diff --git a/fortran/src/H5_ff.F90 b/fortran/src/H5_ff.F90
index b5b2c938df..4ceb1a8b6e 100644
--- a/fortran/src/H5_ff.F90
+++ b/fortran/src/H5_ff.F90
@@ -377,6 +377,7 @@ CONTAINS
     INTEGER, INTENT(IN) :: ikind
     INTEGER, INTENT(IN) :: flag
 #if H5_HAVE_Fortran_INTEGER_SIZEOF_16!=0
+    INTEGER :: Fortran_INTEGER_16
     Fortran_INTEGER_16=SELECTED_INT_KIND(36) !should map to INTEGER*16 on most modern processors
 #endif