The Department of Water Resources is currently under the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Water Resources, Fisheries, Forestry Parks & Wildlife.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources is the government policy institution responsible for fisheries and water resources. Its mission statement reads: ‘‘to monitor the weather and climate in order to harness their positive impacts and to provide lead-time information for protection against negative impacts; develop and maintain rational and judicious exploitation and use of the national surface and ground water resources and fish products, guaranteeing a healthy, decent and sustainable standard of living for all, now and posterity’’.
Legal Status and Mandate:
Enacted on the 22nd of February 1979, the National Water Resources Council Act, among other things established the Department of Water Resources (DWR) and mandated to ensure water resources assessment, monitoring and management.
The functions and responsibilities of DWR include: preparing an inventory of water resources of the nation,coordinate the planning of technical requirements of the water resources services,preparing plans for investigating the rational management, use, control and protection of water resources,collecting, archiving, analysing and disseminating meteorological and hydrological data and products for various human uses,serving as the official voice in issuing weather warnings for public safety as well as the national authority and official source of information and policy advice on the present and future state of the atmosphere and other aspects of national weather and climate, in support of development,exploring the existence, location and behaviour of underground water and to ascertain the quantity of such underground water and executing and enforcing laws and regulations affecting water. These activities have positive implications for natural resource conservation. The Act also encourages the sustainable use of water resources.
Organizational structure:
The Department of Water Resources comprises five technical units (Divisions) in addition to Administration and Public Relations, namely: Meteorology, Hydrology, Rural Water Supply, Water Quality Monitoring and Control, and Communications and Data Analysis.
The Department is the lead government institution for the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and also the focal point of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Regional Programme on AGRHYMET (Agriculture, Hydrology and Meteorology) under the Interstate Committee for the Control of Drought in the Sahel (CILSS).
Gambia Meteorological Services
Central Forecast Office
Banjul International Airport
Department of Water Resources
Tel: (+220) 8806344(+220) (+220) 4472720
