It is worth mentioning that the entry into force of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI)’s Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) would grease the wheels of equitable and reasonable utilization of resources at the earliest possible juncture. It is abundantly clear that if the various predicaments unfolding in the region are not addressed as they should be, ensuring sustainable development will be an unachievable mission and insurmountable obstacle.
As nothing can be attained devoid of cooperation, pertinent bodies have worked at all hours of the day and night to attain the pursued objectives. However, with the passage of time, all their endeavors set in motion, moving forward in the right direction and accomplishing the envisioned target.
On a similar note, the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) assists in the progress of equitable and reasonable resource utilization and enhances cooperation through joint projects.
In actual fact, the importance of ensuring equitable resource sharing among all Nile Basin countries is a momentous milestone in regional cooperation. It is envisioned that the agreement would foster collaboration and promote sustainable water management through time.
The pact’s formal effectuation will end years of pointless argument and explain the fact that partnership is vital to handling the area giving priority to mutual advancement and collaborative success. As sticking to the colonial area agreement will not help achieve the desired goal, stakeholders should place emphasis on collaboration.
As joining the CFA becomes involved in safeguarding their long-standing water security, all concerned bodies should join hands without batting an eye. It is common knowledge that by standing together, they can elevate regional steadiness, secure their water desire, and more of the same in the shortest possible time.
Implementation of the Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement ensures an equitable share of the Nile River water among the Nile basin countries, Feki Ahmed, a researcher in water resource development said.
The Nile Basin Commission which will be established among Nile Basin States will serve as important institution for using, developing, protecting, conserving and managing the river basin and its waters.
The CFA opened for signatures on May 14, 2010 and Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan have ratified. Following these ratifications by 6 Nile riparian countries, officially the CFA entered into force on October 13, 2024.
He told local media that the agreement ensures to maintain equitable share of waters and benefits by nullifying the colonial treaties. The agreement had made the major water contributors countries a spectator while unjustly benefited the non-contributors for years, he added.
Any issues related to the sharing of the Nile River waters among the upper and downstream countries will be resolved through the CFA. Furthermore, entering into force the CFA is a milestone for the Nile Basin countries towards mutual cooperation. This will lead the countries to mutually cooperate on sharing technological advancement, human power, and water utilization.
In a similar vein, CFA makes available a gateway to a more maintainable and shared future in which all nations have a role in the rational management of the river and the shared resources are disseminated equitably.
On the heels of the colonial-era treaties that approved them exclusive rights and domination over the shared resource, Egypt and Sudan have been dominantly utilizing the Abbay River. It appears clear that the CFA promotes cooperative investments in development projects, sustainable water management, and infrastructure that are advantageous to all stakeholders.
In point of fact, the CFA is a multifaceted pact geared towards safeguarding unbiased use of the Nile’s water instead of giving the green light to hegemony to any particular country.
The agreement paves the way for conserving water resources and nurturing shared welfare through joint projects, which will augment collaboration among riparian countries.
In the aftermath of years of discussions, the CFA formally came into force on marking a momentous milestone towards cooperative water resource management and plummeting encounters among the Nile Basin countries.
Hydro Politics scholar at the Addis Ababa University’s Department of Political Science and International Relations, Professor Ya’akob Arsanow observes that the CFA marks the end of an era that upholds the benefit of few countries from this shared water resource as it ensures equitable water sharing among all riparian nations, according to ENA.
“A fair and equitable water use system is established through agreements made between 1999 and 2010. Thirteen years later, each participating country has signed the agreement, which has been ratified by their parliaments,” he stated.
According to Professor Yakob, “The basic legal framework for water use is now in place, governed by law, and aims to facilitate fair water sharing among all involved countries, preventing monopolization by a select few.”
Under the agreement, the countries involved are expected to adopt a legal framework that upholds its principles ensuring equitable sharing of water resources and diminishing the exclusive rights previously held by few nations.
It is worth mentioning that since the laying of the cornerstone, Egypt left no stone unturned to halt the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), coming up with a broad range of bogus news stories and fabricated news.
To everyone’s dismay, even though Ethiopia is the major contributor to the Nile River, Egypt has given the cold shoulder to the existing reality on the ground.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY ADDISALEM MULAT
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER 2024
