Support CICOS for a better understanding of water resources

The Congo River basin is central to the economic development of the 10 countries that share it, helping to sustain 80 million people. The second-largest tropical forest range in the world, it is a significant carbon sink and is home to 60% of Africa’s biodiversity. This unique ecosystem is threatened by climate change, deforestation, urbanisation and intense demographic pressures.

To improve the management of this ecosystem, and its natural resources, the FFEM is supporting the International Commission of the Congo (CICOS) in its project. Its goal:  to strengthen capabilities in hydrometeorological and environmental monitoring, water information systems at both national and international scale, climate change monitoring and biodiversity preservation.

The project is split into four components:

• Strengthening CICOS’ water information systems and access by member countries.
• Making the most of water information systems for the purposes of navigation, climate change monitoring and biodiversity preservation.
• Improving national data management within the framework of coordinated information governance between the States.
• Assisting with project management together with the administrative and financial management of the initiative.

• The launch of a regional dynamic to develop water information systems in the member countries of CICOS and the transnational African basins.
• Improving knowledge on hydrological operation of the Congo River basin and better understanding of the impact of climate change on the water resources.
• Developing models to predict water levels for river navigation.
• Improving the resilience of hydrometric stations.

This project relies on a technical innovation: spatial altimetry tools enhanced by new satellite equipment. Thanks to this technology, hydrological zones that until now have been impossible to make out can now be observed, allowing coverage of the Congo basin to be considerably expanded.
Methodological innovations are also in play, such as the study of financing methods for national water information systems, implementing integrated means of governance and the promotion of cross-border knowledge-sharing. A capitalisation component facilitates reproduction of the approach, something likely to be of interest to organisations in the central African basin or in West Africa.