governance of the Niger Basin and the Iullemeden-Taoudéni/Tanezrouft Aquifer System (ITTAS)” on December 15th and 16th, 2020. This follows the project’s launch meeting held in Niamey, Niger from May 20th to 22nd, 2019, and the meeting organized in Niamey from January 16th to 20th, 2020, which focused on the establishment of the Steering Committee, its responsibilities, composition, and functioning. The meeting is being held virtually due to health restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NB-ITTAS project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) with a budget of 15 million US dollars. It has a duration of sixty months and involves eleven (11) countries: Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad.
The project aims to improve the management, governance, and conservation of knowledge-based resources in the Niger Basin and the Iullemeden-Taoudéni/Tanezrouft aquifers, in order to support IWRM for the benefit of communities and ecosystem resilience. The GEF funding also contributes to financing the activities outlined in the Niger River Basin Sustainable Development Action Plan (PADD), resulting from the shared vision of the Niger Basin Authority (ABN). The project is jointly implemented by ABN, OSS, UNIDO, and UNESCO, with the support of UNDP and UNEP (GEF implementing agencies).
The objectives of this first Steering Committee meeting are to assess the implementation of project activities and their corresponding budgets, exchange views on the roles of partners in the implementation of project components, discuss and agree on possible adjustments to the project duration, considering delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and validate the work plan and annual budget for 2021.
The Sahara and Sahel Observatory warmly thanks the Steering Committee members, who are Secretaries-General of the relevant ministries, for their availability and valuable support in these exceptional circumstances.
