Nile News - Issue #2 - Page 3

Text Box: This stimulating heading was the title of an article (posted on 2 parts) by Yosef Yacob in Addis Tribune. The first part was posted on 30 January 2004, while the second part was posted on 6 February 2004. While the Nile Basin Society does not share the sentiment of the writer, we very well understand the frustrations. We believe the NBI is moving slowly but surely, what was needed is to challenge the ‘status quo’. We are seeing too many examples of

Text Box: success, whether on the ‘governmental’ side or the public participation side. Old myths are being fought and the donor community—if not the Nile governments—are listening. Change is inevitable, whether coming from the Nile Basin governments, as in the case of the East African Union, the donors - as in the case of the current closure of the NBD and more importantly through linking development aid to democratic reforms -, the parliamentarians - as in the case of Uganda—, the NGOs, whether local (e.g.

Text Box: the National Association of Professional Environmentalists [NAPE], Uganda) or regional as the Nile Basin Society who serves as a monitoring agency for the NBI and NBD processes and individuals as the author of the articles. The results are encouraging. All we need is to continue the pursuit of change for the better. Let us speak out and make water really everybody’s business.

Text Box: The Janjawid militia (2nd and 4th pictures above) burnt the villages in Darfur area until there ‘was no more villages to burn’ according to one source. This affected the lives of about 2.2 million in the area leading to a huge influx of refugees to neighboring Chad in addition to about one

Text Box: Though the peace process in Sudan passes a great hurdle by the signing of 3 more key protocols on wealth-sharing and the contested areas of Abyei, the Nuba mountains and southern Blue Nile, the Darfur crisis shed its gloomy light on this important development.

Text Box: million IDPs. A high level donor meeting held in Geneva on June 4th appealed for US$ 236 M to manage the crisis. On the other hand calls for economic sanctions against Sudan were raised, while The European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council, UK, painted another picture. There is no doubt that there is a crisis involving the security of millions of people. The government of Sudan can use all the help it can get.

Text Box: steps of projects funded by the EC starting from policy negotiations. The “Guidelines on Principles and Good Practices for the Participation of Non-State Actors in the development dialogues and consultations”

Text Box: provide details of the policy. It includes identification of various types of NGOs, advocacy, implementers—who are mainly after funding—and grassroot organizations. It sees the importance of involving all of them.

Text Box: A silent revolution is taking place in the European Commission that would have an impact on the issues of public participation in the Nile Basin Initiative. May be we have seen the first fruit of that silent revolution in the closure of the Nile Basin Discourse office in Entebbe, as the funding agencies (DIfD, NORAD and CIDA) refused to continue funding it. The revolution simply calls for involvement of Non-State Actors (NSAs) in all

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