[WLRC Jimma, March 21, 2025]: Water and Land Resource Centre (WLRC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE), officially launched the Basin Management Support for Resilient, Inclusive Growth, and Harmonized Transformation for the National Integrated Water Resource Management Program of Ethiopia (BRIGHT) Project in the Omo-Gibe Basin on the 21st of March 2025 at Haile Resort Jimma.
Dr. Gete Zeleke, Director General of WLRC, in his welcoming remark emphasized the economic and ecological significance of the Omo-Gibe Basin, highlighting its role in hydropower generation, coffee production, biodiversity, and cultural heritage; and thus he stressed the need for a robust basin management plan and urged regional collaboration for its successful implementation. He said the Launching Workshop serves as a key platform to introduce the BRIGHT project, initiate implementation at the basin level, and foster collaboration among stakeholders.
H.E. Dr. Abraha Adugna, State Minister for Water Resources Management, MoWE, expressed his enthusiasm for launching the BRIGHT Project in Jimma, noting its role in strengthening the MoWE, regional water bureaus, and the Omo-Gibe Basin Administration Office (OG BAOs) through technical, managerial, institutional, and infrastructural development. He emphasized BRIGHT project’s role in improving the country’s Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) by addressing knowledge gaps and improving infrastructure.
Mr. Jelmer van Veen, First Secretary for Water Affairs of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherland (EKN), acknowledged the extensive efforts of WLRC and MoWE leading to the project’s launch in the Basin. He shed light on the importance of involving all relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, to ensure the project’s success and reaffirmed EKN’s commitment to transforming scientific ideas into practical, actionable solutions for water resource management.
Presentations were made about the National Integrated Water Resource Management Program (National IWRMP) and the BRIGHT Project, including, what the project intends to do in Omo-Gibe Basin and how the Project contributes to the realization of the NIWRMP.
The South-West Ethiopia Region Plan Bureau Head Dr. Bayush Tesfaye welcomed the arrival of the Project to the Region, with strategic goals and objectives, and she expressed commitment of the regional government to support what BRIGHT project will be doing in Omo-Gibe basin and beyond. She remarked, it is the right project with a perfect goal in the right place.
The event was attended by more than 60 people, high-level officials, including state ministers from MoWE, representatives from EKN, heads of regional president offices, and key stakeholders from water, agriculture, and planning bureaus, The Directors and technical staff of WLRC. Also selected zone and woreda administrations, university vice presidents, and MoWE staff and officials were presented.
Office space for the BRIGHT Project Coordination Office in OGB was provided by the National Meteorological Agency Jimma branch office. The MoWE State Ministers, WLRC Directors, the BRIGHT Project Staff and BRIGHT Project in OGB Coordinator, and other stakeholders visited the Coordination Office. The State Ministers and WLRC directors acclaimed NMA Jimma Office’s decision as a strong gesture of meaningful collaboration for the success of the BRIGHT project.
