Nile Basin Development Forum opens in Kenya

October 6, 2014 (NAIROBI) – The fourth biannual Nile Basin Development Forum (NBDF) opened in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, with calls for trust and confidence among Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) member states.

The Nile Basin, which covers an area of 3.2 million square kilometres, across 11 basin states, which are facing growing pressures, including persistent poverty among its populations, climate change resulting in floods, prolonged droughts, low access to electricity, lack of food security and rising populations, placing increased demands on water flows.

These challenges and threats, among others, are by their very nature trans-boundary and hence require collective action among all the basin states and multiple stakeholders at national, regional and international level; with different and sometimes conflicting interests.

Judi Wakhungu, Kenya’s minister for environment, water and natural resources said the NBI had advanced a cooperative process to realise tangible benefits, build trust and confidence among its members.

NILE INVESTMENTS AT $6.5 BILLION

The Sudanese minister of water resources and electricity said the overall investment preparation leveraged under the NBI currently stood at $6.5 billion.

“The achievements notwithstanding, NBI is at a critical juncture when the resources are fast dwindling with the closure of the main funding source, the World Bank-managed Nile Basin Trust Fund in December 2014. My appeal to member states is to be steadfast in honouring their obligations to NBI,” said Mutaz Musa Abdalla Salim.

He further appealed to development partners to continue their support to NBI to enable effective implementation of its programs.

On the issue of Egypt freezing her participation in the NBI activities, Abdalla said, “The governing council is making efforts to convince Egypt to resume full participation for we know it is only through cooperation that various interests can be made”.

John Rao Nyaoro, the executive director of the NBI Secretariat, said the resources NBI was seeking from development partners were for investment projects as members states had earlier reportedly committed to provide revenues for NBI’s minimum functionality.

The forum, to be followed by a donor round table on 8 October, seeks to mobilise resources for the implementation of NBI-facilitated investment projects.

The NBI is a regional intergovernmental partnership launched by the Nile riparian countries in 1999 to develop the River Nile in a cooperative manner, share substantial socio-economic benefits and promote regional peace and security.

Its current members include Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with Eritrea as an observer.

Over 400 people are attending the fourth NBDF, organised on the theme, “Building Sustainable Trans-boundary Cooperation in a Complex River Basin: Challenges, Lessons and Prospects”.

(ST)