Nile-COM Endorses Initiative to Address Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in the Nile basin

This is contained in the signed minutes of the 16th Nile-COM meeting that took place from 21/7/08 – 22/7/08 at Grand Hotel, in Kinshasa, D.R Congo, attended by the Ministers of water of the Nile Basin Countries, members of the Technical Advisory Committee, development partners, observers, the Executive Director and NBI staff.

The objective of the initiative is to jointly assess vulnerability and address climate change related impacts and risks through appropriate alternatives and adaptation actions. Expected outcomes of the initiative are to include
understanding of climate change impacts on the Nile’s bio-physical system using best available tools and models, identification and mitigation of climate change risks within investment and development projects, enhancement of the scientific and adaptive capacity at the level of the basin and individual riparians, and integration of long term aspects of climate change on decision making on the Nile.

A presentation of the concept note by the Executive Director, Mr. Audace Ndayizeye, pointed out that climate change will aggravate the water stress currently faced by some countries in the basin, while some countries that currently do not experience water stress will become at a risk of water stress. According to the Executive Director, Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change and climate variability, a situation aggravated by the interaction of ‘multiple stresses’, occurring at various levels, and low adaptive capacity.

The nod by Nile-COM paves the way for NBI to address of climate change related issues in the basin. The Nile-COM is the highest decision making organ of the Nile Basin Initiative and it meets annually to deliberate on policy related issues of the NBI.

Above material is sourced from Nile Basin Initiative website.