Senegal River Basin

This post is a continuation on my previous post entitled the Manantali Dam conflict . The Manantali Dam is located on the Bafing river which is in the Senegal river basin . The Senegal river basin has a total drainage area of around 350,000 km2 , it had three main tributaries which are Bafin , Bakoye and Faleme (Rasmussen et al 1999). The rainfall varies across the basin and is characterised by a north- south gradient , with the highest rainfall towards the source area of the basin which is a highland area called Fouta Djalon ( up to 2000mm/ year). The lowest rainfall is towards the North of the basin .

The Manantali Dam controls around 50% of the river discharge on the Bafin tributary and has caused much conflict . However this is not the only conflict that has been occurring at the Senegal river basin . Transnational river basins often cause conflict and controversy , the majority of this comes down to a conflict of interest in the way in which the basin is managed .

In terms of managing the Senegal river basin the Organisation pour le Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Senegal (OMVS) was established and the main aim was to decide on water allocation and management principles . It has to be noted that Mali, Mauritania and Senegal are members of the OMVS however Guinee is not . Two major projects were proposed which would change the principles of management within the river basin. The first was the planned installation of HEP genarators at the Manantali Dam by the year 2000 . The second was the ' fossil Valleys Project ' which involves diverting water from the Senegal river into a fossil valley.

The second project caused conflict between Mauritania and Senegal , as it involved one phase that would benefit Senegal more favourably than Mauritania . It involved reallocating water at the expense of river discharge and thus irrigation potential in the main river valley that is shared by the two countries. ( Rasmussen et al 1999)http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00167223.1999.10649423