Division manager in the Water and Sanitation Department of the African Development Bank, Ousseynou Guène (in white) and the panelists endorsed concerted solutions to the effects of climate change in West Africa.
Experts attending a joint water and sanitation conference in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, have called for collaboration among West African coastal states to tackle the adverse effects of climate change in the region.
Speaking during a panel discussion Tuesday 21 February on "Water Security and the Yoke of Climate Change-Case of West African Coastal Cities," Senegal's deputy Water and Sanitation minister in charge of Flood Prevention and Management, Issakha Korka Diop, said the destruction caused by flooding had sharpened the need for cooperation.
"None of our countries, in isolation, can address the issue of climate change;
We need more solidarity, more joint initiatives to achieve African resilience to climate change," Diop said.
Ivorian Minister of Hydraulics, Sanitation and Health, Bouake Fofana, urged coastal countries to review their planning systems to prioritize resilience to climate change. He appealed to the African Development Bank Group for support to help prepare for the impacts of climate change.
Fofana said: "We are facing major challenges--groundwater drying up, rising sea levels, dwindling water stocks, and we need to foster innovation and research. We believe that the African Development Bank must continue to play a leading role in the community of technical and financial partners to support us."
Tanko Yussif Azzika, a senior policy advisor to the African Ministers' Council on Water, advocated closer integration among West African countries. He stressed that "only when a country has solved its own problem and is satisfied does one realize there is a problem in a neighboring country. We need to work together to tackle climate change."
"Each of our countries has good practices in specific areas, and sharing them with others who do not, is important," Azzika said, urging greater prioritization of investments.
Ousseynou Guène, Division manager in the Water and Sanitation Department of the African Development Bank said Regional Member Countries must take measures to mitigate the impact of climate change on water resources.
He said: "We need water for human consumption, agriculture, industry, and other socio-economic activities. There is a decline in water resources in cities along the coastal strip. We are experiencing water stress and may be exposed to an extreme situation in the next ten years. "It is high time we integrated this."
The panel was part of the 21st African Water Association International Congress and Exhibition, and the 7th Faecal Sludge Management Conference, which opened on Monday, 20 February.
Taking place together for the first time, the joint occasion co-sponsored by the African Development Bank Group, brought together public and private sector experts: government officials, development partners, engineers, and researchers to discuss water and sanitation challenges in Africa under the theme Acting for sustainable management of resources and access to water and sanitation for all.
Government ministers from Senegal, Malawi, Niger, Madagascar, Togo, and Bangladesh attended the opening plenary.
The bank hosted a series of sessions to provide information about its financing to support Africa's water and sanitation sector. These include the African Water Facility and its instruments, such as the African Urban Sanitation Investment Funds.
