Collaboration between the Sahara and Sahel Observatory and the Nile Basin Initiative

In conjunction with the closure of the EURECCCA project, an OSS delegation led by Mr Nabil Ben Khatra, OSS Executive Secretary, paid a visit to the headquarters of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), with a view to strengthening collaboration between the two organizations.

A partnership agreement was signed within the framework of the regional DRESSEA project (Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan). It defined the role to be played by NBI at regional level, as the entity hosting DRESSEA's regional coordination unit, the Global Water Partnership Eastern Africa (GWP-EA). 

The DRESSEA project aims to increase the resilience of small-scale farmers and herders to the risks of climate change, mainly those associated with drought, by setting up appropriate early warning systems and implementing drought adaptation actions.

As a strategic partner of the OSS, particularly in the fields of water and climate change adaptation, the Nile Basin Initiative brings together 10 countries (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) and aims to provide a forum for consultation and coordination between member states for the sustainable management and development of the Nile Basin's shared water and related resources.