THE NILE RIVER BASIN : PUBLIC PARTICIPATION CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNTIES By Aly M. Shady, P.Eng. For Presentation At University of Virginia Law School Charlottesville, VA, USA April 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

ContinentWater Resources Population Africa Asia 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

Installed Hydropower Capacity in Percent of world total,WEC

Number of Trans Boundary Basins and Areas within boundaries of shared basins Continent % of World, Number and Areas Africa2360 Asia2053 Europe2771 North America1439 South America1438

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 square km.  Length of River and Tributaries is km.  Area of swamps is 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 HighMedium Water 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 ). Technical Cooperation Committee for Promotion of the Development and Environmental Promotion of the Nile Basin Project (TECCONILE ). 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  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 Shared Vision into action

Burundi Rwanda Tanzania KenyaEritreaEgyptSudanDRC Uganda Ethiopia Nile Equatorial Lakes Eastern Nile Nile Basin International Nile Discourse

Strategic Action Program Shared Vision Action 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