Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office

ENTRO (Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office) is one of the three Centers of the Nile Basin Initiative, (NBI). The NBI was established on February 1999 by nine riparian countries as a transitional institution to embark on the realization of a jointly articulated Shared Vision: “To achieve sustainable socio-economic development through the equitable utilization and benefit from the common Nile Basin water resources”.

One of the most important principles of NBI informing its organizational structuring and operations is the principle of subsidiarity which enables formation of sub-groupings of two or more NBI member countries to exploit (or otherwise overcome)  unique shared sub-basin hydrologic and other potentials (or constraints).   The Eastern Nile Subsidiary Action Program (ENSAP) – comprising Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan – is one of two such subsidiary programs of the NBI.

ENSAP was established in 1999 also with its own vision, essentially similar to the NBI one, this time focused on and scaled down to Eastern Nile. Eastern Nile though linked to and forming one hydrologic unit of the entire Nile Basin, nevertheless bears unique features, making a compelling case for the three countries to form ENSAP. These features include hydrologic (e.g. this sub-basin supplies over 86% of the Nile flow over a 3-4 month period, characterized by seasonal and inter-annual variability);  topographic (e.g. the cool, high and rugged  Ethiopian highlands offer huge Hydropower generation and water saving potential); land degradation and environmental  problems (which result in huge sediment load); cultural-historical (e.g. the three countries share common religion and intricate historical and cultural linkages); demographic ( e.g. the three countries make nearly two-thirds of the entire Nile Basin population), geographic (the three countries are geographically linked making interconnecting infrastructure – power, road, rail road possibility) and finally economic (e.g. the three countries owing to scale could make laying foundation for a viable regional integration possibility).

ENTRO, the Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office, headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is the executive arm of ENSAP.  It was established in 1999  and since then, in tandem with and in response to the ebbs and flows of Nile Basin Initiative/Eastern Nile cooperation, has undergone several organizational transformations – a process still unfolding.

ENTRO supports Eastern Nile Council of Ministers (ENCOM) and Eastern Nile Subsidiary Action Program Team (ENSAPT) in preparing cooperative water resources investment programs and projects, capacitating and strengthening institutions and providing secretariat support to its governance. Since its establishment, ENTRO has been playing significant role in advancing and enhancing cooperation among the Eastern Nile Countries on water resource development and management.

ENTRO Vision, Mission, Goal and Core Values

Vision
To be a credible Eastern Nile institution fostering sustainable transboundary cooperative boundary cooperative water resource management and development; and promoting regional integration

Mission
We work for the shared benefit of cooperation

Roles
Providing  technical  expertise  and  adopting  best   practices  for  the   coordinated identification,  preparation  and  possible  implementation  of  regional development programs and projects in the Eastern Nile;

Enhancing capacities of ENSAP institutions;
Building and strengthening networks among the stakeholders; and

Enabling people from the Eastern Nile to work together.

Facilitating Eastern Nile Dialogue and Consultations

Promoting EN Water Resources Management (knowledge management & planning), and

Promoting EN Water Resources Development

Goal
Sustainable socio-economic development through the equitable utilization of, and benefit from, the common Eastern Nile water resources.