THE NILE RIVER BASIN : PUBLIC PARTICIPATION CHALLENGES AND

OPPORTUNTIES By

Aly M. Shady, P.Eng.

For Presentation AtUniversity of Virginia Law School

Charlottesville, VA, USAApril 18-19,2003

Africa : Population , Natural Environment and Water Resources.

Africa : Transboundary Water

Nile River Basin : Features , Challenges and Opportunities.The Big Picture : Multi-tracks Hydro Diplomacy

Public Participation : The Realities on the Ground.

Concluding Remarks : prospects , potentials and Conclusions.

AFRICA

Continent Water Resources

Population

Africa 11 13

Asia 13 60

Australia 5 <1

Europe 8 13

North America

15 8

South America

26 6

Water Resources and Population As percent of world, UN-WWDR,2003

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

AfricaAsiaEuropeNorth AmericaSouth AmericaAustralia

Installed Hydropower Capacity in 1996. Percent of world total ,WEC

Number of Trans Boundary Basins and Areas within boundaries of shared basins

ContinentContinent % of World, Number and Areas % of World, Number and AreasAfrica 23 60Asia 20 53Europe 27 71North America 14 39South America 14 38

Africa Fresh Water Resources and Use

13% of world population.11% of world available freshwater.23% of shared river basins of the world.27 % of the world population un-served by clean drinking water supply.13% of the world population without adequate sanitation.<5% of world irrigated lands.3.2% of world installed hydro power.

Africa Transboundary Water - Institutional and Legal Aspects.

54 Shared river basins representing 60% of the surface area .Mostly are covered by treaties and agreements.Few active international basin institutions.Low development impact.Low – Medium current disputes ( low Development scenario) .High potential for future disputes ( high Development scenario ).

Basin is about 3.0 million square km.

Length is more than 6000 km.

10 Riparian States with 250 million people

Area of Lakes is 81500 square km.

Length of River and Tributaries is 37500 km.

Area of swamps is 70000 square km.

5 States are among the Ten Poorest in World.

Extreme Poverty.

Instability.

Rapid Population Growth.

Environmental degradation.

Natural disasters (Floods, Droughts, ….etc.)

Complicated hydrology of Basin.

Low Specific Yield.

Equitable Use and no harm Principle.

River is least developed in

upper reaches.

Potential is great.

(Water saving, Agriculture, Power pooling, ….etc)

Great chance for win-win solutions.

Serious steps taken for cooperation is an incentive for donors.

Government to Government.

Official delegation of experts.

Formal procedures and Processes.

Efficient and effective outcomes.

Minimum Public Participation.

UN –IFI and Governments delegates.

High level expertise.

Steady financial commitments.

Slow- Complicated processes and procedures.

Low impact outcome.

Low public participation.

Nationally based NGO , Private sector, Universities and Gov.

High level of communication.

Slow and cumbersome process.

Mobilizes public input and support.

Assures sustainability.

Improves governance

Grey Chart Assessment of Tracks

LowMediumHighPolitical will

LowMediumHighOverall Effectiveness

PoorGoodVariable / Asymmetric

Existing Capacity

HighMediumMediumWater Development

N.A.High / LowHigh / HighConflicts Prevention / Resolution

DemocratizationMultilaterals Rules

Status QuoGovernance

Very Low /LowMedium / LowLow/LowCost / Benefits

LowMediumLowLong-term Sustainability

SimultaneousSecond StepFirst StepOrder

Track #3 C.S.Track #2 MultiTrack #1 BiCriteria

Agreements and Treaties.

The Hydro-meteorological Survey of Equatorial Lakes (HYDROMET 1967-1992).

Technical Cooperation Committee for Promotion of the Development and Environmental Promotion of the Nile Basin Project (TECCONILE 1992-1998).

Transition period (D-3 project, Nile 2002).

Nile Basin Initiative (NBI).

Civil Society participation (INBA , Nile 2002).

Egypt, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Congo Jointed The Project in January 1993.

Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Kenya Participated as Observers

OBJECTIVES OF TECCONILE

* Short-Term

To Assist Member States to Develop Natural Water Master Plans and Integration Into a Nile Basin Development Action Plan.

Developing The Infrastructure, Capacity Building and Techniques for Management of Water Resources.

* Long-Term

To Assist The Countries in The Development, Conservation and Use of The Nile Basin Water Resources in an Integrated Sustainable Way Through Basin-Wide Cooperation for The Benefit of All.

To Determine The Equitable Entitlement of Each Riparian.

THE NILE BASIN INITIATIVE

(NBI)

Putting the Putting the Shared Vision Shared Vision

into actioninto action

Putting the Putting the Shared Vision Shared Vision

into actioninto action

Burundi Rwanda

Tanzania

KenyaEritrea Egypt

Sudan

DRC Uganda

Ethiopia

Nile Equatorial Lakes

Eastern Nile

Nile BasinNile BasinNile BasinNile Basin

International Nile DiscourseInternational Nile DiscourseInternational Nile DiscourseInternational Nile Discourse

Strategic Action Program

Shared VisionShared Vision

Action on the groundAction on the ground

Shared Vision Program

Subsidiary Action Prog.

Future Prospects.

Build trust and confidence between governments.Strengthen the indigenous capacity of each region.Take advantage of new information technology.Policy reforms ,legal and institutional overhaul.Emergence of civil society and their active participation.Long term commitment , vision and political will.Facilitation and support by external support agencies.

Development and Cooperation Potential

High Hydropower generation potential- Shared grid.High Irrigation potential – meet all Africa future

food needs.Improved river navigation – trade and transport.Improved water quality – better health and high

fresh water fisheries.Ecological conservation and stewardship.Poverty reduction.- Economic growth.

Conclusions.

Participation in Transboundary Water development can contribute effectively to :

- economic growth,- reduction of poverty- improved health and nutrition- promotion of peace and security