'Faso Koom' (Burkina Faso)

A cooperation between Burkinabe and Dutch regional water authorities to protect water resources in Burkina Faso

Background

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country and one of the poorest in the world. During the dry season, the country is struggling to meet the primary water demands for drinking water production and agricultural irrigation. The Burkinabe Minister of Agriculture, Water & Water Resources requested the Dutch Water Authorities (DWA) to support the Burkinabe water authorities. This resulted in the cooperation ‘Faso Koom’, between four Dutch regional public water authorities and five Burkinabe water authorities. World Waternet is project lead on behalf of regional public water authority Amstel, Gooi & Vecht.

Our impact

Faso Koom contributes to the protection of water resource and should therefore benefit the entire population of 20 million inhabitants.

Activities

Faso Koom activities align with the national plan for Integral Water Use (PAGIRE) and consist of:

• Setup of local water area committees and of training modules.   
• Setup of a stable platform for knowledge exchange.
• Research on the watercourse of the River Kou and development of river basin management plans.
• Development of water governance knowledge in the gold extraction industry.
• Monitoring of water quantity and quality.
• Strengthening communication.

 Obtained results

• A platform for knowledge sharing between all involved water authorities has been developed.
• Introduction of a process for setting up of local water area committees.
• Development of a standard river basin management plan.

This project continued with funding from the Blue Deal programme.