Regional Cooperation Initiatives

Abstract

Toward the end of the twentieth century, Nile Basin states intensified cooperative efforts, correlating with an increasing number of riparian states worldwide establishing joint institutions for their cooperation in managing and utilizing transboundary watercourses. The Nile riparian states’ attempts at collaboration have faced various challenges and for decades failed to produce a comprehensive management regime. This chapter describes the main regional cooperation initiatives along the Nile and their significance in the basin’s broader context. As such, it briefly addresses Hydromet, the Kagera Basin Organization, Undugu, TECCONILE, the Nile 2002 Conferences, and the Lake Victoria Basin Commission, before concentrating on the Nile Basin Initiative and its institutional structure and programs. This initiative, founded in 1999 as a temporary institution, still represents the fundamental institutional framework for broader and more meaningful cooperation among Nile riparian states. The Initiative has institutionalized cooperation both at a basin-wide level and at the level of the two major Nile sub-basins, facilitating improved cooperation and consensus. This has brought new depth to the cooperation. However, the success of the Initiative will ultimately be determined by whether or not it can enable the conclusion of a framework agreement that includes all riparian states and establishes a more permanent joint Nile Basin commission.