WATER AS A HOT POLITICAL ISSUE IN THE NILE REGION

The Nile region is one of the regions where political stability is very much related to the availability of water. For thousands of years the water resources of the Nile Basin were abundant compared to the demand. However, as living standards and life styles changed as a result of a fast economic development and at the same time population increased the demand for water is approaching available supply limits. Especially in Egypt and Sudan, the two most downstream riparian countries, most of the available water resources of the Nile have been utilised, leaving only a small margin for future development. The conflicts between downstream and upstream riparian states is a classical one which has not been settled to the satisfaction of all parties concerned, while past agreements on water distribution are continuously being challenged. There seems to be a growing consensus that unconventional solutions are needed to solve these water scarcity problems. In recent years an increasing political will has emerged among country leaders. This should create the enabling environment for further co-operation. Strategic elements for success are: the start of a dialogue between leaders and professionals responsible for managing and use of water, the exchange of experiences and the promotion of information and data sharing among professionals and institutions. The risk of failure of this co-operative process is still high and depends also on national domestic situations and international influences. However, the NBCBN-RE project has already proven its role in creating mutual trust among experts based on professional respect and friendly co-operation. These achievements will be sustained and even fostered by using the innovative concept of Knowledge Networks through which a more permanent exchange of information and views can take place and so to contribute to more stability in the region.

KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES

Within the context of this project proposal and based on the experiences of the past years with the Nile Basin, the following overview of challenging aspects can be given. All of these topics are related to the political sensitivity of water-related issues, the availability of research capacity in the water sector and the existing institutional conditions. These knowledge management challenges are:

• The structural lack of research-capacity in the water sector Lack of trust and partnership
• Little or no R&D by local experts
• The absence of an operational co-operative framework No contextual on-the-job training
• The need for practical and creative solutions