NIGER – HYCOS AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR WATER RESOURCES ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF THE NIGER BASIN A sub-regional component of the World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS) July 2006 CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv SUMMARY v 1. INTRODUCTION: CONTEXT OF THE NIGER-HYCOS PROJECT 1 2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF HYCOS IN WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA 3 2.1 Main objectives of the project 3 2.1.1 Long-term objectives 3 2.1.2 Short-term objectives 3 2.2 Lessons learnt from the AOC-HYCOS Pilot Project 3 2.3 Moving from regional to large basin-scale development strategy 4 3. THE NIGER-HYCOS PROJECT FRAMEWORK 7 3.1 Geographical framework 7 3.2 Climate and precipitation 8 3.3 Hydrography and hydrology 11 3.3.1 River flow regime: trends and prospects 12 3.4 The population of the Niger basin 14 3.5 Socio-economic indicators 15 3.6 Institutional framework 16 4. OBJECTIVES OF THE NIGER-HYCOS PROJECT 19 4.1 General objectives 19 4.2 Specific objectives 19 5. NIGER-HYCOS PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS AND BENEFICIARIES 21 5.1 Niger-HYCOS Project Stakeholders 21 5.1.1 National Hydrological Services 21 5.1.2 The Niger Basin Authority 21 5.1.3 Other technical partners 22 5.2 Niger-HYCOS Project Beneficiaries 22 5.2.1 Identification of beneficiaries by area of activity 23 5.2.1.1 Institutions responsible for operational hydrology 23 5.2.1.2 Political decision makers 23 5.2.1.3 Agricultural Services 23 5.2.1.4 Fisheries Services 24 5.2.1.5 Shipping industry 24 5.2.1.6 Drinking water supply companies 24 5.2.1.7 Environmental monitoring organizations 24 5.2.1.8 Dam managers 24 5.2.1.9 Scientists 25 5.2.1.10 The African media 25 5.2.1.11 The general public 25 5.2.1.12 Regional and international institutions 25 5.2.2 Identification of beneficiaries by country 25 5.2.2.1 Benin 25 5.2.2.2 Burkina Faso 26 5.2.2.3 Cameroon 26 5.2.2.4 Chad 27 5.2.2.5 Côte d’Ivoire 27 5.2.2.6 Guinea 27 5.2.2.7 Mali 27 5.2.2.8 Niger 27 5.2.2.9 Nigeria 28 PROJECT GOVERNANCE, PROCEDURES AND MODALITIES FOR 6. 29 IMPLEMENTATION 6.1 The Steering Committee 29 6.2 The Executing Agency 31 6.3 National Hydrological Services of the participating countries 31 6.4 The Regional Project Centre 32 6.5 The Supervising Agency 33 7. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION 35 7.1 General principles 35 7.2 Resources 35 7.2.1 At the Regional Project Centre in Niamey 35 7.2.2 Within National Hydrological Services 36 7.3 Budget 37 7.3.1 Contribution by the NBA Executive Secretariat 37 7.3.2 Contribution by participating countries 38 7.3.3 Financial partners contribution 38 7.3.4 Contribution by other partners 40 7.4 Project activities 40 7.4.1 Country-based activities 40 7.4.2 Activities at the RPC 41 8. PROJECT OUTCOMES 43 9. FOLLOW-UP AND EVALUATION 45 9.1 Follow-up indicators 45 9.2 End-of-project evaluation 45 10. SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROJECT 47 10.1 Regional cooperation 47 10.2 Project sustainability 47 10.3 Assumptions at different levels 48 10.4 Risks and mitigation strategy 48 10.5 Environmental protection 49 10.6 Sociocultural and gender issues 49 10.7 Institutional and management capacity 50 REFERENCES 51 ii ANNEX 1 Programme of activities ANNEX 2 Terms of reference for the Regional Project Centre and the Regional Technical Steering Committee ANNEX 3 Provisional Budgets ANNEX 4 Specifications and location of hydrometric stations ANNEX 5 Training programme ANNEX 6 Specifications for hydrological data-handling software ANNEX 7 Organization and content of the Niger-HYCOS Project website ANNEX 8 Description of the post of hydrological expert, head of the Implementation unit and database expert iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACMAD : African Centre for Meteorological Applications for Development ADCP : Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler AFD : Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency) AGRHYMET: Regional Training Centre for Agrometeorology and Operational Hydrology and their Applications AOC : West and Central Africa AOC-HYCOS : West and Central African Hydrological Cycle Observing System CILSS : Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel DCP : Data Collection Platform ECOWAS : Economic Commission of West African States FAO : United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization FRIEND : Flow Regimes from International and Experimental Network Data GDP : Gross Domestic Product GHENIS : Hydroecological Management of the Upper Niger GIRENS : Integrated Water Resource Management in the Upper Niger GTS : Global Telecommunication System GWP : Global Water Partnership HYCOS : Hydrological Cycle Observing System IRD : Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (Research Institute for Development) IWRM : Integrated Water Resource Management LCBC : Lake Chad Basin Commission NBA : Niger Basin Authority NHS : National Hydrological Service NICT : New Information and Communications Technology OHRAOC : Hydrological Observatory of West and Central Africa OMVS : Senegal River Development Organization PASD : Plan of Action for Sustainable Development PET : Potential Evapotranspiration RNC : River Niger Commission UEMOA : West African Economic and Monetary Union UNDP : United Nations Development Programme UNEP : United Nations Environment Programme WB : World Bank WHO : World Health Organization WHYCOS : World Hydrological Cycle Observing System WIAG : WHYCOS International Advisory Group WMO : World Meteorological Organization iv SUMMARY The present document sets out the framework for the implementation of the Niger river basin hydrological observing system, designated Niger-HYCOS. It is based on a provisional document prepared in 2003 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), in collaboration with IRD (Institut français de Recherche pour le Développement) and at the request of the Niger Basin Authority (NBA). Since 1993, WMO has been instituting the promotion of a world hydrological cycle observing system (WHYCOS) (Rodda, J.C. et al., 1993), based on a global network of reference stations transmitting data in real or near real time, if possible via World Weather Watch meteorological satellites. The aim is to enable the development of national, regional and international databases supplied with high quality, coherent and continually updated readings on river discharge, water quality and certain climatic variables. The Niger- HYCOS project is intended to serve as a component of this global network and to be developed in an area covering the large transnational basin of the Niger river. This document sets out the terms of reference for the project, as well as its principal stages. NBA is to be the Executing Agency for the project and will play host to the Regional Project Centre at its headquarters in Niamey, Niger. The National Hydrological Services of the nine NBA member countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Nigeria) will be the additional project stakeholders. Financial support for project implementation is being offered by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), whilst IRD and Regional Training Centre for Agrometeorology and Operational Hydrology and their Applications (AGRHYMET) are collaborating as technical partners. Through synergy with other programmes currently being undertaken (Volta- HYCOS, GIRENS, etc.) in participating countries, it will be possible to draw on the experiences gained during similar projects in the region in the course of implementation. Good governance of the project will be ensured by means of various structures, particularly the Steering Committee (SC), which will ensure that project activities are properly executed and that follow-up, monitoring and appraisal are successfully conducted. The ultimate objective of the Niger-HYCOS Project is to establish a system of useful information on water resources at the basin level fed with recent, high-quality data easily accessible to all user groups, with a particular emphasis on use of internet technology. With this in mind, the project will seek to strengthen technical and institutional capacity within the NHSs of the partner countries, enhance hydrological observing networks, in particular by making use of a range of telemetering technology, encourage the development of national and regional databases, promote regional cooperation and organize appropriate professional training programmes. The duration of the project is three years, including a six-month initial phase that began in April 2005 and which involved the drafting of a detailed institutional, technical and financial project schema, the subject of the present document. The estimated total cost of the project is €5.3 million. Donor contributions amount to €4.1 million, whilst other partners and member countries are contributing €1.2 million. The cost of the preparatory phase is €233 900. A grant of €3 million has been secured from AFD, and NBA is currently seeking the remainder (€1.1 million), with support from WMO. Project activities have been organized in such a way that they can be implemented as and when funding is available, whilst additional funds are sought. On this basis, it is anticipated that a network of 95 hydrometric stations will be set up, including some with telemetering capability. v vi 1. INTRODUCTION : CONTEXT OF THE NIGER-HYCOS PROJECT The Niger-Hycos Project represents Phase III of the HYDRONIGER Project, which was implemented between 1980 and 1991 with funding from UNDP, the EEC, the OPEC Special Fund and the NBA Member States, with WMO acting as the Executing Agency. The main outcomes of this project were as follows : - Establishment of a real time data collection network comprising 65 data collection platforms (DCPs) - Establishment of an operational hydrology data bank - Construction of flood prediction models - Training of staff at the NBA Executive Secretariat and in Member States in all areas of project activity - Procurement of major consignments of transport and hydrological equipment - Construction of buildings to house regional and national forecasting centres.