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 7■ the Convention concerning the status of the Senegal River(Convention relative au statut du fleuve Sénégal), 11 March1972. By this convention, the Senegal River and its tributarieswere declared an ‘International Watercourse’, guaranteeingfreedom of navigation and the equal treatment of users;– set the principles and procedures for allocating waterbetween the various use sectors;– define procedures for the examination and acceptance of newwater use projects;■ the Convention creating the OMVS (Convention portant créationde l’Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Sénégal),11 March 1972;■ the Convention concerning the Legal Status of Jointly-ownedStructures (Convention relative au statut juridique des ouvragescommuns), 12 December 1978, supplemented by the Conventionconcerning the Financing of Jointly Owned Structures (Conventionrelative aux financements des ouvrages communs), 12 March1982. These declare that:– all structures are the joint and indivisible property of themember states;– each co-owner state has an individual right to an indivisibleshare and a collective right to the use and administration ofthe joint property;– the investment costs and operating expenses are distributedbetween the co-owner states on the basis of benefits eachco-owner state draws from the exploitation of structures.This distribution can be revised on a regular basis, dependingon profits;– each co-owner state guarantees the repayment of loansextended to the OMVS for the construction of structures;– determine regulations for environmental preservation andprotection; and– define the framework and procedures for water user participationin resource management decision-making processes.The OMVS functions with the following management bodies:■ Permanent bodies;■ Conference of Heads of State and Government (CCEG, Conférencedes Chefs d’Etat et du Gouvernement);■ Council of Ministers (CM, Conseil des Ministres);■ High Commission (HC, Haut Commissariat), executive body;■ Permanent Water Commission (CPE, Commission Permanente desEaux) made up of representatives of the organization’s memberstates, and which defines the principles of and procedures forthe allotment of Senegal River water between member statesand use sectors. The CPE advises the Council of Ministers;■ Non-permanent bodies;■ An OMVS national coordination committee in each member state;– two entities manage the jointly-owned structures for the OMVS:one dedicated to the management and development of the Diamadam (SOGED, Société de gestion et d’exploitation du barrage deDiama), the other to the Manantali dam (SOGEM, Société degestion de l’énergie de Manantali), both created in 1997.■ in 1992, signature of a framework cooperation agreementbetween Guinea and the OMVS (Protocole d’accord-cadre decoopération entre la République de Guinée et l’OMVS), creating aframework for cooperation in actions of mutual interestconcerning the Senegal River and its basin, including a provisionallowing Guinea to attend OMVS meetings as an observer;■ the Senegal River Water Charter, May 2002 (Charte des Eaux duFleuve Sénégal) whose purpose is to:■ Local coordination committees;■ Regional Planning Committees (CRP, Comités Régionaux dePlanification);■ Consultative Committee (CC, Comité Consultatif).This organizational framework, statutorily strong but flexible on theoperational level, enables all of the actors and stakeholders toparticipate effectively in the efficient management of both thebasin’s natural resources and its other economic potentials. For morethan thirty years now, they have been able to find suitable solutionsto all of the technical, social, political and other problems linked tothe development of the Senegal River basin’s water resources.