Water governance and river basin management: comparative experiences from Nigeria and Tanzania

Abstract

The paper compares and contrasts approaches to river basin management in Nigeria and Tanzania. Working from a water governance perspective, the paper discusses the resource base in each catchment, looking separately at both material (physical) and non-material (infrastructural) resources. It then goes on to describe how these resources are drawn on to develop mechanisms for water governance and basin management. Significant changes have taken place in both basins over the recent past and are still continuing. The paper analyses these changes in terms of outcomes for the people in the basins and for ecosystems.

Keywords:

• Water governance
• river basin
• Tanzania
• Nigeria

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Hadejia-Ja'amare-Komadugu-Yobe-Basin. Trust Fund and the Rufiji Basin Water Office in the preparation of this paper.

Notes

There is also a grouping of districts into provinces but the provincial administration has comparatively little direct input into administration.

Birdlife International, an international conservation NGO, has been active in the Usangu wetland on occasions.

International NGOs have also been active in funding projects in the basins

The closest analogy in the GRC is the use of ‘vinyungu’ cultivation on the banks of water courses but this is much less extensive than fadama irrigation.

In the KYB, irrigation, while still important, takes a smaller share of the available resources because of other large users such as Kano city.