Bagre Dam

The Bagre Dam, also known as the Barrage de Bagré, is a large hydroelectric dam located on the White Volta River in Burkina Faso. Constructed between 1988 and 1994, its primary purposes are irrigation, electricity generation, and flood control. The dam created a substantial reservoir, Lac de Bagré (Lake Bagré), which is used for fishing and agriculture.

The project has had a mixed record. While it provides electricity to parts of Burkina Faso and enables irrigation for rice farming, it has also been implicated in causing or exacerbating flooding downstream in Ghana, particularly in the White Volta River basin during periods of heavy rainfall. Coordinated water release management between Burkina Faso and Ghana has been a recurring challenge, with efforts to improve communication and forecasting to mitigate the impact of releases on downstream communities. The dam's construction also led to the displacement of local populations, requiring resettlement and posing challenges related to livelihoods and social integration.