Water and Land Resource Centre (WLRC) and the FDRE Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) held 2025 annual performance evaluation and 2026 annual plan validation workshop, 12 & 13 Feb 2026 at Capital Hotel, Addis Ababa.
BRIGHT project’s performance was noted outstanding for most of the work packages and interventions, except for the delay caused to the Basin Information System development, until the scope and adequacy of previously attempted programs were determined as inadequate and thus the need for a comprehensive BIS was agreed upon. Works done in the areas of human capacity development, Hare Catchment Quick-win interventions, digitisation of MoWE’s Data Centre, infrastructural capacity development, IWRM policy and legal frameworks were all tremendous and widely acclaimed by MoWE Water Resource Management Officials and specialists. Working together has also enabled the transfer of knowledge and skills between WLRC and MoWE. The high-impact projects were in fact embarking on strategic issues of national significance.
Also, the 2026 Annual Plans were presented and deliberated on. It was noted that interventions would pick momentum in all the five catchments and basins. The need to align the project’s activity plans to MoWE’s plans and accelerating the preparation of Guidelines and Manuals was emphasised, to make them captured in the MoWE’s ongoing reform. BRIGHT was in general considered exemplary in proper targeting, effective co-implementation, and bringing the key partners together towards a common goal of making IWRM, and the NIWRMP, effective. The MoWE WRM and WLRC officials called for more harnessed and stronger joint actions to make the project successful.
Finally, the Team made a visit to a wastewater management model using Nature-Based Solution, which was nearing completion in the Addis Ababa Science and Technology University (AASTU Campus) at Melka Shene. The NBS is just one of the many ongoing ventures by the WSP high impact intervention of the BRIGHT Project.