Le barrage de Kandadji, actuellement en construction au Niger, déplacera 38 000 personnes. Le Haut Commissariat à l’Aménagement de la Vallée du Niger (HCAVN) s’est engagé, conformément aux dispositions juridiques en la matière, à compenser les terres traditionnelles perdues par des terres irriguées, dans le cadre du Programme Kandadji.

La construction du barrage de Kandadji au Niger aura, entre autres, pour conséquences l’appropriation de terres de culture, propriété de détenteurs coutumiers mais dans beaucoup de cas sous-exploitations d’autres personnes non-propriétaires. L’État a proposé un bail emphytéotique d’une durée de 50 ans pour les propriétaires, en compensation de leurs droits de propriété expropriés.

Le début de la mise en oeuvre du Programme Kandadji a fourni l'occasion de mener d’importants travaux et réflexions autour des textes sur le foncier irrigué au Niger, lesquels ont donné lieu à des recommandations fortes pour améliorer le cadre juridique de la gestion du foncier public, en particulier le foncier irrigué.

Au Niger le foncier aménagé se trouve aujourd’hui face à une double problématique : d’une part les anciens propriétaires coutumiers ou leurs descendants réclament des droits de propriété sur cet espace supposé appartenir à l’État, et d’autre part les structures publiques qui gèrent ce domaine ne disposent pas de documents juridiques pour justifier les droits de l’État sur les périmètres irrigués et, en conséquence, pour protéger le foncier aménagé.

Le projet de barrage de Fomi se situe sur le Niandan, affluent du Niger en Haute-Guinée, non loin de Kankan. Le projet Fomi est intégré au Plan d’action de développement durable (PADD) de l’Autorité du Bassin du Niger (ABN) depuis 2007. Une étude d’impact environnemental et social, composée d’un plan de gestion environnementale et sociale, d’un plan de réinstallation involontaire et d’un plan de développement local, a été finalisée en 2010.

The Fomi dam project is located on the Niandan tributary of the Niger in Guinea, 30 km upstream of the Niandan-Niger confluence, near Kankan (region of Upper Guinea). In development since 1988 with an update of the feasibility study in 1999, the Fomi project is integrated in the Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP) of the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) since 2007. An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, consisting of an Environmental and Social Management Plan, Involuntary Resettlement Plan and a Local Development Plan, was completed in 2010.

In Niger the land converted for public use is now facing a dual problem: on one hand, customary landowners or their descendants claim property rights on this space which supposedly belongs to the State, on the other hand, government bodies who manage this area do not have the legal documents to justify the State's rights over the developed (irrigated) land and, consequently, to protect it. How to ensure secure land tenure for the State on the developed land while preserving the legitimate rights of those working the land?

The start of the work of the Kandadji Programme, for the construction of the Kandadji dam, has provided the opportunity to analyse and reflect on the legal texts relating to irrigated land in Niger. This has led to strong recommendations for improving the legal framework for the management of public land, particularly irrigated land.

Construction of the Kandadji dam in Niger will involve, among other consequences, the appropriation of agricultural land owned by customary holders but also in many cases sub-holdings of other non-landowners. The government offered a long lease of 50 years for owners in compensation for their expropriated property rights.

How should the State compensate for the loss of the right of use by non-landowners farming land expropriated for the development of the Kandadji dam? This study aims to answer this question and proposes the use of a 'contract of occupation'.

The Kandadji dam, currently under construction in Niger, will displace 38,000 people. The High Commission for the Development of the Niger Valley (HCAVN), in accordance with national law, is committed to compensating people for the traditionally-owned land that they will lose.

37,891 inhabitants were displaced when the Kandadji dam was built in Niger. We carried out a study of the legal aspects of such displacement, examining ways for the State to optimise its investment whilst also seeking justice for displaced populations. This study weighs up the various options for managing legal processes within the affected areas of dams.

This study presents the results of field interviews with farmers, managers and the private sector from the Sélingué and Maninkoura (Mali) irrigation schemes to discuss how the current terms and conditions of the farming contract are implemented. These interviews focused on the functioning of the land management system as perceived by the stakeholders. The aim was to discuss the necessary and possible reforms of land tenure security which might allow a better development of smallholder farms.