Entebbe (UGANDA), 06-05-2015: The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) launched a three day meeting for IGAD member states over a project titled Building River Dialogue and Governance (BRIDGE) in Entebbe, Uganda.
Officials hailing from Ministries in charge of water management and/or agriculture in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, the Sudan, and Uganda are being acquainted with the BRIDGE project which is funded by the Swiss Development Corporation (SDC) and implemented by IUCN.
The goal of BRIDGE is “securing sustainable management of water resources for poverty reduction, nature conservation, economic growth, and international cooperation through effective water governance.
The objectives of the meeting are as follows:
1. Introduce BRIDGE project to the IGAD member states;
2. Discuss the situation analysis report that was commissioned by the project to help
identify the BRIDGE entry points in the IGAD region. Other specific objectives for the
situation analysis included:
a. Reviewing the existing coordination frameworks as well as information exchange
protocols and mechanisms and made concrete and practical measures that
would enable improved coordination, sharing of information for collaborative
decision making and management;
b. Developing a criteria for selecting a basin to demonstrate BRIDGE approaches,
c. Identifying existing projects/programmatic initiatives relevant to BRIDE as well as
key stakeholder groups including their areas of influence and interest – power
relations
3. Select a basin through a participatory process to demonstrate BRIDGE activities in the
IGAD region;
4. Review the Draft IGAD Regional Policy and Protocol on Water Related Data Exchange;
and
5. Conduct Hydro-diplomacy and benefit sharing (introductory) training in the context of the
IGAD regional water resources protocol.
BRIDGE is already being implemented in the main trans-boundary basins of the world in Central and South America, in Asia and in Africa too.
