Page 23 - CIWA Water Data Revolution Overview Report

Water Data Revolution: Closing the data gap for transboundary water in Africa

5.3. Characteristics of selected RBOs

Volta Basin Authority: The Volta River Basin, spanning
approximately 400,000 km² across six West African
countries—Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana,
Mali, and Togo—supports nearly 23 million people
whose livelihoods and economic development are
closely tied to its natural resources. Water is critical for
agriculture, hydropower generation, livestock, fisheries,

and tourism, with agriculture alone accounting for 40%
of the basin’s economic output. To ensure sustainable
management of these shared resources, the riparian
countries established the VBA in 2007. The VBA
promotes Integrated Water Resources Management
and seeks to ensure equitable water use, the
development of key infrastructure, and the alleviation
of poverty, while fostering socio-economic integration
16
in the region. Figure 7: Volta River Basin in West Africa. Figure
obtained from Dembélé et al. (2023) 16

16 Dembélé, Moctar & Salvadore, Elga & Zwart, Sander & Ceperley, Natalie & Mariethoz, Gregoire & Schaefli, B.. (2023). Water Accounting
under Climate Change in the Transboundary Volta River Basin with a Spatially Calibrated Hydrological Model. Journal of Hydrology. 626.
130092. 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.130092.
22