SWAC News - March 2009

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Director's Editorial

While world leaders were meeting at the G-20 Summit in London to discuss how to fix the global economy, African countries began to feel the consequences of the global economic slump. According to a recently published IMF study, economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to slowdown to 3¼ percent in 2009 from 5 percent in 2008. This is about half of what was forecasted a year ago. Diaspora remittances and official development assistance are also likely to decrease in 2009, although the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) just published 2008 aid statistics indicating a record year with a total ODA net increase of 10.2% (US $ 119.8 billion). > read on

"UEMOA and the Crisis"

Interview with Mr. Hamza Ahmadou Cissé,

Cabinet Director of the UEMOA Commission

The current crisis calls for a serious overhaul of our economic fundamentals. Our economies cannot function properly nor sustainably by excluding a growing part of the population, destroying natural resources, having blind confidence in the capacity of international markets to guarantee the population sufficient supply of food commodities and energy products at the best prices. > read the interview

Launching of a Regional Action Plan on Conflict Prevention

Accra (Ghana), 10 - 12 March 2009

Capitalising on previous SWAC work on the appropriation, disseminiation and implementation of regional governance and conflict prevention instruments (Dakar Workshop), this workshop has launched a Regional Action Plan (Saly Action Plan). It is part of the three-year ECOWAS/SWAC Work Programme on Early Warning and Conflict Systems. The plan's main pillars are made of information, advocacy, ealry warning and mediation activities. Its implementation will be organised around national platforms and four sub-regional platforms linking up civil society organisation, government representatives in charge of peace and security issues, national parlamentarians and ECOWAS offices. The Action Plan will be co-ordinated by ECOWAS and the SWAC. > learn more

Regional Investment Programme for Agriculture (PRIA)

Bamako (Mali), 19-20 March 2009

This Regional Investment Programme for Agriculture (PRIA) is a key tool of the ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP). Its objective is to reduce food aid dependence and promote agriculture-based economic growth. The SWAC and the CILSS are in charge of the programme on “Fisheries, Transhumant Pastoralism and Forest Resources”, which will be developed on the basis of a participative approach with the support of local consultants. At the Bamako workshop involved actors exchanged views on methodological issues, collected field-based observations and discussed next steps to further develop this programme. > summary record forthcoming

SWAC Map Library

The SWAC’s maps describe West Africa, its population, settlement and territories, the regional economy and its vulnerabilities. Most of the maps were produced within the framework of the Regional Atlas on West Africa and the ECOWAS/SWAC West Africa Report on Resources for Development. You can download these maps from the SWAC’s new Map Library at: www.oecd.org/swac/maps