Transboundary environmental assessment of the Nile basin
From SEA.unu.edu/wiki
Background and objectives
In 1999, the Nile riparian countries established the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) to fight regional poverty and promote socio-economic development. Under the NBI’s Shared Vision Programme (SVP), a transboundary environmental assessment (TEA) was initiated and carried out by the Nile riparians in co-operation with UNDP and the World Bank, with additional funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It includes a collective synthesis of basin-wide environmental trends, threats and priorities, and outlines the elements for a long-term agenda for environmental action for the Nile Basin.
The TEA aims to be both a catalyst and a valuable resource to the Nile riparians and their international partners. The main objective was to help translate existing national environmental commitments and interest into basin-wide analytical frameworks and, eventually, basinwide actions. The emphasis was on stakeholder awareness and involvement, water and environmental management, training and education, capacity-building, information sharing and institutional development.
Approach
Priority issues to be addressed at basin-wide, national and local levels were identified and analysed. The synthesis provided the basis to formulate the elements of an Agenda for Environmental Action with complementary preventive and curative actions to address current and emerging issues in the Nile Basin. The Agenda aimed for collaborative implementation over the next decade or more in co-ordination with other development activities. Finally, the TEA outlined transboundary activities to be addressed collaboratively in the initial implementation phase of the Agenda for Environmental Action in the form of a proposed project. Two related sets of activities informed the report: broad and participatory national consultations; and a USAID scoping study for a multicountry technical background paper.
Transboundary environmental threats were prioritised and these guided the formulation of a first basin-wide project for environmental action within the SVP. This Action Project has been designed to encourage more effective basin-wide stakeholder co-operation on transboundary environmental issues in selected priority areas.
Outcomes
The “Nile Transboundary Environmental Action” envisaged a number of outputs:
● Enhanced regional co-operation on transboundary environmental and natural resource management issues. Elements include the development and application of a river basin model as part of a decision support system, knowledge management, and linkage of macro and sectoral policies and the environment.
● Enhanced capacity and support for local-level action on land, forest and water conservation, and establishment of micro-grant fund to support community-level initiatives at pilot sites.
● Increased environmental awareness of civil society through environmental education programmes and networking of universities and research institutions.
● Enhanced regional capacity for sustainable management of wetlands and establishment of wetlands management programme at pilot sites.
● Establishment of standard basin-wide analytical methods for water quality measurements and initiation of monitoring of relevant transboundary hotspots. Enhanced capacity for monitoring efforts and pollution prevention.
Source: www.nilebasin.org, NBI (2001), and edits provided by Asfaw (Project Manager of Nile Transboundary Environmental Action Project) and Hillers (World Bank, AFTSD, Nile Team).
(Reproduced with permission of OECD.)
