Text Box: By: Nabil El-Khodari (Editor of Nile News) Photo: The author with Irene Makumbi (NBD Steering Committee) just before the NBS/NAPE session at the 3rd World Water Forum. It was just one of the many missed opportunites offered by the NBS to mainstream the NBD. I am torn between a feeling of relief and that of waste of time and resources that went to establishing the Nile Basin Discourse (NBD). The latest news confirm that the NBD office in Entebbe, Uganda is currently closing. Funding agencies are considering what changes should be made. The feeling of relief is caused by our continuous trials to come to terms with that ‘artificial’ structure that I personally believe aimed at controlling true public participation in the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). The issue now is to re-establish the NBD as an important ‘coordinating’ body between national NGOs and civil society on one hand and the NBI on the other. The NBD should also focus on public awareness campaigns and being representative of the people (as opposed to governments), particularly those to be affected by the NBI projects. May be it is time that the NBI partners/funding agencies seriously consider the Cairo Proposal, ignored by the previous Steering Committee, as the way to ensure independence, transparency, accountability and legality of civil society engagement in the NBI.

Text Box: Every sincere Nile Basin citizen was thrilled by the apparent change of Egypt’s position regarding the 1929 agreement. Old positions: “Egypt's quota from Nile water is out of any talks Text Box: between Nile Basin countries, said Mahmoud Abu Zeid, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, noting that Egypt aims at exploiting 1.600 billion cubic meters of water.” February 22, 2003. Text Box: New position: “The Nile has too much potential which can benefit all the riparian states and Egypt has no problem with other countries using the water” Abu-Zeid March 19, 2004.

 

Decentera;ization in the Nile Basin.

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What is happening in NAPE?

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Changes in NBS Board of Directors

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An Enduring Exercise in Futility?

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Players or implementers?

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The Darfur Crisis

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NBS projects and activities

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