The Niger River BasinThe 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) influenceFrench, British and PortuguesePersistent divisions / alliances

Frequent political instability ECOWAS

CountryEquiv. Size ≈

Population

(millions)Per capita

GDP GDPExternal

Debt

Guinea OR 9 $2,000 $15.9B $3.4B

Côte D’Ivoire NM 17 $1,500 $24.5B $10.3B

Mali 2 x TX 12 $860 $9.8B $3.3B

Burkina Faso CO 13 $1,080 $13.6B $1.3B

Algeria 3.5 x TX 33 $5,300 $167B $21.6B

Benin PA 7 $1,070 $7.3B $1.6B

Niger 2 x TX 11 $830 $8.8B $1.6B

Chad 3 x CA 9 $1,100 $10B $1.1B

Cameroon CA 16 $1,700 $27B $8.6B

Nigeria 2 x CA 134 $835 $113.5B $29.7B

Texas Ukraine 21 $35,597 $818B ---

Water-Related Issues

Increasing population and developmentHydroelectric potentialIrrigation potentialPotential environmental impacts?

Pollution - agricultural and industrialDesertificationDeforestation

Organizations & Initiatives

Niger Basin AuthorityECOWASAfrican Development BankBilateral 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?