The experience of cooperation in the management of a transboundary watercourse : the case of the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS)

Abstract

The Organization for the Development of the River Senegal (OMVS) is unique in many respects. The organization has enabled its member states to pool their financial and human resources to invest in the construction of major development infrastructures, in order to make the most of the potential offered by the watercourse they share. The presentation will highlight the way in which dams can be at the heart of mutually supportive cooperation between the States Parties, enabling the uses and benefits of cooperation to be shared between the parties concerned.

Tamsir Ndiaye

Tamsir Ndiaye is a design engineer, geology option, and holds a^3rd cycle diploma in environmental sciences. He was :

• Senegal National Coordinator of the OAU Regional Project for the Development of the Fouta-Djallon Massif ;
• Associate member of the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme ;
• Expert in participatory planning and development at PUNUD to facilitate implementation of the Rio 1992 conventions ;
• Program officer at GTZ (German Technical Cooperation) for natural resources and environmental management ;
• Former Director of Environment and Sustainable Development, OMVS ;
• Former Managing Director of SOGED/OMVS ;
• Former Managing Director of SOGEM/OMVS.

For several years, he was a member of the INBO (International Network of Basin Organizations) liaison office, coordinator of the ANBO (African Network of Basin Organizations) permanent technical secretariat, and representative of OMVS and ANBO at the World Water Council. He is also director and treasurer of the association Les Initiatives pour l'Avenir des Grands Fleuves, chaired by Erik Orsena. Finally, since leaving OMVS in February 2022, he has become Director of Sustainable Projects at Panafrican Green Energy.