“Commoning” is a video series that focuses on the commons and the way GRET puts them into practice. In this case, we hear from local water platform members in the Niayes region in Senegal. As forums of local governance, these citizen-led platforms bring user representatives, State technical services and communes together for fair, sustainable, joint management of water resources.
“At GRET, we use the concept of commons to reflect on the way individuals join together and become organised to conserve a resource, a service or a territory on which they depend”, explains Marilou Gilbert, Commons and shared governance programme coordinator at GRET. “Populations, businesses and public stakeholders use these resources but with different motivations and interests: yet they all have a role to play as, together, they can define the rules that will make it possible to conserve these common goods and ensure fair access to them for all.”
“Water is very precious in this area [Niayes region]. Irrational use of water can cause problems, which is why the local water platform was set up”, explains Demba Fall Diouf, general secretary of the Mboro-Darou water platform. In this territory, mining activities, agriculture and livestock farming all compete with each other and generate significant conflicts around access to the resource. “Our objective is to involve all stakeholders”, says Medoume Loume, chairperson of the platform, “it’s different to other systems where decisions are top-down”.
To learn more about how local water platforms contribute to conserving the resource, you can read the commoning handbook entitled Gire locale dans la zone des Niayes au Sénégal – Faire commun autour des ressources en eau ? (currently available only in French but soon to be published in English) and listen to our podcast entitled “Acting in common”.
