Nile Basin Initiative (NBI)
One River One People One Vision
Trans-boundary Policies
Nile Basin Sustainability Framework
Approved by Nile Council of Ministers (Nile-COM) in 2011, the Nile Basin Sustainability Framework (NBSF) lays down NBI’s approach to developing guiding principles for water resource management and development across the Nile Basin countries.
While it is not a legal framework, the NBSF which is a suite of policies, strategies, and guidance documents – functions as a guide to national policy and planning process development and seeks to build consensus. It is intended that it will contribute to the gradual alignment of the Basin’s body of (national) water policies to meet international good practice, and help to demonstrate to national governments and international financiers of water infrastructure that the NBI has a systematic approach for dealing with issues of sustainable development within the Basin.
The NBSF is therefore supporting the enabling environment for trans-boundary investment projects, and will promote integration of shared benefits, participation, and environmental concerns that ensure investment projects have long-term benefits.
Without the NBSF, there would be no consistent guidance for the sustainable development of new investments and no coherent guidance for the achievement of cooperation in sustainable water management and development.
NBI Gender Mainstreaming Policy and Strategy
The Gender Mainstreaming Policy and Strategy are intended to establish an enabling environment that will foster specific strategies for changing the gender patterns in the NBI activities that are aimed at tackling poverty reduction issues and promoting the wellbeing of everyone in the NBI. The Policy and Strategy is a practical journey towards attaining sustainability of NBI programs and projects. It is useful not only to NBI as an institution, but also to its key stakeholders concerned with gender and water aspects.
Climate Change Strategy
The Climate Change Strategy identifies present gaps and future threats, determines inherent weaknesses and vulnerability impacts and analyzes trends and risks. It also defines requirements and constituents of climate change resilience basin-wide, sets out proper strategic objectives and outputs, introduces effective mitigation and adaptation measures and describes appropriate institutional set-ups.
Information Disclosure Policy
The Information Disclosure Policy (IDP) sets out the policy of NBI with respect to information that it will make available to the public either as a routine matter or upon request. The Policy enables NBI maximize disclosure of information while protecting the confidentiality of certain sensitive information.
Environmental and Social Policy
The Environmental and Social Policy addresses key environmental and social issues and challenges; provides guiding principles; introduces policy interventions; specifies targets and priority outcomes. The Policy also describes implementation arrangements; fosters cooperation as well as multiple-level partnerships, ultimately increasing the benefits and value of the Nile water resources towards sustainable development.
Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy 2018-2023
The overarching NBI Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy 2018-2023 builds on a predecessor document of 2012 – 2016. The Strategy directly contributes towards the achievement of NBI’s six Strategic Goals by fulfilling the cross-cutting strategic direction 6.5 which seeks to “build consensus among the countries’ public and stakeholders for cooperative basin development and management”.
Strategy for Management of Environmental Flows in the Nile Basin
The overarching goal of the strategy is “to facilitate and develop a culture of incorporation of collaborative, best practice E-flow management into the water resource planning, management and policies of the countries who share the Nile Basin (short term) to ultimately result in the establishment of an integrated, basin scale E-flows management system (long term)”.
Wetland Management Strategy
The Wetland Management Strategy (WMS) presents operational definition and different classifications of wetlands, describes Nile Basin wetlands and their significance, highlights Nile Basin wetlands functions and values and justifies the applicability of the worldwide accepted principles (wetlands as ecotones, wise use, and equitable wetland resources use) within the Nile Basin context. The strategy also defines strategic outcomes together with their corresponding priority outputs and lays down the respective implementation plan.