In 2005, the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs decided that Agropolis International would be the executive project manager of this project. The objective of the project is to encourage collaborations between French research institutes and Southern partners in order to contribute to a better water management―in particular agricultural water use― by integrating the effects of climatic changes

Involvement of France in the Challenge Programme 'Water & Food'

The ECHEL-Eau project is embedded in the Challenge Programme Water & Foodof the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) , that is coordinated by the International l'International Water Management Institute. This program which aims at improving water productivity in agriculture by associating research, dissemination and training includes a major part dedicated to the integrated management of water resources.

Three trans-border basins were chosen as study sites: the Limpopo and Mekong, which are two CPWF benchmark basins, and the Niger basin which is subject to a strong commitment from France.

Objective of the project: to develop tools to analyse and structure the knowledge on water resource in order to facilitate decision making processes.

The project is funded by the FSP Fonds de Solidarité Prioritaireof the French Foreign and European Affairs Ministry. It represents a total amount of 4 million euros for 4 years.

•  to  analyse  biophysical processes at stake

• to  assess   hydraulic constructions and their management rules

• to  identify  the concerned decision processes and institutional schemes, in order to develop relevant decision tools that can be applied at different space and time scales

Three components out of which two components are implemented by Agropolis International

The ECHEL-Eau project is based on three funding components. One component, managed by IWMI, supports research activities through a targeted contribution to the CPWF competitive funds.

 

 

Two other components implemented by Agropolis International aim at supporting

• the preparation of projects on the Niger basin followed by the promotion of the results of the research projects conducted on the three basins
• the development of capacity building for the Southern partners

Achievements for these components:

• Participation of scientists in the Forum international sur l’eau et l’alimentation du CPWF- 2006 and the Congrès Mondial de l’Eau, Montpellier - 2008
• The final conference of the project was held in Niamey, Niger on 2 to 4 December 2009
• Funding of 10 grants for PhD students and 13 grants for Master students
• Realisation of training products based on the results of the research projects
• Edition of an Atlas (or set of thematic maps) of the Niger basin (in 2010)
  

The 3 basins