1. CHALLANGES AND RESPONSES FOR WATER EDUCATION IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
THE CHALLENGES IN THE NILE BASIN: HOW CAN NETWORKS CONTRIBUTE TO WATER CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT
AMEL M. AZAB
29TH MAY 2013

2. Contents The Nile Basin Key Issues and Challanges
Knowledge Management Challenges
Knowledge and Capacity Development Framework
Role of knowledge Networks in CD
Highlights from the Nile Basin Capacity Building Network

3. The Nile Basin
Facts
Area: about 3.0 million km2.
Area of Lakes is km2.
Area of swamps is km2
Length: more than 6000 km.
11 Riparian States with 250
million people
5 States are among the Ten Poorest in World.

4. The Nile Basin Challenges
Rapid population growth,
Instability,
Environmental degradation,
Poverty,
Complicated hydrology
Low specific yield
The transboundary nature of the river
Increasing concern about the impacts of climate change
Capacity Building and Knowledge Management

5. The Main Issue
Lack of technology or funding are no longer the main obstacles for development. The real bottleneck lies in the availability of needed capacities to address the problems in an effective and sustainable manner.

6. Key Questions
What capacities do we need, and for what?
Do we know what capacities we have and where are they located?
Are we making effective use of our existing capabilities and if not, why not?
How can we pool and build upon existing capacities at regional and national levels?
What are our real capacity challenges and how do we address them in a comprehensive
and integrated fashion?

7. Capacity & Knowledge Management Challenges for the Nile
The structural lack of research-capacity in the water sector
Limited trust and partnership
Little or no R&D by local experts
The absence of an effective operational co-operative framework
No contextual on-the-job training
The need for practical and creative solutions
No regional water knowledge base in the Basin

8. Knowledge and Capacity Development Framework
Main building blocks
Individual
Organisational
Institutional and Enabling Environment
Communities and Civil Society
Sector Performance

9. Knowledge and Capacity Development Framework (Contd.)
The individual level
Existing capacity:
Can be developed
through:
Developed capacity:
Indicator/attribute:
Factual knowledge
Understanding
Skills
Attitudes
Explicit knowledge:
Training
Education
Research
Tacit knowledge:
Apprenticeship
Peer learning
Learning-by-doing
Networking
Factual knowledge
Understanding
Skills
Attitudes
Technical competence
Managerial competence
Governance competence
Competence for continuous learning

10. The Example: Nile Basin Capacity Building Network NBCBN

11. Approach for Establishing a Capacity Building Network for the Nile Basin (NBCBN)
Next Node to be officially launched: South Sudan, 2014

12. NBCBN Tools for Capacity Development
Collaborative research (regional and local)
Research clusters around specific themes
Communities of practice (Cop’s)
ICT products
Communication and knowledge sharing platforms
Creating enabling environment for building trust, commitment and leadership

13. Evolving of NBCBN to cope with CD needs in the Nile Basin

14. Main CD Demands for Nile basin Water professionals
Main CD Demands for Nile basin Water professionals as identified in 2002 launch event
To focus on CD in the field of River Engineering (NBCBN-RE)
To work around the following regional research themes (clusters):
Flood Management
River Morphology
River Structures
Environmental Aspects of River Engineering
Applications of GIS and Modelling tools
Hydropower Development

15. Review of CD Demands for Nile basin Water professionals
Review of CD Demands for Nile basin Water professionals as identified in nd Phase
Including new Research Modalites ( )
Regional Clusters research
Local Action research
Integrated research
Multidiscplinary Research
Including specialised training courses that supports different research Modalities (in collaboration with CB partners)

16. www.nbcbn.com, www.nilebasin-knowledgemap.com
NBCBN in Numbers
Linked countries : 10
Number of Nodes : 9
Number of members :
Active members :
Years in business :
Research Clusters : 6
Cop’s :
Research projects :
Workshops and events: > 50

17. Review of CD Demands for Nile Basin Water professionals
Review of CD Demands for Nile Basin Water professionals as identified in 2010
Developing a Future Strategy for a Sustainable Knowledge Network for the Nile Basin

18. Main Future Target: Closing the Knowledge Cycle (Specialised Training)
K-Generation
(Research)
K-Application
(Specialised Training)
K-Dissemination
(Generic Training
& Education)

19. New Identified Demand Areas For Capacity Development of Nile Water Professionals (2014-2017)
In Research
Climate change impacts, adaptation and resilience
Water scarcity
Hydropower developement (large and mini hydropower)
Ecosystems and wetlands Management
Water supply & sanitation
Water Quality
Ground water development

20. In Training and Education
Link all Nile Basin participating universities in an Edu-network (Sub network of the NBCBN).
Create partnerships towards Regional Water program (s) (with connections to research clusters and local universities in the Nile basin countries)
Program modules (offered as short courses for network members)
Regular (demand driven) short courses for network members
Linking applied research and developed case studies with related training activities
New education areas, based on new COP’s and inter-disciplinairy collaboration (Climate Change , Water scarcity,…etc.)

21. More Challanges for the Nile Basin........
The need for professional capacities in different fields to support developmental projects
Limited group of local expertise (climate change, Hydropower, water scarcity,....)
Very limited effective young leadership
Fragmented capacity building activities on local and regional levels
Lack of regional and national strategies for water CD in most of the countries
Need for effective and innovative tools to measure CD
Political Instability
Diminishing funds and donors support

22. Conclusions
Cooperation and partnerships are the key to sustainable development of shared water resources.
Capacity building is a natural and continous process that should be linked to demands and real needs on different levels.
Soft Capacity Development should be measured according to real impacts and better performance of the water sector?
Equal attention to hard and soft capacites development is important to create young effective leadership.
Developing and evalauting national and regional CD strategies
Engage the private sector to support and invest in water CD

23. Focal persons from the nodes of NBCBN-RE who contributed to Cairo Declaration, 2002

24. Purpose of 5th Symposium
Thanks for
your attention
Amel M. Azab
Nile Basin Capacity Building Network