DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Vice President Philip Mpango on Tuesday urged the 10 member countries of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) to promote sustainable water use among riparian countries, saying the number of users has tripled in the past four years.
Addressing the 16th Nile Day commemorations in the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam, Mpango said water users of the Nile River Basin had almost tripled from 238 million people in 2018 to 778 million in 2021.
Mpango said more than 300 million people depend on water from the Nile River Basin for various economic activities including irrigation, trade, transportation and fishery, warning that the increase of population and human activities, including farming, mining and discharge of industrial effluents posed great threat to the giant river and its resources.
"All Nile riparian states need to collectively work to secure our water source. These challenges can easily be managed if we cooperate and initiate joint initiatives for capacity development," said Mpango.
Sylvester Matemu, the NBI executive director, said in the last 23 years, the NBI has been implementing several short-term and long-term projects and strategies aimed to strengthen the protection of the basin.
The one-day Nile Day commemorations attracted more than 1,500 people from African and foreign countries.
Nile Day is an annual event held in commemoration of the establishment of the unprecedented NBI on Feb. 22, 1999, by ministers in charge of water affairs in the Nile Basin countries. It provides an opportunity for the people of Nile Basin to come together to celebrate the benefits of Nile cooperation and exchange experiences, views and ideas on topical issues related to the cooperative management and development of the common Nile Basin water and related resources.
NBI member states are Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Eritrea participates as an observer. ■