UGANDA | IGAD | WATER 

KAMPALA - Uganda will today host the 2nd Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Water Dialogue Forum which will run from January 25-27, under the theme ‘Groundwater for Resilience.’

The forum, which is organized by the IGAD Department of Agriculture and Environment will discuss the axis of groundwater for peace and stability, groundwater for climate change and resilience to drought, groundwater for social and economic development, innovation in groundwater financing and technological development, and capacity building in groundwater.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the meeting that will bring in Water Ministers, Experts and delegates from IGAD Member States of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda as well as development partners and other stakeholders will afford an opportunity for the IGAD member countries, stakeholders, the private sector and development partners to discuss groundwater and its role in the region’s sustainable development.

“The Forum will also provide an opportunity for the support of the projects and programs related to running and planned water, and providing means for policymakers, technical experts, private sector actors and civil society organizations, and others to contribute to the development of the IGAD program for groundwater in line with the mandate and the overall strategy of the Authority, as well as presenting new investment opportunities and innovations in the development and management of groundwater,” the statement indicated.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the program of this Forum includes the participation of key speakers from the authority Member States, academic and research institutions, civil society organizations, the private sector, other regional economic groups, and the development partners with a training session for young professionals.

“It should be recalled that the 1st Water forum was organized by the IGAD Inland Water Resources Department in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2014. The Nairobi forum focused on the urgent need for regional cooperation in the management of water resources, and highlighted the need to enhance dialogue and understanding, increasing cooperation in all water management programs, engaging development partners in these initiatives as well as building consensus on regional water management,” the statement said.

IGAD was created in 1996 to supersede the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD), which was founded in 1986. 

According to the IGAD Website, this followed the recurring and severe drought and other natural disasters between 1974 and 1984 that caused widespread famine, ecological degradation and economic hardship in the Eastern Africa region. Although individual countries made substantial efforts to cope with the situation and received generous support from the international community, the magnitude and extent of the problem argued strongly for a regional approach to supplement national efforts.

In 1983 and 1984, six countries in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda) took action through the United Nations to establish an intergovernmental body to collectively combat drought and desertification in the region. The Assembly of Heads of State and Government met in January 1986 to sign the agreement that officially launched IGADD with headquarters in Djibouti. The State of Eritrea became the seventh member after attaining independence in 1993 and South Sudan joined in 2011.

In April 1995 in Addis Ababa, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government made a declaration to revitalize IGADD and expand cooperation among Member States. On 21st March 1996 in Nairobi, the Assembly signed “Letter of Instrument to amend the IGADD Charter” establishing the revitalized regional organization with a new name, “Intergovernmental Authority on Development.” IGAD with expanded areas of regional cooperation and a new organizational structure was launched during the Summit of the Heads of State and Government on 25th November 1996 in Djibouti.

IGAD’s main objectives includes; promote joint development strategies and gradually harmonize macro-economic policies and programmes in the social, technological and scientific fields; harmonize policies concerning trade, customs, transport, communications, agriculture, and natural resources, and promote free movement of goods, services, and people within the region; create an enabling environment for foreign, cross-border and domestic trade and investment.

It also includes; achieving regional food security, as well as encouraging and assisting efforts to collectively combat drought and other natural and man-made disasters and their natural consequences; Initiate and promoting programmes and projects to achieve regional food security and sustainable development of natural resources and environmental protection; Develop and improve a coordinated and complementary infrastructure, in the areas of transport, telecommunications and energy in the region.

Other objectives include; Promoting peace and stability, as well as creating mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of inter-State and intra-State conflicts in the region through dialogue; Mobilize resources for the implementation of emergency, short-term, medium-term and long-term programmes within the framework of regional cooperation; Facilitate, promote and strengthen cooperation in research development and application in science and technology; and Promote and realize the objectives of the African Economic Community.