Plaquette : Regional Action Plan for the Improvement of Irrigated Agriculture in the Senegal River Basin

REGIONAL ACTION PLAN FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE IN THE SENEGAL RIVER BASIN 7 - Physical data The total surface area of the OMVS member countries is 2, 712,000 km2 and the Senegal Basin covers more than 300,000 km2. The basin is subdivided into three areas: the upper basin, the valley and the delta. From north to south of the OMVS region, desert, sahelian, sudanian and guinean climatic zones follow one another, with annual rainfall amounts ranging from 50 mm to 2500 mm. The 1,800 km long Senegal River is formed by the confluence of the Bafing and Bakoye rivers at 1,055 km from the mouth. This river flows 13.1 billion m3 per year, on average (calculated from 1972 to 2000). Surface waters also include the lakes of Guiers in Senegal and Rkiz in Mauritania, which are fed by tributaries of the Senegal River. There are several types of soils in the Senegal River basin: lithosols, ferralitic soils, hydromorph soils, alluvial soils, ferruginous soils, vertisols, clay soils and halomorph soils. The Senegal River Basin is seriously affected by deforestation, silting and desertification which are spreading to several regions of the basin. The impacts of desertification are the loss of soil productivity, the regression of tree and shrub formations and the loss of biodiversity. - Demographic data The population of the four OMVS member countries is estimated at 44.3 million in 2013 (Guinea: 10.5; Mali: 16.8; Mauritania: 3.5; Senegal: 13.5). The average population growth rate is 2.7% per year in the four countries. The population is young, with a slight majority of women. The Senegal River long 1 800 km 2 712 000 km 2 The total surface area of the OMVS member countries the Senegal Basin covers nearly 300 000 km 2