VBA in the Nexus Processus
The Volta Basin is located in West Africa between latitudes 5° 30′ N and 14° 30′ N and longitudes 2° 00”E and 5° 30”W. It is the 9th largest river basin in sub-Saharan Africa, covering an area of around 400,000 km2. Its resources are shared between six countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Togo. Its four main sub-basins are
- The Volta Noire, which rises as the Mouhoun in Burkina Faso and drains part of Côte d’Ivoire and Mali;
- The Volta Blanche, which rises as the Nakanbé in Burkina Faso;
- The Oti, which rises as the Pendjari in Benin and flows through Togo;
The Lower Volta. It is made up of several rivers that flow directly into the Lac d’Akosombo (created by the Akosombo dam) and into the river downstream of the Kpong dam towards the sea.
The Volta Noire, Volta Blanche, Oti, and most of the Lower Volta rivers flow into Lake Akosombo. Downstream of the lake, the Volta River empties into the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean via the Volta estuary, some 100 km from Accra (Ghana).
The mandate of the Volta Basin Authority.
- To promote permanent consultation between stakeholders with a view to the development of the basin;
- Promote the implementation of Integrated Water Resource Management and the equitable distribution of the benefits derived from the various uses made of the resource;
- Authorize the development of infrastructure and the implementation of individual stakeholder projects likely to have a significant impact on the basin’s water resources;
- To develop and implement joint works and projects;
- Contribute to poverty reduction, the sustainable development of the basin’s member states, and better socio-economic integration of the sub-region.
The Volta Basin in the Water – Energy – Food Nexus process
EPIC Africa aims to support sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It aims to support sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa, by establishing and connecting a transition platform with stakeholders in dialogue, through the development of a long-term commitment tool for the water-energy-food nexus. The optimal use of shared resources will be illustrated for Africa using the cases of the Volta and Tana river basins.
VBA applied to this call by forming a consortium with research institutions to benefit from the results of the project aimed at equipping its observatory with a tool for planning and managing water resources.
