Niger Reservoir Transparency

Niger has no significant operational storage reservoirs as of 2026. The flagship Kandadji Dam on the Niger River (140 MW hydropower, ~1.6 km³ storage at 224 m height), begun in March 2019, was expected to reach first reservoir filling by 2025–2026 but remains under construction. Niger participates in the Niger-HYCOS hydrological monitoring system operated by the Autorité du Bassin du Niger (ABN), which provides a data portal (nigerhycos.abn.ne) with basin monitoring data. However, no operational reservoir storage data is available because Kandadji has not been commissioned. Niger's military junta (since July 2023 coup) has not altered the ABN participation framework, but international project financing (World Bank) was suspended following the coup and later partially restored.

The Niger-HYCOS portal (nigerhycos.abn.ne) provides online access to hydrological monitoring data for the Niger River basin in both French and English. While it covers river stations rather than reservoir storage levels (given that Kandadji is not yet commissioned), the portal represents a functioning technical data-sharing infrastructure. The ABN received a €1.2 million EU grant specifically to build hydrological data collection and dissemination capacity. Data format accessibility is limited; the portal is not a REST API or CSV download service.

Capacity-weighted (v1.3.0): 0/250 Mm³ = 0% (Kandadji still under construction; no operational reservoirs and no public data channel). Prior justification (preserved for context): Denominator (RTI methodology): reservoirs with capacity >10 hm³. Niger has only 2–3 reservoirs at or above this threshold: Kandadji (~1,600 Mm³, still under construction as of 2026, not yet commissioned), the small reservoir behind the Goronyo-Wurno transboundary system (shared with Nigeria), and Tapoa-Tagazar minor impoundments below 10 hm³. Niger-HYCOS gauges Niger River flow stations (Niamey, Tillabéri, Gaya, Malanville) but these are river discharge, not reservoir storage. With essentially no operational large reservoir, the denominator is near-zero and coverage by current public data is effectively 0/2 ≈ 0%, though the existing ABN-HYCOS infrastructure would readily accommodate Kandadji data once commissioned. Score reflects the near-absence of qualifying reservoirs combined with partial credit for the existing basin monitoring framework.

Niger-HYCOS and ABN hold historical hydrological data for the Niger River basin stretching back decades. The National Academies and WMO have documented the ABN's data collection history. However, this historical depth applies to river flow data rather than reservoir storage levels, which cannot exist prior to Kandadji Dam commissioning. Historical river gauge records at Niamey and other Niger stations are reasonably well-preserved within the ABN framework.

Niger-HYCOS provides near-real-time hydrological monitoring data for the Niger basin through its online portal, with regular updates. This is an above-average update frequency for the region, supported by the EU-funded monitoring infrastructure. For reservoir data specifically, this is moot until Kandadji is commissioned.

Niger-HYCOS operates within WMO and ABN methodological frameworks that are internationally documented. The EU-funded data collection programme includes quality standards and monitoring protocols. Niger's participation in ABN means its hydrological data follows the organisation's established, externally validated methodology. Documentation is primarily in French.

French is the official language of Niger and the language of the Niger-HYCOS portal, which also has an English interface. The bilingual French/English presence of the ABN portal represents meaningfully better language accessibility than many other low-income countries in the region. The military junta's governance does not appear to have altered the language accessibility of the ABN portal.