Burkina Faso, September 22-26, 2025
The OSS supervision mission conducted from September 22 to 26, 2025, to the demonstration pilot on integrated surface and groundwater management and preservation in the Kou Basin, next to Bobo-Dioulasso, was part of the NB-ITTAS project, funded by the GEF through its implementing agencies (UNEP and UNDP) and executed by NBA, OSS, UNESCO, and UNIDO. Designed as an innovative initiative, this pilot project aims to address the growing challenges of agricultural, industrial, and domestic pollution, as well as water scarcity exacerbated by sediment transport, human activities, and rainfall shortage. By integrating best practices for sustainable water resource management, the pilot project aims to strengthen community resilience, preserve ecosystems, and ensure food security in a climate change context.
The OSS delegation, led by Mrs. Apolline Bambara, Head of the Management and Planning Division, Mr. Hamda Foughali, Head of the Watch and Prospective Division, and Mr. Brahim Hammami, Accounting Officer, took stock of the significant progress made on the ground. Boreholes fitted with solar pumps and water towers, supplemented by irrigation tanks, now ensure a sustainable water supply for the villages of Kiri and Banakélédaga. In Dogona, the market garden wells support food production and agricultural resilience, while the sanitation efforts on the Houet banks actively contribute to ecosystem restoration and surface water protection. The waste management initiative, combining household awareness raising, distribution of storage bags, and logistical support to the local association through the provision of motorcycle taxis, was particularly praised as a model of participatory governance.
Discussions with local partners such as the DGRE, the NPMU, the Local Water Committee, and the "Sauvons le Marigot Houet" Association, made it possible to assess the achievements, identify the challenges, and strengthen coordination ties with the different stakeholders.
The mission also included meetings with the Head of the Special Delegation and the Chief of the Bobo Mandarès Cantons and confirmed the importance of exchanges with local authorities to ensure the success of field actions.
The short-term focus will be on capitalizing on these achievements, consolidating actions to protect the Houet Backwater, and strengthening integrated water resource management. The OSS and its partners will now work on ensuring the sustainability of infrastructure, disseminating sustainable practices, and institutionalizing local mechanisms, in order to make the NB-ITTAS pilot project in Burkina Faso a driver of resilience and sustainable development in the Kou Basin.