7155-02. Harmonisation of EA-systems of WAEMU Member States - West Africa

The West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) has requested the NCEA to advise and support its process of harmonizing various aspects of the Environmental Assessment system of its member states. The work will focus on the development and implementation of a Capacity Building Plan in Environmental Assessment, which is developed for and by the EA authorities in the member states.

Significant details

The need to harmonise EA between the member states has first been expressed by the WAEMU in its Environmental Policy, adopted in 2008. Since 2014, the legal harmonisation process has been taken over by ECOWAS, who has broadened the scope to include the anglophone and lusophone countries in West-Afrika. The UEMOA will continue with the practical implementation of the dossier in the francophone region. 

Since 2017, the NCEA and the WAEMU have exchanged on this dossier. First, the current state of affairs and the needs of the member states with regards to Environmental Assessment was analysed by the WAEMU and the NCEA. Next, with assistance from the NCEA the UEMOA developed a Capacity Development Plan. In a regional meeting held in November 2020, facilitated by the NCEA, the eight member states of the WAEMU agreed to move forward with the three year Plan. The plan stipulated that work will be conducted along three modalities: professional exchange, trainings, and development of EA-guidance.

Subsequently, the WAEMU will develop a strategy to mobilize additional resources for the execution of the plan. The NCEA will continue working with the WAEMU to develop this strategy and to work on the implementation of the plan.

Parties involved

Members of the working group

Technical secretary: Stephen Teeuwen, MSc

Further details

Country: Benin; Burkina Faso; Guinea-Bissau; Ivory Coast; Mali; Niger; Senegal; Togo; West Africa

Last modified: 30 May 2023