Ghana and Burkina Faso are considering a formal mechanism for sharing real-time dam and weather information to ensure communities downstream of the Bagre Dam receive timely warnings before excess water is released.
The proposed “Bagre-Kompienga Release Protocol” emerged as a key recommendation at a cross-border stakeholder meeting in Bolgatanga, where officials, scientists, disaster management experts and traditional authorities examined persistent challenges in managing floods along the White Volta-Nakambé basin.
The initiative seeks to replace the largely reactive approach to flood warnings with a predictable system under which agreed water-release thresholds would automatically trigger a coordinated chain of alerts to authorities and communities downstream.
The White Volta, known as the Nakambé in Burkina Faso, flows from Burkina Faso into Ghana, with communities in the Upper East, North East and Northern Regions frequently exposed to flooding following excess water releases from the Bagre Dam.
The annual releases, which have occurred since 1999, are intended to protect the dam during periods of high water levels. However, the resulting surges have repeatedly caused extensive flooding, destroying farms and infrastructure and displacing communities.
Participants at the meeting said the continued impact of the floods pointed to weaknesses not necessarily in the availability of scientific information, but in how quickly that information is shared and converted into action.
Concerns were raised about delays in transmitting early warnings, inadequate logistics for district authorities to reach remote communities and weak coordination among institutions responsible for forecasting, disaster response and public communication.
Mr Ernest Sanou, Chief Hydrologist at Burkina Faso’s national utility, SONABEL, highlighted the challenge of institutional coordination, saying letters seeking closer cooperation with Ghana’s Volta River Authority as far back as October 2025 had not received responses.
For participants, the situation demonstrated the need for a permanent and clearly defined channel of communication between the two countries, particularly during periods when dam releases are imminent.
The proposed protocol would establish clearer arrangements for the exchange of hydrological data, notification of releases and communication of warnings to communities likely to be affected.
Mr Cedric Dzelu, representing Ghana’s Minister of State for Climate Change and Sustainability, said he would brief the Minister on the recommendations and propose a high-level ministerial meeting between Ghana and Burkina Faso to sustain political commitment to the process.
Ms Tiaho Cecile of Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said her country was equally committed to strengthening cooperation, noting that bilateral engagements had already taken place in October 2025 and February 2026.
Professor Christopher Gordon of the University of Ghana said the proposed intervention would require cooperation at three levels: political leadership to provide direction, technical working groups to maintain the flow of data and scientific information, and direct engagement with communities living along the river basin.
The discussions formed part of the Adaptation and Vulnerability-Strengthening Trans-disciplinary Engagement for Climate Resilience (AV-STEC) project, jointly implemented by Ghana’s Centre for Biodiversity Conservation Research (CBCR) and Burkina Faso’s Naturama, with York University in Canada and the START International/Stockholm Environment Institute.
Funded through the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) Initiative with support from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the project is examining ways to strengthen resilience among communities vulnerable to floods and other climate-related hazards.
Research presented at the meeting indicated that climate change could intensify both flooding and drought in the Nakambé watershed, while increasing temperatures and unpredictable rainfall patterns could compound existing vulnerabilities.
Socio-economic findings also identified households headed by people aged 60 and above as particularly vulnerable to climate shocks, underscoring the need for warning and response systems that reach vulnerable groups at the community level.
Participants proposed practical measures including stronger community information centres, trained disaster volunteers, expanded use of SMS and WhatsApp alerts, additional weather monitoring stations and enforcement of restrictions on settlements in flood-prone areas.
Emerita Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, Chair of the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation Research and principal investigator of the AV-STEC project, said the meeting had created an opportunity to move from dialogue to concrete action.
The challenge now, participants said, is to ensure that the proposed political, technical and community-level mechanisms are established before the next major release of excess water.
For communities along the White Volta, timely information could make the difference between receiving enough notice to move people and livestock to safety and being confronted by floodwaters after the danger has already arrived.
