(Photo Courtesy of the NBI)
By: Lamia Nabil
The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) launched its new project, Nile Cooperation for Results (NCORE), in order to facilitate cooperative water resource management and development in the Nile basin countries, according to a press release.
The official ceremony for the $15.3m project took on Saturday in Entebbe, Uganda.
It aims to facilitate cooperative water resources management and development in the Nile basin countries.
Founded in 1999, the NBI is a partnership among Nile Basin countries that “seeks to develop the Nile River in a cooperative manner, share substantial socioeconomic benefits, and promote regional peace and security”.
The NBI’s member countries are Egypt, Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
“The Project has been developed by NBI to strengthen the platform and knowledge based analysis of trans-boundary options for sustainable basin-wide cooperative planning, management and development of Member States’ water resources,” said the press release.
Funding for the two-year project will come from two sources, namely the $13.8m Nile Basin Trust Fund, and the $1.5m Cooperation in International Waters in Africa Trust Fund.
Both funds are administered by the World Bank.
The executive director of the NBI Secretariat, Teferra Beyene noted that the Secretariat has continued with its resource mobilisation efforts with potential development partners.
He said that the German Government, through its international cooperation agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, has pledged to extend its support for another three years with €4 million.
The NCORE project consists of three phases.
The first, implemented by the NBI Secretariat, aims at supporting activities at the NBI Secretariat related to its “core functions of facilitating cooperation and water resource management”.
The second, implemented by the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme Coordination Unit based in Kigali, Rwanda, will “support NBI in its efforts to advance investment opportunities in the Nile Equatorial Lakes region”.
The final phase, implemented by the Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office based in Addis Ababa, focuses on dam safety related initiatives, watershed management, water resources data, integrating social and environmental issues, and expanding the stakeholder base to enrich dialogue and build consensus, as well as “enhancing awareness and communicating [the] benefits of cooperation.”
The NCORE project was launched during the opening ceremony of the 38th Nile Technical Advisory Committee meeting. .
