The program will be divided in two phases spanning twelve years. The first phase of five years focuses on the five countries on the river's main stem. It will be funded with US$186M divided in three International Development Association (IDA) credits, US$9M to Benin, US$18M to Mali, and US$135M to Nigeria; and two grants, US$9M to Guinea, and US$15M to Niger. The second phase will include the remaining four riparian countries, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Chad and Côte d'Ivoire, as agreed in the Niger Basin Sustainable Development Action Program.
The Niger Basin Water Resources Development and Ecosystems Management program has been developed to achieve a sustainable increase of the water resources productivity, increase hydro generation and foster economic growth in the riparian countries. To create a collaborative framework to benefit the 110M people living in the Basin, the project will first strengthen the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) as a critical governing structure managing the common goods and ensuring adequate coordination.
'The project fits the World Bank's strategy of supporting Africa's regional integration effort, which results in cross-border economic and social benefits, promotes country and regional ownership, and provides a platform for policy harmonization,' said Mark Tomlinson, Director of the Regional Integration Department in the Africa Region of the World Bank in Washington. 'The Niger Basin's tremendous potential for development and investment is still under-developed: only 20% of the irrigable land is developed, only one fifth of the hydro power potential is generated and only 30 of the 200Bm3 of annual river discharge is stored. This is the rationale for the World Bank's involvement, coupled with the riparian countries' commitment to move away from unilateral planning to coordinated regional development actions.'
Apart from strengthening NBA's institutional framework, the program will rehabilitate and optimise the regional water infrastructure. This is central to the riparian countries' development strategy as it will increase opportunities for multipurpose, income-generation activities such as irrigation, fisheries and ecosystem regeneration. The upgrading of the Kainji and Jebba hydro power plants in Nigeria is a key component as it will reduce the severe regional energy crisis, provide cheaper and reliable power, and supply additional energy to Niger and Benin.
'This program is a unique opportunity to jointly develop the water resources, promote shared benefits and foster regional integration,' said Ousmane Dione, the World Bank Task Team Leader for the project. 'In a rare occasion on international waters negotiations and despite the stakes, the riparian countries embraced the vision of hydro-brotherhood with the amazing positive role of Nigeria, instead of the usual hydropolitics and associated competition. Developing a collaborative framework to benefit such a large population requires strengthened regional institutions but also long term commitment from the donors to ensure that investments are not neglected and benefits lost due to lack of proper management, operation and maintenance.
Overall, the three components of the program are:
* Institutional strengthening and capacity building of NBA and the national water resources management institutions.
* Rehabilitation, optimisation and development of regional water infrastructure including the strategic selection and planning of new dams.
* Sustainable management of selected degraded ecosystems and rehabilitation of small water infrastructure to support irrigation schemes, watershed restoration and agro-forestry.
