Our Identity

The Nile Basin Discourse (NBD) is a civil society network with over 1200 member and partner organizations within the Nile Basin region. NBD offers a public platform for dialogue, partnership and cooperation among civil society organizations in the Nile Basin. The NBD network is open to all civil society organizations involved in basin resources management and development within the Nile Basin Region to join as either full, associate or honorary members. NBD network provides knowledge and builds capacity to strengthen the voice of civil society organizations within the Nile Basin region. NBD’s networking approach has provided a mechanism for coordinated action and has added value to the work of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) and other key development partners. The NBI is a major intergovernmental process driving forward joint sustainable development and resources management within the Nile basin.

Our History

In 2000, civil society organizations began exploring mechanisms for deepening public voice and participation to foster Nile Cooperation. The outcome of this dialogue led to the formal launch of the Nile Basin Discourse in 2003.

The NBD was founded primarily to strengthen the voice of civil society in development projects and programmes of the NBI and to ensure that NBI responded to the development needs of local communities by establishing benefit-sharing processes that will contribute significantly to more equitable and sustainable outcomes for poor people in the basin.

NBD is registered in Uganda as a regional NGO with a Secretariat in Entebbe with an organizational Constitution and 10([1]) National Discourse Forums (NDFs) operating in the ten riparian States (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) that share the Nile. These NDFs are networks that have established critical national and regional level partnerships with NBI and other partners. NBD- NBI MOU.  The NDFs reflect a very broad constituency of civil society across the basin.

Our Vision

A Nile Basin in which there is sustainable social and economic development for all peoples of the Nile Basin, free of conflict, leading to achievement of justice, human rights, good governance, poverty eradication and protection of the environment.

([1]) the number of countries will become 11 with the new Independent South Sudan.

Our Mission

To ensure that a fully-informed and basin-wide civil society develops and plays a keys key role in achieving the vision, through pro-active and critical influencing of projects, programmes and policies of the Nile Basin Initiative and other development processes.

Our Core Objectives

We strive to achieve our mission through the pursuit of the following four Strategic objectives:

1. Support initiatives for sustainable integrated river basin management at all levels for livelihood improvement & development in the basin.

2. Influence policy development for equitable utilization and sustainable management of the Nile basin resources.

3. Improve communication, knowledge and information management among civil society organizations in the Nile basin to strengthen civil society perspectives in development processes.

4. Develop organizational capacity for a functional, efficient, effective and dynamic NBD.

How we work

Our Core Values

Our members adhere to the core values of ethics, inclusiveness, social justice & equality and mutual respect & accommodation. These values underpin meaningful dialogue among people with different interests and mindsets and strengthens NBD’s neutral stance and credibility.

NBD programme perspectives 2012-2016

During the coming years, Nile Basin Discourse will focus on the following programmes: