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Transboundary Basin Organizations for Peace

Building Peace Water for Peace Diplomacy in the Sahel
The Senegal River Basin Organization (OMVS) is a well-known example of regional cooperation over water management. The Geneva Water Hub maintains a longstanding partnership with the OMVS, supporting its development initiatives and collaborative efforts.

At the Geneva Water Hub, we recognize that river basin organizations are more than just technical water management bodies; they can also serve as catalysts for local and regional peace. We work to enhance the capacities of these organizations so they can effectively fulfill their crucial role.

The Senegal River Basin Organization (OMVS) is a well-known example of regional cooperation over water management. The Geneva Water Hub maintains a longstanding partnership with the OMVS, supporting its development initiatives and collaborative efforts. Joinlty with key partners, we have implemented the initiative “Voices of the River, Pathway to Peace” which gave rise to the concept of  the OMVS digital Blue Platform to generate employment opportunities and support local entrepreneurship to reinforce peace in the Senegal River Basin, currently under developement.

Improving cooperation on groundwater is a matter of priority in West Africa as in many other regions of the globe. The Geneva Water Hub, jointly with UNECE Water Convention Secretariat and IGRAC, has been facilitating since 2019 a dialogue on the Senegal-Mauritanian Aquifer Basin (SMAB), shared between Guinea-Bissau, Mauritanian, Senegal and The Gambia to engage on concerted management. This dialogue, led by state representatives within a Regional Working Group for transboundary cooperation on SMAB, involves Senegal River Basin Organization (OMVS) and Gambia River Basin Organization (OMVG), two transboundary basin organizations whose basins overlaps with the aquifer basin. Groundwater cooperative framework on SMAB envisions the active contribution of OMVG and OMVS to support states and national services to coordinate on transboundary and intersectoral matters, and to develop conjunctive use of groundwater and surface water.