Cooperation on the Nile: sustaining our life, our future

The Ethiopian highlands are a major contributor to

the waters in the Nile Basin. In the year when the country

is celebrating the second millennium (year 2000 in the

Ethiopian calendar), the Federal Democratic Republic of

Ethiopia naturally offered to host the celebration of Nile

Day, 22 February 2008. This event, held at the United

Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, was the

second regional celebration since the day was designated

in November 2006 at the Nile Development Forum in

Addis Ababa. It is the day that the nine Nile Basin riparian

countries reached a consensus upon a shared vision,

The theme of the 2008 Nile day is Cooperation

on the Nile: Sustaining our Life, Our Future. The

celebrations were colourful, with children singing, “Nile is

vital for life and through it we can achieve cooperation”,

and traditional dances from different regions of Ethiopia

being performed. According to the organizers, the primary

of Nile day 2008 was to foster regional consciousness

makers and shapers as well as to reach out with the

message of the NBI to at least 25-40% of Nile basin

populations within a single day. In this effort children

were chosen to be the main partner group because they

are the future custodians of the water resources. The

series of events planned for the day started rolling in the

morning at United Nations Conference Centre, attended

by an impressive number of people from national and

international organizations, as well as representatives of

Guest of Honour H.E the President of FDRE Dr. Girma

Wolde-Giorgis.

The Executive Director of the Nile Basin Initiative

(NBI) Mr. Audance Ndayizeye said that the NBI is working

towards cooperation on the Nile and sustainability of

livelihoods in the basin through its strategic Action Plan.

He observed that remarkable progress has been made

in the last nine years in terms of institutional structures.

The NBI shared vision programme using its eight regional

projects is laying the groundwork for cooperative action.

It is constructing the building blocks for sustainable

river basin management through enhancing capacities

based on best practices, policies, analytical frameworks,

knowledge base and guiding principles on different

sectoral and thematic trans-boundary issues. Still poverty

remains an overarching problem in the basin.

H.E Ms. Maria Mutagamba the Minister of Water

Resources of Uganda and Nile- COM Chair said that

the river Nile is a precious gift and a resource worth

protecting and sharing. “It has provided with water

for the Nile Basin population of over 300 million in the

past centauries”, she said. She went further to say that

cooperation is a prerequisite to peace, unity, stability

and harmony, and that it is therefore appropriate that

the celebration of the Nile Day is recognized as a way of

creating a mutually enabling environment for cooperation

among the Nile Basin states.

Mr. Kenichi Ohashi the World Bank Country

Director said that deforestation is alarming in Ethiopia.

a landing spot in the Nile area because of the forest cover

but today almost all is lost. This phenomenon has placed

Lake Tana, the source of the Nile, at a great risk, he said.

In terms of support, he recalled that the World Bank has

been involved in supporting the Nile Basin Initiative since

1988 and the Nile Basin Trust Fund wads set up in 2003

with the support of ten donor countries.

Egypt’s success in using the Nile as a source

of development is a good example that Ethiopia should

emulate, said H.E Mr. Asfaw Dingamo the Minister of

Water Resources of Ethiopia. This session was followed

by a poster exhibition and in the afternoon a Nile cup

basket ball challenge between the Ethiopian Water Sports

men’s basket ball team against Circle Sportif de Kigali.

(Addis Ababa Highlights)