Water situation today
Central Africa is characterised by a high variability of water resources. Countries like Chad or the northern parts of Cameroon have permanent scarcity whereas other countries, like Congo, can have several meters of rainfall every year. Another characteristic is the presence of two major basins in the region: the Lake Chad Basin in which the level of water has been decreasing for several years, and the Congo Basin which is an important water resource for the whole region.

Despite the availability of surface water resources, particularly in the south of the region, there are many problems related to drinking water and sanitation. In general, water resource management is poor.The countries do not have adequate water resources databases and water services are facing many problems. However, according to the water availability, there is a big potential in Central Africa for irrigation and for other activities including the power and industry sectors.

Programmes and action
Shortly after the GWP Central Africa Technical Advisory Committee (CAfTAC) was established, it undertook a review of the integrated water resources management (IWRM) situation in the Central African countries ? Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and São Tomé and Principe. In response, programmes were elaborated to promote integrated approaches to water resources management.

Since June 2005, the GWP Central Africa Technical Advisory Committee has initiated several activities aimed at promoting IWRM.They include awareness raising and sensitisation on IWRM, building capacities and reinforcing institutional capacities on integrated approaches to water resources management in the region.With support from GWP Central Africa, the International Commission for the Congo-Oubangui-Sangha Basin (CICOS) has included IWRM approaches in its mandate and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) is including IWRM approaches in the elaboration of the regional water management policy.

The Central Africa Technical Advisory Committee will transform into a regional water partnership in October 2008 which will be the main event during the year.The team will put special focus on increasing the number of members and develop strategies to support the implementation of the work programme. GWP Central Africa works closely with organisations in the region that have an interest in integrated approaches to water resource development, management and use.A priority for the next few years will be to further increase and strengthen links to key institutions and organizations through alliance building and joint ventures, such as the project being developed with the regional solidarity fund for water (FORSEAU).

A Country Water Partnership was set up in Cameroon in June 2005 and more are in the pipeline to be achieved during 2008. Country teams consisting of up to five members charged with following up on GWP activities with a view to launching country water partnerships are currently at work in the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, and São Tomé and Principe. GWP CAfTAC is also supporting GWP Cameroon, which is on the process of drawing up a plan with financial support by the Dutch government.