Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

S E N E G A L R I V E R B A S I N , G U I N E A , M A L I , M A U R I T A N I A , S E N E G A L / 4 5 5■ degradation of cultivated land;Other positive effects expected over the short term concern:■ modification of the hydrodynamic characteristics of the estuarywith the reduction of the ‘flushing’ phenomenon; and■ the electrification of villages near the dams (a study has beencompleted and funding obtained for the first phase); and■ disappearance of wetland areas.The installation of the dams has been accomplished without takingdue account of other important aspects of planning.■ Top-down planning has occurred without relationship to the localneeds of the beneficiaries.■ The large schemes for groundnuts, cotton and irrigation have beenless than successful due to application of inappropriate technologies,lack of markets or access to markets, and lack of local capacity.Principal positive effects■ Year-round availability of freshwater in sufficient quantities (foragriculture, domestic uses, agro-industry, groundwater recharge),accompanied by reverse immigration of people who had left tofind employment in the cities;■ development of irrigated agriculture in the valley (with doublecropping);■ partial opening up and stimulation of exchanges between areaswhere dams have been built and the rest of the subregion dueto road construction;■ access to healthcare for several villages near the dams with theconstruction of dispensaries and health clinics;■ access to drinking water installations for populations living nearthe dams;■ development of fishing activities for populations living near theManantali dam;■ reappearance of local fauna and regeneration of vegetation■ flow regulation to decrease or eliminate flooding;■ cheaper electricity in the three member states thanks to theManantali power plant.■ navigation on the river between Saint Louis and Kayes (a studyis underway).Water resources database and informationOMVS has abundant quantitative data thanks to a dischargemonitoring network set up in 1904, with updated records stored in adatabase of the OMVS High Commission.The Technical Department of the High Commission also publishesa monthly hydrological bulletin for the technical services of themember states and other actors (producers, development partners,NGOs, industrial projects) carrying out activities in the basin.Major studies carried out by the French Research Institute forDevelopment (IRD, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) andthe OMVS have also made it possible to estimate withdrawal andlosses during low flow stages. The results are the following:evaporation during low water stages is estimated to be at 65.4 m 3 /s,withdrawal for human and industrial consumption at 2.6 m 3 /s, andwithdrawal for irrigated agriculture during the off-season at 19 m 3 /s.The average total water needs downstream from Bakel (referencestation) are, therefore, at 87 m 3 /s during low water stages.These studies have also made it possible to develop suitableresource management tools based on analysis of the hydrologicalbehaviour of the river in relation to needs. Software (SIMULSEN) hasbeen developed to evaluate the effects of the various Manantali dammanagement practices on the degree of satisfaction of demands suchas hydroelectric production, flow regulation, flow at Bakel as afunction of needs downstream. Specific studies have also been carriedout on how flooding is related to the functioning of basins, providingimportant information concerning their filling and emptying, and thevolumes of water potentially available during this period.Data on water quality, health, livestock-raising, agriculture,fishing, climate and the environment do exist, but are dispersed invarious government services, laboratories, universities and researchinstitutes, or even in cooperation institutions, such as the IRD, theUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID), theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank.Data have been collected for many projects, but the resultingdatabases are incompatible or have simply been lost or abandonedupon completion of projects. The most acute need is in the upperbasin, including Guinea, where the lack of data is a concern notonly for the government of Guinea but for the whole basin.Data gaps have long been a handicap for the OMVS. Thus, theHigh Commission set up an Observatory of the Environment in