Nigeria Federal Ministry of Water Resources in a 2-Day workshop has sensitized the Critical stakeholders in Southeast and South South on National Water Master Plan.
In an opening remarks by the Hon Minister, federal Ministry Of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, Fnse, Faeng. Who Was Represented By The Deputy Director, M&E, Water Resources Planning And Technical Support Services, Mrs. Agnes Aneke In Enugu; he said that the Sensitization Workshops is on the 2013 National Water Resources Master Plan and Nigeria’s Accession to the UN Water Convention for the stakeholders in the South-East and South-South Geo-Political Zones of the country.
In His words “As these Workshops unfolds, you will be educated on two important documents and the expected roles of all stakeholders in the development of water resources in Nigeria”.
” The first document to be considered at this meeting is the National Water Resources Master Plan which was developed by the Ministry in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 1995. The 1995 Master Plan was the first comprehensive development plan aimed at optimizing the nation’s water resources as well as financial and economic investment opportunities in water resources development and management, agricultural production and food security.
“Unfortunately, the implementation of the 1995 National Water Resources Master Plan was poor due to several reasons. Some of these includes lack of political will, weak implementation structure, poor budgetary provision and appropriations, weak synergy between stakeholders and lack of understanding of the expected roles of the various stakeholders.
“Other challenges include:
Increase population growth has led to increased water demand;
uncoordinated water resources development among the three tiers of Government, Development Partners and end users;
over abstraction of groundwater resources in some parts of Nigeria owing to uneven distribution of rainfall across the country; and
impact of climate change.
“To address these issues, the plan was reviewed in 2013 with the support of the Japanese Government to a more integrated and sustainable approach for the growth and management of the nation’s water resources. Some of the critical issues highlighted in the revised Masterplan includes:
Projection of future water demand –
projected population of 154.4 million in 2010 to 257.8m in 2030
Projection of municipal water demand in 3 categories – Domestic, Commercial and Industrial. Estimated Nationwide Demand will triple between 8,254 MLD in 2010 to 23876 MLD in 2030
irrigation water demand, fresh water and aqua culture water demand:
Projection of future water demand is 2,052 MCM in rainy season and 4,193 MCM in dry season with 6,245 MCM in total equivalent to 2.2% of the total amount of water resources potential of 286,600 MCM
Water demand for groundwater source is 5.93 BCM per year in 2010 will increase to 16.58 BCM per year in 2030. Urban and Rural Water Supply have 50% both in 2010 and 2030 while Irrigation and drainage sector will have 30% share in 2010 and 40% share in 2030.
7. Ladies and gentlemen, it is important to state that the overall water sector development is being guided by the National Water Resources Master Plan, and its implementation must be in partnership with states, local governments, line ministries as well as the private sector amongst others.
8. This workshop is therefore an opportunity to evaluate the level of implementation of the National Water Resources Master Plan at all levels of governance preparatory to the review of the document proposed to hold during the 3rd quarter of this year. We expect States which have already commenced the implementation of the 2013 Master Plan to share their experiences, key constraints or challenges and possible recommendations on the way forward to form part of the input into the planned review which is long overdue. Your input will enable us build a robust database on the level of implementation of the Master Plan.
“For the purpose of those that are not familiar with the Plan, this workshop is also designed to create awareness with the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies at the Federal and State levels as well as the critical stakeholders on the content of the current National Water Resources.
“Likewise, tomorrow, you will be sensitized on the need for Nigeria to accede to the “Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes otherwise known as the UN Water Convention”. The Convention is a legal document which seeks to:
improve international cooperation on the use of transboundary waters in a reasonable, equitable and sustainable manner;
bond people regardless of boundaries;
boost economic growth; and
sustain ecosystems using Integrated Water Resources Management principles.
Parties bordering the same transboundary waters are expected to cooperate by entering into specific agreements or arrangements and establish joint bodies of cooperation.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, it may interest you to know that more than forty percent of the universal populations depend on shared waters for their livelihoods, creating strong inter-dependencies between people, economies and ecosystems. Let me inform you that there are two main surface water bodies in Nigeria, namely the Rivers Niger and Benue which are transboundary in nature. Another transboundary water body is the Lake Chad shared by four (4) countries. Cooperation in the management of these water bodies is essential to ensure environmental sustainability, economic growth, and conflict prevention. It is therefore imperative for adequate legal and institutional cooperation framework to be put in place for effective cooperation and management of these Trans-boundary waters.
“Remarkably, the Convention contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 – “Ensure Availability and Sustainable management of water and Sanitation for all” especially target 6.5, which focuses on transboundary cooperation to implement integrated water resources management.
“Considering that, the bottom-top approach is essential for good governance, the input and support of all stakeholders is a requirement for accession to the Water Convention. Consequently, the Ministry is organizing Sensitization Workshops in the six (6) geo-political zones of the country preparatory to a National Workshop where discussions will be held with all relevant stakeholders.
“You may recall that the Action Memo No. 12 of the 28th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Water Resources (NCWR) held in Abuja, charged States and Local Governments to partner with the Federal Government to ensure successful accession to the Water Convention. This Workshop would therefore discuss the benefits of Nigeria’s Accession to the Convention and its role in the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at all levels as well as transboundary cooperation in the Country. Let me assure you that all your questions will be answered during the course of the workshop.
“Distinguish ladies and gentlemen, this large turnout of participants from South-East and South-South Geo-Political Zones shows the high level of interest of all stakeholders on the issue of Sustainable Water Resources Development and Management. I therefore look forward to productive discussions during these workshops and timing recommendations to boost the development of the sector.
“Conclusively, I sincerely express our profound appreciation to our line Ministries, Resource Persons, Civil Society Organizations, Women and Youth groups, the Press and all other participants at this meeting for the untiring commitment towards the successful hosting of these workshops.
“On this note, I declare the workshops open and wish you productive deliberations, he concluded.
Meanwhile, the participants such as the Permanent Secretary, Enugu State Ministry of Water Resources, Obianuju Eneh as well as other representatives from Ebonyi, Delta, Edo among others expressed hope that the program will definitely lead to transformation of the two geopolitical zones and enable them to benefit from the national master plan on water.
