Spilling Blood over Water? The Case of Ethiopia 305Ethio-Sudan Transmission Interconnection and Watershed Management) are
considered to be 'fast-track' and will proceed at an accelerated pace for final
appraisal. These initial investments are considered to be of crucial importance
to build confidence among the riparian countries, as well as to demonstrate
real results on the ground after years of policy dialogue. An Eastern Nile
Regional Office is being set up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
To secure the required financial support from the international communi-
ty for the cooperative water resources development projects and other proj-
ects identified in the strategic action programme of the NBI, an International
Consortium for Cooperation on the Nile (ICCON) was initiated by the World
Bank. The first meeting of ICCON was held in Geneva, Switzerland in June- The participants at the meeting included the international donor com-
munity, the Ministers of Water Affairs of the Nile Basin states and some
Ministers of Finance and Planning, as well as other water resources experts
from the basin countries. Donor statements at the meeting supported the
strategic action programme as an important step to achieving cooperation in
the Nile Basin. The ICCON promised initial financial support of at least USS
140 million and support for the first phase of the US$ 3 billion investment
programme in the respective sub-basins once the projects are ready for fund-
ing22'
The Nile Basin Initiative can be seen as an important step in paving the
way for Nile Basin countries to seriously consider cooperation in the utilisa-
tion and management of the Nile waters. Ethiopia has for the first time joined
such a cooperative initiative with the expectation of being able to signifi-
cantly tap the water resources of the Nile to meet the various demands of its
growing population.
All basin countries seem to consider the NBI as a positive step that should
lead to a stronger cooperation in the future. However, the expectations of the
different riparian states of the current cooperation differ. Ethiopia mpects to
get tangible benefits in terms of increased agricultural production and genera-
tion of hydropower to export to Sudan. it also intends to improve environ-
mental management by reducing population pressure in areas of high popula-
tion density during the first phase of the projects identified in the eastern Nile.
Egypt and Sudan do not want their uses of Nile waters adversely affected by
developments in Ethiopia. However, it is recognised that the projects identified
during the first phase are of limited significance and that they will not meet all
the water demands within the basin, particularly for irrigated agriculture.
Conflict Prevention and ResolutionThe Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) is a positive step fonvard because it provides
some incentives, mainly financial, for the Nile Basin countries to move fonvard
to identify and eventually implement joint and mutually beneficial projects.