Burundian First Vice President Yves Sahinguvu has called upon countries surrounding the River Nile to use the waters in a productive way. River Nile is the worlds longest river. Speaking at the celebrations of the third Nile Day held in Bururi Province, Sahinguvu said that the water resources of the River Nile constitute richness to a big population living along the river. We will have to bequeath these water resources to our children. We have a duty to preserve them in spite of the problems of climatic change which we currently observe, This years Nile Day was marked under the theme: “United in Diversity by the River Nile – Our Heritage, source for Regional Cooperation.” The first cerebrations were held in Rwanda in 2007. Sahinguvu also stressed that experts predict that water resources could become scarce in the years to come and become sources of conflicts. “Our respective countries should take into account this threat of which the effects are already felt by our populations in the Nile Basin. For this purpose, the means we have are our will to link us and our will to cooperate in order to carry out our dream, added the Burundian VP. The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) maintains that there is continued recognition of the seriousness of watershed degradation and experience exchange in practical measures to address the degradation and taking practical work on ground by all countries that fall within the Basin. The organization is also looking forward to harmonisation of policies across the basin countries and a framework for sustainable management of the Nile basin environment, exchange of information and knowledge among the member countries. The Nile Day was celebrated in efforts to bolster socio-economic development of the nine countries sharing the Nile waters and the day was commemorated by a series of events and festivals. Jose Endundo Bononge, Minister in Charge of Environment from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said that the event is not only regarded as a landmark of the history of the Nile Basin Countries but also for the international community as a whole. This years Nile Day celebrations coincided with the tenth anniversary of the Nile Basin Initiative. Ends
