The NB-ITTAS Pilot Demonstration Project in Burkina Faso
The Kou sub-basin was selected for the pilot demonstrations, as it forms part of the national Mouhoun hydrological basin and the Taoudéni basin extension in Burkina Faso. The Houet stream, part of the Kou sub-basin’s hydrographic network, historically played a central role in the domestic, agricultural, and cultural activities of local communities in Bobo-Dioulasso, the economic capital of Burkina Faso.
Originating in the highlands north of Bobo-Dioulasso, a city with approximately 900,000 inhabitants, the stream flows 25 kilometers through the city, irrigating fertile lands and serving as a gathering place. However, its flow, once consistent, has significantly diminished due to drought, deforestation, and urbanization. Pollution from domestic and industrial waste has turned its banks into dumping grounds, severely affecting biodiversity and agricultural activities.
Women, who once used the stream for domestic tasks such as laundry, have had to adapt to its degradation, losing an important social space in the process. The interconnectedness of surface and groundwater means surface water pollution directly threatens groundwater quality, and vice versa.
For more information, please contact Lilia Benzid: [lilia.benzid@oss.org.tn]