Transboundary Water Management: Côte d’Ivoire launches the development of its National Implementation Plan for the United Nations Water Convention
Abidjan, June 2026
As part of strengthening water resources governance and implementing its international commitments, the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire has officially launched the process of developing its strategy and National Implementation Plan for the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.
This initiative follows the country’s accession to the Convention on July 10, 2024, and marks an important milestone toward operationalizing national commitments in favor of sustainable and coordinated management of water resources.
The launch workshop, organized under the leadership of the Ministry of Water and Forests, is taking place in Cocody on June 2–3, 2026, and aims to identify national priorities, define a roadmap, and initiate the preparation of both the strategy and implementation plan.
At the opening session, the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Water and Forests emphasized that this initiative is aligned with the vision of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to make water a driver of peace, security, climate resilience, and sustainable development, in line with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She recalled that coordinated management of transboundary water resources is now a major challenge to ensuring water, food, and environmental security for populations.
For his part, the Director General of Water Resources stated that the 1992 Convention provides a legal framework enabling States to strengthen cooperation around shared water resources. He also stressed that Côte d’Ivoire shares several river basins with neighboring countries, making a coordinated approach essential to address challenges related in particular to pollution, water quality degradation, and the effects of climate change.
The process benefits from the support of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), through the Convention Secretariat, and is expected to lead to the development of a National Action Plan accompanied by project fiches and legal, institutional, economic, and operational measures.
Through this initiative, Côte d’Ivoire reaffirms its commitment to integrated, sustainable, and cooperative water governance for the benefit of present and future generations.