Benin, Sustainable Development through Improved Local Governance

SDLG aims to ensure that local governments in five municipalities are able to meet their commitments and implement policies to manage community resilience in a way that is safe and socially equitable for all, on land at risk from climate changes and water. 

Objective

The specific objective is to strengthen the coordinated and inclusive management of water resources and associated ecosystems for sustainable socio-economic development in 5 communes of the Lower Ouémé Valley (BVO), by improving the institutional framework for IWRM and make it operational at the local level, adopt the SAP-Communautaire as a tool for community resilience and IWRM, enhance the value of water resources and associated ecosystems, and capitalise on and share experience and good practices. 

Approach

The initiative aims to restructure and strengthen local integrated water resources management (IWRM) bodies by enhancing stakeholder engagement, capacity building, and resource mobilisation. It emphasises disaster risk reduction through gender-sensitive flood risk mapping, improved communication and alert systems, and training of local platforms and communities in response measures. Key activities include first aid training, resilience-building workshops, and the development of local economic development strategies. The programme also promotes synergy among stakeholders and facilitates sharing best practices both locally and internationally. Additionally, it focuses on valuing water-related ecosystem products and consolidating existing pilot actions to enhance economic potential. 

Results

• Local governments integrate IWRM measures in a participatory manner;
• Citizens are engaged in IWRM through participatory means;
• Local governments improve the institutional framework for integrated water resources management and make it operational at the local level;
• Local governments have an increased technical capacity for IWRM resilience, via the community early warning system (C-EWS) as a tool for community resilience;
• Citizens can rely on functional consultation frameworks for IWRM (CC-GIRE), and economic revenue from water resources and related ecosystems.