6th international session of IFGR: navigation on the Senegal River

IFGR gathered its members at Saint-Louis and Dakar (Senegal) from 9 to 13 April for the session hosted by one of them: the Organisation for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS). The session was dedicated to navigation on the river at the demand of the OMVS, which has placed it at the top of its list of priority objectives.

Developing river navigation

Once flourishing in the 1960s, between Saint-Louis and Kayes, navigation was totally interrupted after the great drought of 1973-1975 whose effects combined with poor maintenance of the river bed. River transport (see OMVS note), the lever for economic development, was at the heart of this 6th session.

The ambition of the OMVS is to place the river’s resources at the service of the country” – Hamed Semega, High Commissioner of the OMVS.

The ominous impacts of climate change  

Visits in the field and numerous actions by various bodies making up the OMVS and the IRD (Institute of Research and Development) provided understanding of the challenges faced by this region struck by climate change and its impacts – coastal erosion, rising salt water levels, increasingly variable river discharges, etc. They also allowed broaching the problem of reed mace, an invasive aquatic plant which hampers farming, fishing and navigation.

Water: taking up the challenge

Mansour Faye, the mayor of Saint-Louis and Minister of Hydraulics and Drainage, presented the many challenges faced by his city regarding water. He invited the members of IFGR to “start reflection on how to help us link the different dimensions of the problem and find the appropriate solutions” that could fuel the World Water Forum to be hosted by Dakar in 2021.

“Saint-Louis is a synthesis of the new challenges facing the world. Demographic pressure and climate warming make it necessary to manage the different uses of water differently and solve the battle between freshwater and salt water, a salient problem in this city at the mouth of the river. Every competence and every kind of knowhow will be needed and brought together. We are here at your side. The questions of the breach and navigation involve us all”, added Erik Orsenna, Chairman of IFGR.

At the end of the different exchanges during the session, IFGR provided recommendations to the OMVS for the complete economic, environmental and societal success of the navigation project, the spearhead of the programme to develop the territories crossed by the river.