Annex 2 to the Niger Basin Water Charter Relating to the Water Regulations for the Coordinated Management of the Structuring Dams

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Annex No.2 to the Niger Basin Water Charter Relating to the Water Regulations for the Coordinated Management of the Structuring Dams

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Annex No.2 to the Niger Basin Water Charter Relating to the Water Regulations for the Coordinated Management of the Structuring Dams

Republic of Benin; Burkina Faso; Republic of Cameroon; Republic of Ivory Coast; Republic of Guinea; Republic of Mali; Republic of Niger; Federal Republic of Nigeria; Republic of Chad;

States Parties to the present Annex No.2 to the Niger Basin Water Charter relating to the Water Regulations for the coordinated management of the structuring dams of the Niger Basin;

HAVING REGARD TO the Niamey Act relating to the navigation and economic cooperation between the Niger Basin States signed on 26 October 1963;

HAVING REGARD TO the agreement relating to the Niger River Commission and to the navigation and transport on the Niger River signed on 25 November 1964 in Niamey, revised on 2 February 1968 and on 15 June 1973 in Niamey, and also on 26 January 1979 in Lagos;

HAVING REGARD TO the convention relating to the creation of the Niger Basin Authority (NBA) signed on 21 November 1980 in Faranah, revised on 29 October 1987 in N'Djamena;

HAVING REGARD TO decision no. 01288 of the President of the NBA Council of Ministers of 13 September 2007 concerning the creation, allocations and organisation of the NBA's Permanent Technical Committee;

HAVING REGARD TO the Niger Basin Water Charter adopted according to Decision no. 2 of the 8th Summit of the Heads of State and of Government of the NBA held on 30 April 2008 in Niamey declaring the Niger River an international watercourse, including its tributaries, subtributaries and distributaries;

HAVING REGARD TO Annex No.l of the Niger Basin Water Charter relating to environment protection adopted on 30 September 20Il in N'Djamena, Annex No.3 relating to the prior notification of the planned measures adopted on ]6 December 20] 4 in Niamey, and Annex No.4 relating to the sharing of the costs and benefits of the common dams and of the common interest dams adopted on 31 March 2017 in Conakry;

HAVING REGARD TO Decision no.7 of the 7th Summit of the Heads of State and of Government of the NBA held on 16 February 2002 in Abuja, relating to the exchange of information between the Member States;

HAVING REGARD TO Decision no. 8 of the 8th Summit of the Heads of State and of Government of the NBA held on 30 April 2008 in Niamey relating to the acceleration of the construction of the Taoussa (in Mali) and Kandadji (in Niger) dams, and to the rehabilitation of the Lagdo dam (in Cameroon);

5HAVING REGARD TO Decision no. 1 of the 9th Summit of the Heads of State and of Government of the NBA held on 16 September 2010 in Abuja relating to the transfer of certain dam management functions to the NBA;

HAVING REGARD TO Decision no. 2 of the 10th Summit of the Heads of State and of Government of the NBA held on Il May 2013 in N'Djamena relating to the acceleration of the technical and environmental studies for the construction of the Fomi dam in Guinea;

HAVING REGARD TO the Directive on the development of hydraulic infrastructures in West Africa, adopted by the 78th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the ECOWAS held on 1st and 2nd June 2017 in Monrovia relating to the incorporation of the social and environmental aspects during the design and construction of large dams;

Referring to the Helsinki Convention adopted on 17 March 1992 relating to the protection and use of the transnational watercourses and of the international lakes, amended in 2003 to allow its accession by all the Member States of the United Nations excluding the UNECE region;

Referring to the New York Convention adopted on 21 May 1997 re1ating to the use of international watercourses for purposes other than navigation;

Recalling bilateral agreements relating to the management of water resources and of structuring dams in the Niger Basin;

Considering the Sustainable Development Action Plan adopted in 2007 and revised in 2012, and the NBA 1nvestment Programme adopted in 2008 for the integrated management, development and conservation of the Niger Basin ecosystems, in particular by respecting the target baseflow rates;

Resolved to implement the Shared Vision adopted in May 2005 in Abuja and which consists of making the Niger Basin a "common space for sustainable development by integrated management of the water resources and associated ecosystems to improve the living conditions and prosperity of the populations";

Agreed to adopt the present Annex No.2 of the Niger Basin Water Charter relating to the Water Regulations for the coordinated management of the structuring dams.

CHAPTER 1: DEFINITIONS, OBJECTIVES, FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND SCOPE

Article 1: Definitions

In the sense of the present Annex No.2 to the Niger Basin Water Charter relating to the Water Regulations for the coordinated management of the structuring dams and except where otherwise indicated, the following definitions shall be used:

NBA: Niger Basin Authority;

Tributary: watercourse joining another and generally greater watercourse, at a location called a confluence;

Structuring dam: multipurpose dam (especially baseflow support, irrigation and/or hydroelectricity) whose total volume exceeds one billion cubic metres (1 km^3);

Hydrographical drainage basin: geographical zone which can extend over one or more States and determined by the limits of the supply area of a water system terminating at a common point;

Permanent Technical Committee: consultative body of the NBA's Executive Secretariat responsible for monitoring the rational water management;

NBA Council of Ministers: NBA control body responsible for monitoring the activities of the Executive Secretariat and which is responsible for making recommendations and proposing resolutions to the Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the NBA;

Management instruction: dam operational management instruction resulting from the objectives to be achieved and which are fixed by the dam management graphs, and which result in an indication of the flow rate or volume to be released;

Management graph: time graph defining a setpoint for the flow rate or volume to be released based on the water level of a structuring dam according to the period of the year; all the graphs defined for a structuring dam indicate the different states of the basin according to the hydraulicity (dry, median, wet year, etc.) and form the management "envelope graphs";

Watercourse: surface water and groundwater system which, due to their physical relationships, form a unitary whole reaching a same and single arrival point;

International watercourse: watercourse the parts of which are in different States or which form the border between States;

Target baseflow (DOE): flow value fixed at a point on the watercourse above which it is considered that ail the uses are possible downstream of the point and that they are balanced with the correct operation of the ecological environment; the value is a target value fixed according to the hydrological history at the considered point and according to the baseflow support dams actually in service upstream of the point;

Target flow rates: flow rate objectives (including the target baseflows) for the coordinated management of the structuring dams and which are defined at the Coordinated Management points;

State Party: State which has ratified the Niger Basin Water Charter and with respect to which the Charter has entered force;

Coordinated management of the structuring dams or Coordinated management: set of technical, institutional and legal measures forming the general rules, methods and constraints applied to the structuring dams of the Niger Basin based on a water management strategy drawn up by common agreement;

Strategic management: management allowing the rational use of the water resources in the medium term, during the season for example, and controlled by a decision aid tool established from models combined with optimizations and simulations on future months according to historical records; the strategic management integrates the concept of system performance or failure and is linked to a higher decisional level than that of the tactical management, to optimize the use of the resource according to the objectives to be achieved;

Tactical management: operational management consisting of regulating the operation of the control components which will control the water flow rates in the downstream system; the operational management of a structuring dam corresponds to short-term decisions and is performed on a daily basis by the owner (or his delegated manager) according to the real-time situations (levels measured and effective needs) and based on the defined management strategy;

Emergency management: management implemented in the event of an emergency situation requiring a temporary adaptation of the management methods of the structuring dams and of the uses, to guarantee the safety of persons, property and dams or the correct operation of the ecosystems;

Procedural Manual for the coordinated management of the structuring dams or Procedural Manual: document drawn up by the Niger Basin Observatory for the owners and their delegated managers, containing the tools and instructions for the coordinated management of the structuring dams in the Basin, in particular the strategy management graphs and the target flow rates;

Water discharge: controlled evacuation of a fraction of a dam's water (including for baseflow support, energy production and safety) resulting from a management instruction;

Owner: corporate entity on behalf of which work is carried out and which owns the dam; the owner can delegate the management of its dam to another public or private entity;

Niger Basin Observatory: structure responsible for monitoring the changes in the basin's hydrological, environmental and socio-economic dimensions, and for producing the periodic information, on the development of the basin;

Modelling tool: computer tool which aids the decision making processes during the exploitation of the water resources and during the allocation of the water among the different sectors, associated with a methodology and data; ail this is used in particular to anticipate the hydrological and hydraulic situations and to create management graphs for the dams in order to optimize - at the scale of the drainage basin - the use of the water resources according to the demands and constraints;

Common dam: dam for which the NBA Member States have decided, by a legal act, that it is their common and indivisible property;

Common Interest dam: dam which is of interest to two or more NBA Member States and for which they have, by common agreement, decided on its coordinated management;

Niger Basin Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP): strategic reference document adopted in 2007 and revised in 2012 which defines and orientates the basin's integrated and shared development process in the NBA member countries based on the principle of integrated management of the water resources and of the associated ecosystems;

Coordinated management points: control points on the Niger river and its tributaries for the coordinated management of the structuring dams; they consist of the definition points for the target baseflows determined in the SDAP as well as the additional points for which the target flow rates of the coordinated management ofthe structuring dams are defined;

Water Regulations for the coordinated management of the structuring dams or Water Regulations: articles of the present Annex No.2 to the Niger Basin Water Charter relating to the Water Regulations for the coordinated management of the existing and future structuring dams;

Dam regulations: documents containing the management rules and instructions for a structuring dam;

NBA Executive Secretariat: NBA implementation body responsible for the administration of the NBA and all of its structures for the application of the decisions of the higher instances;

Summit of Heads of State and of Government of the NBA: supreme body for NBA's orientation and whose decisions and directives must be followed by ail the Authority's institutions;

National Focal Structures: structures responsible for the coordination of the NBA's activities at the level of each State Party by the involvement of ail the stakeholders on the one hand, and between the State Parties on the other hand;

Emergency situation: situation which causes or threatens to cause severe damage to one or more States, and which is caused by a severe water shortage, a risk of exceptional flooding, a risk of a structuring dams bursting or any other extreme situations representing a case of force majeure;

Use: use of the water resource for a given sector.

Article 2: Objective

The present Annex No.2 is adopted in application of articles 2, 5, 6, 7, 10 12, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 27, 28 and 33 of the Niger Basin Water Charter, the provisions of which it specifies and completes in terms of coordinated management of the structuring dams.

Its aim is to define the general rules, methods and constraints for the coordinated management of all the existing and future structuring dams on the Niger river and its tributaries, and includes the major social, economic and environmental challenges of the hydrographic drainage basin.

Article 3: Fundamental principles and scope

The rules and fundamental principles of the coordinated management of the structuring dams are formulated:

- At "strategic" level for the management at seasonal scale based on the hydrological and hydraulic objectives to be achieved indicated by management graphs to be respected for each structuring dam;

- At "tactical" level for the operational management implemented respecting the management strategy;

- For the emergency situations.

The coordinated management must satisfy or conciliate the requirements in terms of:

- Potable water supply, public health, water security and flood protection;

- Energy production;

Protection of ecosystems and wetlands as well as maintaining the biodiversity, in particular of the fish fauna, in the receiving environments;

- Need for agriculture, livestock breeding, fishing, marine cultures, industry, river transport, tourism, protected areas, as well as for all other legally exercised anthropogenic activities;

- Conservation and free flow of water.

Therefore, the following factors are taken into account:

- The data relating to the hydrology of the Niger river and its tributaries, and their prospects;

- The different uses of the water resource and their related stakes, and the associated prospects;

- The characteristics of the structuring dams and associated infrastructures especially irrigated areas;

- The objectives to be respected for the conciliation of the uses in the Niger Basin in terms of target baseflows, target flow rates and flood volumes;

- The safety standards of the structuring dams.

The present Annex No.2 is applicable to all existing or future structuring dams in the Niger Basin.

CHAPTER 2: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Article 4: Strategic management objectives

The general objective of the coordinated management of the structuring dams at "strategic" level is to optimize the management of the resource to rationally and sustainably satisfy the different uses and is based, for each dam, on a set of management graphs, each relative to a different water status of the basin.

According to the period of the year and to the water level of the structuring dam, these management graphs define operational guidelines such as flow rates to be discharged (excluding emergency situations). The management graphs of a structuring dam depend on those of the others, hence the need for a coordinated approach.

The strategic management consists of defining and updating, where necessary, these management graphs, at the scale of the basin by taking into account ail the structuring dams, to be able to guarantee a coordinated management integrating the needs and the environmental challenges in the whole of the Niger Basin. The strategic management is defined based on a series of long historic flow rates which are representative of the river's hydraulicity.

Strategic management includes:

- The existing structuring dams and those under construction as well as their hydraulic characteristics;

- The uses and the needs of the water resources based on the SDAP, such as:

o The potable water needs;

o The energy production;

o The existing large irrigated areas and those under development;

o The navigation;

o The water supply for livestock;

- The data relating to the hydrology of the Niger river and of its tributaries, including seasonal and interannual variations through representative historical chronologies;

- The locations of the coordinated management points;

- The environmental preoccupations by respecting the target baseflow rates and additional target flow rates at the coordinated management points, and by maintaining the floods downstream of the structuring dams.

Article 5: Establishment and implementation of strategic management

The coordinated management of the structuring dams at strategic level is established using the water resource integrated modelling and management tools of the Niger Basin Observatory which is responsible for producing the strategic management graphs, in collaboration with the State Parties.

The results of the simulations and the resulting management graphs for the dams, as well as the target flow rates at the coordinated management points which are associated with them, are sent by the NBA's Executive Secretary to the Permanent Technical Committee for opinion. The management graphs and the target flow rates are then approved by the NBA's Council of Ministers before notifying State Parties.

The Ministry in charge of the Niger Basin Authority, via the National Focal Structure, is responsible - in concertation with the main users and particularly the operators of the structuring dams and of the irrigated areas, as well as with the technical ministries – for communicating the necessary data to the Niger Basin Authority for the construction of the coordinated management graphs.

When approved, each Owner ensures that the management graphs of the dam concerned are implemented.

At the start of the hydrological year, then during the season according to the changes in the water flow, the Observatory informs the owners and managers of the strategic management graph which must be respected for each dam.

The States Parties undertake to transmit to the Permanent Technical Committee, via the NBA's Executive Secretariat, an annual coordinated management report for the structuring dams which concern them at national level or which are in common.

The Niger Basin Observatory is responsible for the annual monitoring and assessment of the implementation of the strategic management over the whole of the basin. It fills in the monitoring and assessment indicators. It sends its conclusions to the Permanent Technical Committee.

Article 6: Conditions for revision of the strategic management graphs

The management graphs of the structuring dams are revised by the Niger Basin Observatory when there are major structural modifications in the Niger Basin: the construction of a new structuring dam, the creation of a new large irrigated area or if a lasting change is observed in the hydraulics of the Niger river or of one of its tributaries.

The management graphs are revised upon proposal by the NBA's Permanent Technical Committee, or if requested by a State Party.

Article 7: Procedural Manual

The Procedural Manual for the coordinated management of the structuring dams in the Niger Basin is drawn up by the Niger Basin Observatory in collaboration with the States Parties, the owners and the managers. It is sent by the NBA's Executive Secretary to the Permanent Technical Committee for opinion, and then approved by the NBA's Council of Ministers.

The Procedural Manual includes:

- The list of existing structuring dams or those under construction;

- The 1ist and locations of the coordinated management points and of the target baseflow points;

- The values of the target flow rates at these points;

- The reference values of the flow rates and volumes of the floods;

- The strategic management graphs ("envelope graphs") of each of these structuring dams;

- The timelines and the planned future revisions according to the future structuring dams or other projected changes;

- The list of strategic management indicators;

- And any other document deemed relevant by the stakeholders.

The NBA's Executive Secretariat sends the Procedural Manual to the Owners concerned and, where applicable, to their delegated managers.

CHAPTER 3: TACTICAL MANAGEMENT

Article 8: Tactical management objectives

The Tactical management corresponds to the day-to-day operational management of the structuring dams. Its general objective is to determine the water volumes and the flow rates to be discharged downstream of each structuring dam according to the daily hydrological data, the forecast water intakes, the daily water levels of the reservoirs and the water needs. It is carried out respecting the management strategy and the strategic management graphs, excluding emergency situations.

Article 9: Implementation of tactical management

The tactical management is implemented by the owners and their delegated managers, who have a certain latitude to take account of local demands and constraints.

The Niger Basin Observatory supports the tactical management by publishing and circulating necessary information to the structuring dam owners or their delegated managers including the hydrological statuses and the hydrological forecasts at an appropriate frequency.

CHAPTER 4: EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Article 10: Emergency management objectives

The States Parties and the NBA's Executive Secretariat reiterate their commitment under Annex No.l of the Niger Basin Water Charter relating to environment protection to jointly manage the emergency situations in the basin.

Emergency management consists of alerting, communicating and temporarily adapting the methods of structuring dam management and of uses while minimizing the socio-economic and environmental impacts.

In the context of the present Annex No.2, the emergency management is initiated in the event of severe water shortages, risks of exceptional floods or the risk of a structuring dams bursting, or any other extreme situation representing a case of force majeure, which originates on a State's territory and which risks suddenly and negatively affecting other States Parties.

The NBA's Executive Secretariat, in cooperation with the States Parties, defines the alert thresholds corresponding to the emergency situations.

A state of vigilance is declared when the forecast change in the observed values indicates a risk of crossing the alert thresholds, particularly by means of the analysis of the risk of not achieving the fixed strategic management objectives.

Article 11: Implementation of hydrological emergency management

Since these are emergency situations, the NBA's Executive Secretariat, or the States Parties concerned, initiates the alert to the NBA and to the other States Parties concerned immediately following the observation by the National Hydrological Services, the Niger Basin Observatory, the dam owners or their delegated managers of a critical value seen on a hydrological indicator or on an economic use.

ln the event of drought, the States Parties undertake to take the necessary measures to limit water withdrawals and take ail other suitable measures. The NBA's Executive Secretariat and the States Parties will agree on an order of priority for the use of the water resource based on the SDAP and on the provisions of the Niger Basin Water Charter.

ln the case of exceptional floods, special care will be given to the spread of the flood, and to the initiation of the safety instructions for persons and property, and of the dam safety instructions, to minimize the impacts of the flood.

Article 12: Implementation of emergency management if there is a risk of dams bursting

Since this concerns dam safety, the States Parties initiate the alert to the NBA and to the other States Parties concerned immediately when a critical value is observed on a dam safety indicator by the structuring managers, owners or the States Parties.

The structuring dams must be constantly under surveillance by and at the expense of the Owner (or his delegated manager) and have surveillance and intervention instructions for ail circumstances. In an emergency, the planned measures are implemented.

The instructions and the servicing and maintenance program for the structuring dams are drawn up in compliance with the national regulations in force and with the regional and international recommendations relating to the safety of large dams. These measures are verified by the competent national authorities. They are revised and, if necessary, updated according to the regulatory changes or changes in the practices. They are sent to the Permanent Technical Committee by the NBA's Executive Secretariat for information and opinion.

Article 13: Notification of emergency situations

The notification of an emergency situation between the States Parties is performed in compliance with Article 196 of Annex No.1 of the Niger Basin Water Charter relating to environment protection.

The NBA's Executive Secretariat can also give notification of an emergency situation. The notification then indicates the type and characteristics of the emergency situation, as well as the management methods to be applied for the structuring dams and for the uses. In the event of a water shortage, these methods must minimize the socio-economic and environmental impacts.

In the event of an extreme emergency situation for the protection of public health, public safety or other equally important reasons, the States affected can immediately implement measures to attenuate the consequences, notwithstanding the notification obligation. In this case, a formal declaration is required declaring the urgency of the planned measures.

In all cases, the NBA ensures that the information is correctly transmitted to the States Parties and between States Parties, and ensures that the measures to be applied by the States Parties are coordinated.

CHAPTER 5: HYDROLOGICAL MONITORING AND INFORMATION SHARING

Article 14: Hydrological monitoring

The States Parties, in collaboration with the NBA's Executive Secretariat, undertake to ensure the smooth operation of the hydrometric stations necessary for the prediction of the water intakes and for the monitoring of the structuring dams and target flow rates at the coordinated management points.

The NBA supports the States Parties in equipping with automatic data transmission systems the hydrometric stations essential for the coordinated management at strategic, tactical and emergency level, and for the associated forecasts (including the levels of the reservoirs of the structuring dams). The NBA receives this data in real time at the same time as the national hydrological services.

Article 15: Information sharing

The States Parties reiterate their commitment to send to the Niger Basin Observatory the hydrological information, the data relating to the operational management of the large dams and the information relating to the uses (in particular for the large irrigated areas and the electricity production), via the National Hydrological Service, the National Focal Structure and the Network of data and information producers and exchanges.

From this data, in addition to the various transnational hydrological monitoring applications (e.g. flood alert), the NBA communicates to the States Parties the data and the elements relating to the coordinated management of the structuring dams in application of the present Annex No.2.

CHAPTER 6: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF

ANNEX No.2

Article 16: Institutional framework of the coordinated management of structuring dams

The bodies and institutions intervening in the coordinated management of the structuring dams are the following:

- The Council of Ministers;

- The Permanent Technical Committee;

- The Executive Secretariat;

- The National Focal Structures;

- The structuring dam owners;

- The structuring dam managers;

- The National Hydrological Services of the States Parties;

- The Network of data and information producers and exchanges;

- The National Coordinating Units and the Regional Coordinating Unit of Users of the

Niger Basin natural resources;

- Or any other competent body.

Article 17: Roles and responsibilities of the NBA

The NBA's Executive Secretariat draws up and monitors the coordinated management of structuring dams. The NBA's Executive Secretariat undertakes, in particular, to:

- Draw up the strategic management of the structuring dams for submission to the Permanent Technical Committee then approval by the Council of Ministers.

- Prepare the different technical files to be submitted, at its request, to the Permanent

Technical Committee;

- Prepare and revise, where necessary, the Procedural Manual for the coordinated management of the structuring dams in the Niger Basin, which is essential for the implementation of the present Annex No.2;

- Send the Procedural Manual to the States Parties, owners concerned and their delegated managers;

- Closely involve in the coordinated management the NBA's National Focal Structures, the National Hydrological Services, the National and Regional Coordinating Units of Users of the Niger Basin natural resources;

Support the National Hydrological Services in equipping with automatic data transmission systems the hydrometric stations essential for the coordinated management;

- Support the State Parties in implementing dam safety regulations;

Send the Permanent Technical Committee an annual strategic management report including the monitoring and assessment indicators.

Article 18: Roles and responsibilities of the States Parties and the structuring dam owners

The States Parties and the owners of the structuring dams (or their delegated managers) undertake, each one in their areas of concern, to:

- Implement the tactical management in total conformity the strategic management;

- Involve the technical ministries concerned in the coordinated management of structuring dams;

- Collect and process the data from the hydrometric stations;

- Authorize the direct real time transmission to the NBA of the data from the stations (including the reservoir levels of the structuring dams) equipped with automatic transmission systems;

- Ensure that the structuring dams owners and their managers comply with the provisions of the present Water Regulations;

- Send to the NBA's Executive Secretariat ail the other data necessary for the coordinated management, in particular that relating to water use for irrigated areas and potable water supply;

- Send to the NBA's Executive Secretariat an annual coordinated management implementation report, including the indicators concerning them;

- Draw up and apply the monitoring and intervention instructions relating to the safety of the structuring dams, as well as their servicing and maintenance plans.

CHAPTER 7: OTHER AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 19: Mechanisms for implementing the present Annex No.2

The present Annex No.2 is implemented in compliance with the legal rules relating to the Niger River Basin management, in particular the Water Charter and its other appendices.

The States Parties undertake to harmonize with the present Annex No.2 their national legislations and the texts regulating the planning, construction and operation of the existing or future structuring dams in the Niger Basin.

The States Parties shall, by cooperating with the NBA's Executive Secretariat, take the necessary steps to harmonize with the provisions of the present Water Regulations the management rules and instructions (sometimes also called dam regulations) for the existing structuring dams or those under construction for which they are responsible.

Article 20: Information and communication mechanisms

Notwithstanding the provisions of the present Annex No.2, the States Parties reiterate their commitment to exchange the information and to consult each other especially in the context of the implementation of new projects and programs liable to have significant negative socio environmental impacts in the Niger Basin, in conformity with the provisions of the Niger Basin Water Charter and its appendices.

Article 21: Legal force

The present Annex No.2 to the Niger Basin Water Charter constitutes the main legal instrument for the coordinated management of the structuring dams in the Niger Basin. They complete and specify the provisions of the Charter in all aspects relating to the coordinated management of the structuring dams. They are binding over the whole of the Niger Basin.

In the event of contradiction with the national legislative and regulatory provisions, the provisions of this present Annex No.2 shall take precedence in the last resort.

Article 22: Amendments

After a period of 5 (five) years from the entry into force of the present Annex No.2, each State Party can propose amendments by ensuring a consensus solution where possible.

The amendment proposals shall be sent to the President of the NBA's Council of Ministers who will communicate them to the States Parties at the latest sixty (60) days after their reception, and at least thirty (30) days before the date on which the amendment will be examined.

The amendments will enter force as soon as they are adopted by the NBA's Council of Ministers.

Article 23: Settlement of disagreements

Any disagreements which may arise between the States Parties shall be settled according to the provisions of Chapter IX of the Niger Basin Water Charter.

Article 24: Denunciation

Any State Party can denounce the present Annex No.2 after expiry of a period of five (5) years following its entry into force.

The denunciation shall take the form of a written notification sent to the President of the NBA's Council of Ministers who will acknowledge its receipt and will inform the other States Parties of it.

The denunciation will take effect one year after the date of reception unless it has been withdrawn beforehand.

The State Party concerned must meet ail its obligations by virtue of the present Annex No.2 and which arise from its status as Party before the effective date of the denunciation.

Article 25: Entry into force

The present Annex No.2 to the Niger Basin Water Charter relating to the Water Regulations for the coordinated management of the structuring dams shall enter force upon its adoption by the NBA's Council of Ministers.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, THE FOLLOWING PARTIES HAVE SIGNED THIS PRESENT ANNEX No.2 TO THE NIGER BASIN WATER CHARTER RELATING TO THE WATER REGULATIONS FOR THE COORDINATED MANAGEMENT OF STRUCTURING DAMS.

Signed in Abuja, Federal Republic of Nigeria, on 26lh November 2019 in a single original in English and in French, the two (2) texts being equally authentic.