Ressources en eaux souterraines dans la région de la CEDEAO : Groundwater resources in the ECOWAS region

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) promotes economic integration and regional cooperation in its fifteen member countries. Groundwater is a vital regional water source for agricultural, industrial, and domestic use, underpinning economic prosperity and human well-being. Groundwater offers considerable potential to support further social and economic development, but there are many challenges for its sustainable management, including rapidly growing and urbanising populations, industrial development, and climate and environmental change. Hydrogeological information is essential for ECOWAS member states to undertake effective groundwater management and support the strategic, sustainable development of new groundwater resources, with consequent lasting socio-economic benefits across West Africa. This map and inset maps capture and standardise existing groundwater data and understanding developed in the ECOWAS countries. The expected aquifer productivity map updates older regional hydrogeological maps of West Africa, to give a consistent regional overview not available from individual national maps. It provides a quantitative assessment of aquifer productivity, as a measure of groundwater potential, highlighting the suitability of aquifers for water supply at different scales and the physical limits of groundwater development potential. Building on readily available data, the expected aquifer productivity map and the accompanying thematic inset maps show the potential for assimilating and harmonising existing hydrogeological information to improve regional groundwater mapping across Africa.