In Niger, the years pass, but at the same period, the scenes remain the same along the Niger River in Niamey: it is once again experiencing a rise in water levels, called the Guinea flood.
In the Kombo district, located on the Yantala corniche, on the left bank of the river, a school and several houses were flooded. Even the neighborhood mosque is not spared.
Abdoulaye Daouda, a resident of the Niger River, explains that “People left their homes. The mosque was flooded. For the school, two classes were abandoned. When we told the worker to increase the thickness of the floor, to put in two or three staircases, he replied that ‘only one staircase was enough. We still live by the river, but for them, that’s not their problem.’
Pollution of the Niger River and health risks
This year again, several families are faced with this recurring situation. The executive director of the NGO Young Volunteers for the Environment, Sani Ayouba, notes that “the river is filled with sand. It is polluted and silted up, so a small quantity of water is enough to raise its level. And this is not without consequences. This flooding phenomenon can occur in several areas of the river. We know, for example, that market gardening activities are practiced all along the river, on its banks. But these crops can be affected by increased water volume, as well as surrounding vegetation, because sometimes more water is not necessarily beneficial for certain animal or plant species. This therefore also has consequences for biodiversity.”
Listen to the report in Niamey…
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-Rising water levels and the resulting floods have above all serious health consequences, according to Ousmane Dambadji, president of the Network of Journalists for Water and Sanitation. “You should know that the water treatment station which supplies Niamey is located on the Niger River, he recalls. A rise in water levels could damage it and disrupt the supply of drinking water for Niamey residents. There is also the destruction of aquatic ecosystems and wider environmental consequences. The damage is therefore enormous. It is high time to take action. Every year we witness these phenomena. Now the question is: what do we do about it?”
The Kandadji dam project
Indeed, Niger and its partners had developed several projects and programs to save the river. The flagship project remains that of the Kandadji dam.
Ibrahim Boubacar, teacher-researcher at the University of Niamey, specializing in hydroclimatology, assures that “pTo protect these infrastructures, it is imperative to provide solutions. The first solution would be to strengthen the protective dikes, those which protect the areas close to the river, both on the right bank and on the left bank. Upstream, we must also continue the construction of the Kandadji dam. I think that this dam will not only limit the effects of flooding during the rainy season, but also manage the flow of the river during the dry season.
Faced with the floods which destroy the environment every day, several non-governmental organizations and international partners are increasing initiatives to combat the phenomenon. However, the real problem remains the deforestation of the green belt that protects the capital, a challenge that has been difficult to resolve for years.
