CHAPTER 7
AFRICAN NETWORKS INTERESTED IN IRRIGATION
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
7.1 Association Régionale pour lIrrigation et le Drainage
The Regional Association for Irrigation and Drainage (ARID) was created in July 1996
with the financial support of France and FAO, with the following objectives:
- to promote irrigation development in countries where such technology presents a valuable
alternative;
- to stimulate the creation of Irrigation/Drainage National Associations;
- to facilitate the progressive participation of these National Associations to the
activities of the International Commission for Irrigation/Drainage;
- to create a network for technical exchanges concerning irrigation/drainage among ARID
members;
- to organize seminars and working groups;
- to issue specialized publications;
- to organize the continuous training of ARID members;
- to offer all complementary services according to needs expressed by ARID members;
- to create and maintain a computerized database including professional data on all its
members, for the reciprocal benefit of employees and employers.
The actual Provisional Executive Bureau is comprised of :
- President: Moïse Sonou, FAO Senior Regional Irrigation Officer, Accra, Ghana;
- Vice-president: Aliou Koure, Direction Génie rural, Niamey, Niger;
- Public relations: A. Abdou Moulaye, Small Private Irrigation Project, Niger;
- General Secretary: J. Varet, EIER Director, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso;
- Assistant Gen. Secretary: Laurent Compaore, EIER Lecturer, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
The First Ordinary General Assembly is due to take place in Accra in January 1998, when
the membership of the Executive Bureau will be decided.
It is planned to associate ARID members from 23 countries in western and
central Africa. A first ARID Newsletter was published in July
1997 at EIER, Ouagadougou (Section 2.1). It is hoped that some financial support will
become available in the future from the World Bank.
7.2 Wetland Development and Management
The Wetland Development and Management (WEDEM) network covers the sub-Saharan African
countries.
Supported by FAO, it aims at promoting the development and management of inland valley
bottoms, dambos, lake banks and other types of wetlands.
7.3 Consortium des Bas-Fonds
The Inland Valley Bottoms Consortium has its headquarters in the West-African Rice
Development Association (WARDA) at Bouaké, Côte dIvoire, a member of CGIAR.
It provides support to small research projects involving inland valley bottoms in
various countries (for example, Ghana, Burkina Faso) where the network has a national
correspondent.