Strict and Efficient Management of Water Resources in River Basin-A Case of the Cross Border Basin of Niger

The nine member states (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Chad) sharing the Niger River Basin have early recognized the concerted management of water resources by creating the Niger River Commission in 1963 and the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) in 1980. The NBA, in the aim to lead a concerted, sustainable, equitable management of the basin water resources, has developed a shared vision with the support of the 9 Member States and signed a Declaration called "Declaration of Paris". This statement sets out the management principles and good governance for sustainable and shared development of the Niger Basin. The implementation of the Shared Vision has developed legal, institutional and technical instruments for the planning and good governance of water resources. - Legal tools : The agreement creating NBA signed in 1980 by nine member states and the Water Charter adopted in 2008 and ratified by member States. - Institutional Bodies tools of good governance of the basin are: The Summit of Heads of State and Government, The Council of Ministers, the Technical Committee of Experts, the Executive Secretariat with the Niger Basin Observatory, the National Focal Structures, the Permanent Technical Committee, the Panel of Experts and the Sub-basins Commissions. - Technical tools for planning and management for the development of the basin resources A network of 105 hydrometric stations and a database which serves to support the models of hydrological forecasts and allocation of water resources, an Action Plan for Sustainable Development (APSD) by 2027, an Investment Program by 2027, a Hydraulic model for allocation and water resources management and a model for hydrological forecasting. These models are used to analyze the impacts of new development on the basin and alert in case of imbalance. As a tool for decision support, they can anticipate emergencies and deficits, plan achievements and manage hydraulics structures.