268
C. Faye et al.
• prevent water shortages by the collaborative implementation of early warning
systems;
• coordinate regional and international organizations to respond effectively to
emergencies.
Water resource knowledge and monitoring are essential to the development and
implementation of good policy to preserve resources from all forms of pollution and
degradation as population growth inevitably increases pressure on water resources.
The population of Senegal is projected to increase to over 19,390,000 in 2025. A reliable water monitoring system that allows for input by all stakeholder constituencies
is essential to build an understanding of water availability, abstraction and consumption in various contexts. Senegal has improved access to drinking water, but at the
same time faces weak access to basic social services and reliable databases to support
harmonized, comprehensive and sound policymaking.
The proportion of the population with access to drinking water in Senegal is
estimated to have been 87.2% in 2015, compared to 84.1% in 2014. Even if Senegal
had reached the water target set by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
geographic coverage of 58.3% (in 2016) combined with the new more ambitious
objectives of SDG 6 mean that much greater progress must be made.
4.2.2 Water Management Policy and Climate Change
Although Senegal has sufficient water for its population, the water sector faces many
challenges related to climate change which threaten access to sufficient and clean
water and, therefore, the socioeconomic development of the country. Poor distribution
of surface water in many parts of the country, particularly in the north, impedes wealth
creation, poverty reduction and disease prevention, resulting in major challenges to
environmental regulators, and ultimately to Senegal’s economy, health, food and
security.
According to the National Agency of Civil Aviation and Meteorology (ANACIM),
Senegal is among the African countries most exposed to the negative effects of climate
change, which is causing an increase in temperatures and frequency of extreme
events (floods and droughts) and late-onset and/or early cessation of rainfall (resulting
in shorter seasons and more intense rainfall). Adverse effects of climate change
have impacted water reserves in marine waters in Casamance and Sine-Saloum, and
have driven the drying up of the Ferlo and associated valleys, a general decline of
groundwater levels, a decrease in water flow in continental rivers and other flood
plains and the salinization of fresh water and cultivated land in coastal areas.
The climatic deterioration of recent years (from the years 2000 to now), combined
with overexploitation of the resource, has led in places (West of the country) to a
drop-in water table (sometimes with withdrawals exceeding the renewal capacity)
and marked saline intrusions in the low valleys of the Sine Saloum, at the level of the
deltas of the Casamance and Senegal rivers, as well as the Grande Côte (Niayes area).
At the same time, in some areas, especially the Dakar region, surface water tables
C. Faye et al.
• prevent water shortages by the collaborative implementation of early warning
systems;
• coordinate regional and international organizations to respond effectively to
emergencies.
Water resource knowledge and monitoring are essential to the development and
implementation of good policy to preserve resources from all forms of pollution and
degradation as population growth inevitably increases pressure on water resources.
The population of Senegal is projected to increase to over 19,390,000 in 2025. A reliable water monitoring system that allows for input by all stakeholder constituencies
is essential to build an understanding of water availability, abstraction and consumption in various contexts. Senegal has improved access to drinking water, but at the
same time faces weak access to basic social services and reliable databases to support
harmonized, comprehensive and sound policymaking.
The proportion of the population with access to drinking water in Senegal is
estimated to have been 87.2% in 2015, compared to 84.1% in 2014. Even if Senegal
had reached the water target set by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
geographic coverage of 58.3% (in 2016) combined with the new more ambitious
objectives of SDG 6 mean that much greater progress must be made.
4.2.2 Water Management Policy and Climate Change
Although Senegal has sufficient water for its population, the water sector faces many
challenges related to climate change which threaten access to sufficient and clean
water and, therefore, the socioeconomic development of the country. Poor distribution
of surface water in many parts of the country, particularly in the north, impedes wealth
creation, poverty reduction and disease prevention, resulting in major challenges to
environmental regulators, and ultimately to Senegal’s economy, health, food and
security.
According to the National Agency of Civil Aviation and Meteorology (ANACIM),
Senegal is among the African countries most exposed to the negative effects of climate
change, which is causing an increase in temperatures and frequency of extreme
events (floods and droughts) and late-onset and/or early cessation of rainfall (resulting
in shorter seasons and more intense rainfall). Adverse effects of climate change
have impacted water reserves in marine waters in Casamance and Sine-Saloum, and
have driven the drying up of the Ferlo and associated valleys, a general decline of
groundwater levels, a decrease in water flow in continental rivers and other flood
plains and the salinization of fresh water and cultivated land in coastal areas.
The climatic deterioration of recent years (from the years 2000 to now), combined
with overexploitation of the resource, has led in places (West of the country) to a
drop-in water table (sometimes with withdrawals exceeding the renewal capacity)
and marked saline intrusions in the low valleys of the Sine Saloum, at the level of the
deltas of the Casamance and Senegal rivers, as well as the Grande Côte (Niayes area).
At the same time, in some areas, especially the Dakar region, surface water tables