Malibya concession in the Office du Niger and the Inner Niger Delta water balance
- The same study projected falls of 31% in the fish trade, 28% in pasture area and 37% in floating rice in my delta. Wetlands International
- About 1.5 million people depend directly on me, according to Wetlands International. Wetlands International
- Less water flowing into me means a lower flood level and a smaller flood extent, according to Karounga Keïta of Wetlands International. Wetlands International
A 2008 convention between Mali and Libya granted 100,000 ha in the Office du Niger area to a Libyan state company for 50 years, with Macina canal water "without restriction" from June to December. Land Matrix records the project as abandoned. A 2016 Wetlands International study projected reduced inflow to the Inner Niger Delta from Office du Niger expansion generally, not from Malibya specifically.
Convention of 9 May 2008 between Mali and Libya; Macina canal water without restriction from June to December.
Status As of July 2019 (Land Matrix): the Malibya project was recorded as abandoned and communities were calling for access to the land and facilities.
- Malibya (Libyan state company) — 100,000 ha net for 50 years, renewable, land granted free of charge according to Land Matrix, with water without restriction from June to December Republic of Mali / Libyan Jamahiriya (via Open Land Contracts)
- Local communities — Land Matrix records that communities were calling for access to the land and facilities as of July 2019 Land Matrix
- Inner Niger Delta — Projected 23% cut in average inflow by 2045 from Office du Niger expansion as a whole (2016 projection, not specific to Malibya) Wetlands International
What happened
On 9 May 2008 the Republic of Mali (Agriculture Minister Prof. Tiémoko Sangaré) and Libya (Dr Aboubaker al Mansoury) signed an agricultural investment convention in Bamako. Article 3 provides a net area of 100,000 ha for agriculture in the Ségou region, in the Niger River delta. Article 5 provides that the land is free of any legal encumbrance or individual or collective ownership. Article 6 sets a term of 50 years, renewable. Article 8 provides that Mali grants all permits to use water from the Macina canal and groundwater, allowing the company to use the water needed, without restriction, from June to December; in January–May the project grows lower-water crops and Mali undertakes to supply the water needed. Article 23 provides for amicable settlement, then a three-member arbitration committee.
Water fees under the convention are 2,470 FCFA/ha for annual sprinkler irrigation and 67,000 FCFA/ha by gravity, revisable annually. Canal and road infrastructure (a 40 km canal and a 40 km paved road) was estimated at 25 billion FCFA; a study for 25,000 ha was put at more than 900 million FCFA (Bamada.net, translated by GRAIN via farmlandgrab). Land Matrix records the land as granted free of charge.
Canal and road works ran in 2008–2010. In June 2014 the Office du Niger granted a 25,000 ha lease "with conditions on the use of land and water"; by 2018 there had been no concrete achievements since 2012 (Bamada.net). Talks to revive the project took place on 17 September 2018, and the Malian minister confirmed interest in the 100,000 ha project. Land Matrix records the project as abandoned: "Work has ceased following Gaddafi's death", and communities were calling for access to the land and facilities as of July 2019.
Wetlands International reported on 21 September 2016 on research it commissioned into planned Office du Niger expansion, which depends on the Fomi dam in Guinea (the figures given are 125,000 ha and 330,000 ha). The research projected a 23% cut in the average water volume flowing into the Inner Niger Delta by 2045, with falls of 31% in fish trade, 28% in pasture area and 37% in floating rice; about 1.5 million people depend directly on the delta. These are projections for the Office du Niger expansion as a whole, published in 2016, and are not specific to Malibya.
- 20089 May: investment convention signed in Bamako; canal and road works follow (2008–2010)
- 2014June: Office du Niger grants a 25,000 ha lease with conditions on the use of land and water
- 201621 Sep: Wetlands International reports projected cuts in water reaching the Inner Niger Delta from Office du Niger expansion
- 201817 Sep: talks to revive the project; Malian minister confirms interest in the 100,000 ha project
- 2019July: Land Matrix records the project as abandoned; communities call for access to the land and facilities
What was said
“a net area of 100,000 ha for agriculture… in the Ségou region, in the Niger River delta”
“free of any legal encumbrance or individual or collective ownership”
“to use the water needed, without restriction, from June to December”
“with conditions on the use of land and water”
“Work has ceased following Gaddafi's death”
“Less water flowing into the Delta means a lower flood level and a smaller flood extent”
How it looked
Shown
- Mali confirmed interest in the 100,000 ha project.Malian minister, as reported by Bamada.net, 2018 · Bamada.net, translated by GRAIN via farmlandgrab
- Works on the Malibya site were to resume.Bamada.net, translated by GRAIN via farmlandgrab, September 2018 · Bamada.net, translated by GRAIN via farmlandgrab
- The Malibya project is abandoned.Land Matrix, July 2019 · Land Matrix
Recorded
- The convention grants 100,000 ha net for 50 years, renewable, with water from the Macina canal without restriction from June to December.
- Water fees: 2,470 FCFA/ha (sprinkler) and 67,000 FCFA/ha (gravity), revisable annually.
- Land Matrix records the land as granted free of charge and the project as abandoned.
- Wetlands International's commissioned research projects a 23% cut in average inflow to the Inner Niger Delta by 2045 from Office du Niger expansion generally.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- mali-gov (2018): A Malian minister confirmed interest in the 100,000 ha project in 2018; the Office du Niger had granted a 25,000 ha lease in June 2014 with conditions on the use of land and water. · Bamada.net, translated by GRAIN via farmlandgrab
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Money
- None on record Spending on the Inner Niger Delta water balance — None on record.
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Record
- Not measured Not measured: harm to the Inner Niger Delta attributable to the Malibya concession; the figures on record are 2016 projections for the Office du Niger expansion as a whole.
- None on record None on record: displacement data (Land Matrix).
- None on record None on record: a statement from Malibya.
- None on record None on record: proceedings under the convention's arbitration clause (Article 23).
- Unclear Unclear: the 2025–2026 status of the concession.
Did the harm stop?
Not established. Land Matrix records the project as abandoned, with work ceased; the 2016 projections concern Office du Niger expansion generally.
Who paid?
Not measured: harm attributable to Malibya. The convention granted the company land free of charge, per Land Matrix, and set water fees of 2,470 FCFA/ha (sprinkler) and 67,000 FCFA/ha (gravity).
Sources
Government and regulators
- Convention d'investissement dans le domaine agricole (Malibya)Republic of Mali / Libyan Jamahiriya (via Open Land Contracts) · 2008-05-09
Press and investigations
- Office du Niger: towards the resumption of works at the Malibya project siteBamada.net, translated by GRAIN via farmlandgrab · 2018-09
Communities and civil society
- Land Matrix, deal #1474 MalibyaLand Matrix · 2026-10-19
- New irrigation plans threaten food production Inner Niger DeltaWetlands International · 2016-09-21
Connected cases
- Artisanal gold in Mali: mercury use and its money (Minamata National Action Plan) Mali · 2018–2020
- Government of Mali (Government) — here: Party to the 2008 convention; granted the land and water rights; there: Ministry of Environment, Sanitation and Sustainable Development published the plan
- Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex: Barrick–Mali dispute, provisional administration and settlement Mali · 2023–2026
- Government of Mali (Government) — here: Party to the 2008 convention; granted the land and water rights; there: 20% owner; claimant in tax and mining-code dispute; party to the settlement
- Mali gold mine closures handed to the state: Yatela, Morila and Sadiola closure money Mali · 2019–2025
- Government of Mali (Government) — here: Party to the 2008 convention; granted the land and water rights; there: Buyer of Yatela; created the closure fund; took over Yatela and Morila