The Niger River Basin

Niger River Basin Countries Guinea Côte d’Ivoire Mali Burkina Faso Algeria Benin Niger Chad Cameroon Nigeria

West Africa  Colonial (and post-colonial) influence  French, British and Portuguese  Persistent divisions / alliances  Frequent political instability  ECOWAS

Country Equiv. Size ≈ Population (millions) Per capita GDPGDP External Debt GuineaOR9$2,000$15.9B$3.4B Côte D’IvoireNM17$1,500$24.5B$10.3B Mali2 x TX12$860$9.8B$3.3B Burkina FasoCO13$1,080$13.6B$1.3B Algeria3.5 x TX33$5,300$167B$21.6B BeninPA7$1,070$7.3B$1.6B Niger2 x TX11$830$8.8B$1.6B Chad3 x CA9$1,100$10B$1.1B CameroonCA16$1,700$27B$8.6B Nigeria2 x CA134$835$113.5B$29.7B TexasUkraine21$35,597$818B---

Water-Related Issues  Increasing population and development  Hydroelectric potential  Irrigation potential  Potential environmental impacts?  Pollution - agricultural and industrial  Desertification  Deforestation

Organizations & Initiatives  Niger Basin Authority  ECOWAS  African Development Bank  Bilateral development grants

Discussion  Should the Niger Basin Authority focus on funding and executing development projects or developing a basin-wide plan for development and management?  How much autonomy and authority should the Nile Basin Authority have?  How can the Niger Basin Authority be most effective? How can the international community help?  How much should developed countries be able to dictate the terms of development to developing countries? Should historical issues like colonial injustices and the trans- Atlantic slave trade be taken into account?  Are there any lessons – either positive or negative – that other basins can learn from the Niger Basin?