Integrated Flood Management Project in Senegal : what lessons for the future ?

On 7 October 2026, the Espelia - GRET consortium teams facilitated a workshop in Dakar to share lessons learned and co-develop recommendations. It was the final step of the final evaluation of the Senegal Integrated Flood Management Project, a nationwide initiative.

Led by the DPGI and co-financed by the AFD, the Green Climate Fund and the State of Senegal (€71M between 2018 and 2025), the PGIIS supported the shift from a response focused on infrastructure and crisis management to an integrated approach to flood risk. This approach combines risk knowledge, urban planning, hydrometeorological monitoring, vulnerability reduction and multisectoral governance.

Held just days after the heavy rains of 4 and 5 October, which caused flooding in Dakar and across the country, the workshop brought together some forty participants from national institutions, local authorities, projects, civil society and academia.

On the agenda :

• a presentation of the evaluation findings against nine criteria, along with six key lessons;
• a plenary discussion, enriched by stakeholders’ testimonies and feedback on these lessons;
• work in five thematic groups to co-develop recommendations: governance, financing and operation of infrastructure, data and knowledge, capacity building, and gender and nature-based solutions.

Key takeaways :
The group work highlighted four priorities for the future:

• rolling out flood management at local and regional levels,
• securing long-term funding by exploring options for dedicated taxation,
• scaling up achievements to new areas by systematically using nature-based solutions,
• strengthening communication by using outreach channels tailored to each audience.

Next steps :
The input gathered will feed into the final evaluation report. It aims to consolidate the PGIIS’s achievements and to inform future integrated flood management initiatives, especially the implementation of the National Strategy for Integrated Flood Risk Management, adopted by the Council of Ministers at the end of September.

Many thanks to the DPGI, the AFD and the Green Climate Fund, as well as to all the Senegalese partners in attendance, for their trust and the wealth of discussions: ANACIM, ONAS, DGUA, Directorate of Water Resources, ADM, APIX, DCCTEFV, Sangalkam Municipality, SAFRU and EVE projects, pS-Eau, CRAJHEA and UCAD.