Comm: "Precious water is not to be taken for granted, especially here, beside the river Nile.

"10 countries share the world's longest river. The Nile basin, has long been a place of dispute, even war. Without agreement, increasing demands for water could lead to real conflict."

Meraji Msuya, Director, Nile Basin Initiative: "So far the only thing that is flowing is the Nile waters...there is nothing else....The Nile issues used to be sensitive, historically sensitive issues, but that sensitivity is fading."

Dr. Geoffrey Howard, IUCN World Conservation Union: "Development is a human right,...environmental responsibility is a human right...There's no doubt in my mind that the two can go together. But there has to be sensible planning, there has to be consideration of equity, on who gets what out of what, and why are developments being developed."

Comm: "The Nile leads from the earliest remains of man to the Valley of the Kings.

"It was once the very centre of the World.

"Today, the Nile basin is a bit of a backwater. Poor, beset with civil wars and desperate to develop, Nile Basin countries will soon attempt to solve animosity in unprecedented international co-operation. Help is at hand."

James Wolfensohn, President, World Bank: "Well, the vision here is really quite remarkeble, it's a possibility for the first time, for the 10 literal states of the Nile, to come together to have a peaceful development, of a resource which historically has sometimes united and more often dived those countries."

Comm: "There are 300 million people in the countries of the Nile. That number is predicted to double in 25 years.

"With natural resources already stretched to the limit, the potential for hostility over water is huge. The plan is to head off that threat, protect the Nile and give the people new hope."

James Wolfenson, President, The World Bank: "The problems of the region are the problems of Africa they are the problems of poverty. 4 of the 10 countries that are part of this are part of the poorest 10 countries in the world."

Mohammed El-Ashry, Global Environment Facility: "The environmental issues of the Nile basin relate basically, really, to the quantity and quality. The quantity through land degration, desertification, particularly in the water sheds and the cutting of trees and look at all the soil that flows out of the highlands of Ethiopia there is very little treatment of sewerage and other waste, as a result we have the water hyacinth has gone out of control. In Lake Victoria, in the body of the Nile itself. So you really have to have both efforts moving togther, the quantity and the quality in order to find, get the improvements that are required."

Comm: "This weeks Earth Report goes up the Nile to see what can be done, but where does the Nile start? The British used to say it was Jinja, Uganda but it's not actually that simple.

There are headwaters in Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya.

"Ugandans say the source is Lake Victoria.

"The White Nile is fed via Congo wetlands.

"The Blue Nile starts in Ethiopia.

"Tributaries are shared with Eritrea.

"The 2 Niles meet in Sudan.

"And the whole lot flows out through Eygpt."

An islander: "The Nile means life, means greenery, it means everything we have."

A fisherman: "These waters give us our living. We survive because of them."

A farmer: "The Nile is so important for us - it means prosperity. Without the Nile we would not be here."

Comm: "The Nile basin is a tenth of all Africa. At it's beginings the Nile includes the Serengetti and Masai Mari National parks. Tourism, though, as way of generating income, isn't yet possible even where there's potential.

"Rwanda, at the headwaters of the Nile and home to mountain gorillas.

"These threatened habitats are crucial to the existence of the Nile. Rain captured in these forests end up, nearly 7000 kilometres north, in the Mediterranean.

"But not only are gorillas threatened, so too are the people. Rwanda and next door Burundi have had very troubled pasts.

"Cruelly decimated populations have left development and trade at a standstill."

Jean Berchimas, farmer, Rwanda: "The main problem is hunger...it's been going on for two years, it's the same for all the country. The other thing is our water is so far...in Rwanda it's the tradition to grow crops in the valley, but we don't even have water."

Comm: "Basic services are almost non-existent. Let alone the infrastructures necessary for development. Take electricity.

"Rwanda, and Burundi, have much less than other countries.

"Only 2% of people have access. Instead, people use massive amounts of wood for nearly all their energy needs, severely damaging the environment."

Bruno Mwanafunzi, Technical Advisory Committee, Rwanda: "Energy production is indeed an important factor in environment protection. People use huge amounts of wood for heating so we need to find an alternative energy to replace that wood and protect the environment."

Comm: "At Rusumo Falls, there's the potential for 60 megawatts of electricity, generated from a hydroelectric dam."

Augustine Mugenzi, Hydrologist, Rwanda Government: "Before this Savanna was part of the Kagera National Park, extending up to Moudassera with elephants, lions and buffaloes that left to search for more grass and water following forest clearing and water shortage."

Comm: "Whether the dam is built is a balance between displaced peoples, flooded ecosystems, greenhouse gases from flooded vegetation versus getting the electricity, saving firewood trees and saving the mountain gorillas. At the moment, though, there's no doubting the need for development."

Jean Berchimas, farmer, Rwanda: "We grow beans and maize to keep ourselves alive - there is not enough to sell at the market."

Comm: "There's one other problem - the Kagera river now carries water hyacinths that could clog generator turbines downstream.

"The invasive hyacinths came to Uganda at least 60 years ago. Their numbers grew out of control and they spread throughout the Nile. They covered Lake Victoria - the freshwater inland sea that feeds its shoreline peoples with fish. But the water hyacinths are impeding flows and obstructing fishing. They need constant control.

"Hyacyinths might be controlled by introducing a small beetle which feeds on it. Research stations now have to check the idea really works."

Gashamura Freddie, Gashora Research Institute, Rwanda: "Up to this point, we have worked with the Clean Lakes network, Kampala, but when I was training in Tanzania, I also contacted people working on water management projects there - with this method we can achieve some very good results."

Conmm: "If the hyacinth can be controlled then the densely populated shores of the Lake can return to normality, and development.

"Tilipia, and recently introduced Nile perch, are exported to Europe and could be commercially exploited more, but a lack of facilities like refrigeration and transport is restricting sales."

Semakula Samson, Entebbe Council, Uganda: "Most of the fish here is consumed locally with the excess exported to Europe, but there is also a substantial market if exploited between East and North Africa."

Comm: "Nile waters also irrigate commercial farms. In Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda flower producers have finessed the art of growing roses and exotic plants for export to Europe.

"But introduced fish species, and water weeds plus a huge, growing population around the shores, the natural ecology of Lake Victoria has long gone. Unless something is done, the next problem will be sewerage waste destroying natural productivity.

Semakula Samson, Entebbe Council, Uganda: "The hygiene of the shores is reflected in the product that they can produce so if the shores are dirty then the fish is also dirty. So there is also a lot needed, work on the health, on the general cleanliness of the landing sites and the people that live there."

Comm: "Over to the east, the Blue Nile rises in Ethiopia.

"Once this was all woodlands, a desirable place to live.

"Recent archaeological finds suggest it's been inhabited for longer than anywhere else on earth.

The trees conserved the water and the land, but over-population and droughts laid the mountains bare. The result: water and soil run off that leaves the land with depleted and infertile soils."

Desalegne Muche, thresher, Ethiopia: "Until the early 80's life was OK, but due to erosion and drought, production for us has decreased from 50 quintels down to 5.

"There is no protection for the soil and it's getting worse."

Lelem Berhe, villager, Ethiopia: "We get water from the rivers in the winter, but in spring and summer there is no more than a few drops available."

Comm: "Political instability and wars added to population growth and environmental degradation has left Ethiopia amongst the poorest countries in the world.

"Somehow the land has to be exploited without destroying it, but the pressures on land are not helped by a population that's predicted to double in the next 20 years."

Kidane Asefa, Technical Advisory Committee, Ethopia: "When I was at school only some 30, 40 years back, the population of Ethiopia used to be 12 million, By the year 2020 we are supposed to increase to 130 million people. So the ground situation is changing. And we need to develop the natural resources in a sustainable way so that the coming parametric changes that are happening in all our countries would benefit from the Nile water resources."

Comm: "Ethiopia, supplying 85% of the upper Nile waters, has, in it's mountains, huge potential for sustainable hydropower. It has not yet agreed any water rights with any other country.

"Despite huge amounts of aid, and the resources of the Nile, Ethiopia is still at the mercy of climate. Some things, though, can be done."

Messele Fisseha, Water Resources, Ethopia: "This has been a deep V shaped gully up to 15 metres deep, but now, because of gully reclamation activity on this, because of different structures, we are seeing here, this gully has been stabilised."

Comm: "Planting trees and Vetiver grasses can help stop gullies opening up in the first place and stabilise the top soil.

"And it's considered crucial that erosion is prevented because the silt run off is a disastrous loss of resources for Ethiopia and causes unpredictability downstream in parts of neighbouring Sudan."

Comm: "Silt laden tributaries cause floods, change river flows and damage irrigation.

"They also destroy trees that form wind breaks. With the trees gone, unhindered sand dunes smother the narrow strip of arable land along the river's edge, that traditionally sustains thousands of communities. Severe erosion is crumbling the fertile banks of the Nile. The loss of pastures, houses and livelihoods forces people to pack up and leave."

Sudanese villager: "The sand movement has exhausted us. It is torturing us. We need help to find solutions to this.

"The sand has buried our agricultural land and it is now at the door of my house."

Comm: "The only answer is to bring back the trees and try to mend the banks. It's happening in a few places but there's desperate need for a major replanting.

"Half of the water of the White Nile is consumed in the largest wetland of the world, the Sudd - unique, inaccessible and little understood. Sudan is gripped by civil war and the Sudd is one of the focuses. Plans to drain the swamp add to the conflict."

Stephen Wondu, Sudanese Aid worker: "Come rain, come sunshine, come El nino or without El Nino, we've always had pasture here because of the large Sudd swamp, the huge swamp of this region ensures there always is pasture. If we are going to put our finger on anything it is the war."

Dr. Muawia Shaddad, Sudanese environmentalist: "The Sudd is as we know is the largest wetland in the world. It is very special. The White Nile actually loses about 50% of it's water over there. You can imagine losing 50% of the Nile, the White Nile over there, you can imagine the kind of ecosystem and biodiversity that exists."

Dr. Geoffrey Howard, IUCN - World Conservation Union: "Looking at the Sudd understanding how it works requires an understanding of the water supply upstream...the quality, the quantity, the frequency of the flow, seasonal variations and so on, as well as the needs for what comes out of the Sudd at the other end, then flows down the as the White Nile into the main body of the river. I think we now have an opportunity to work between the countries across borders, to look at those environmental issues."

Dr. Muawia Shaddad, Sudanese environmentalist: "I know there is a few development ideas I heard before I left, that there is some oil exploration going down happening over there. We're going to make sure the we're not going to have the same disasters as happened in the delta of Nigeria, where oil is covering the whole area."

Comm: "Khartoum is where the White Nile and the Blue Nile become one. To the north, lies Eygpt.

"70 million Egyptians are totally dependent on the river because most of their country is desert. Water is priceless to them.

"Hence they've always made sure they will have the waters of the Nile to rely on. After 7 millennia, it's only recently that Egyptian regional pre-eminence has been tested."

Sameh Abdel-Gawad, Cairo University: "We have a problem with the water, because of population growth, even with presence of the river Nile, we a certain amount of water, share of this water that we cannot exceed every year. It is 55 million cubic metres of water. That the Eygptian share of the river Nile. We really have a problem. And the government tries to put some restriction about using the water. We are thinking about water pricing, we are thinking about virtual water, as you said, because we have to import a lot grain and a lot of other stuff that uses water, so we can actually treat water as this stuff. But you have to think about this."

Comm: "Egypt is realising that the Nile is not an infinite provider. It's coming to terms with limits of growth. Ambitious projects, like the greening of the desert, have only been partially successful.

"Traditional methods of irrigation have been replaced by modern technology, but wastage is high. A project to share water more effectively between farmers is being tried that involves mechanizing larger wheels and channeling to a greater number of fields."

Fahti Eltatarawy, Egyptian Farmer,Comeldahab village: "This new wheel saves us time and uses water more efficiently. It is also healthier now that farmers don't spend so much time in the water. It also increases our production."

Comm: "The impacts of runaway ecological problems, creeping desert, limits to growth and sheer, dire poverty, are seemingly intractable problems. In a quagmire of war and tension, the chances of solution have seemed thin.

"But after years of negotiation, it now seems the beginnings of a solution might be possible. In Geneva this summer, all the involved countries came together to announce the formation of the Nile Basin Initiative."

James Wolfensohn speech at opening of Initiative: "This is an issue of people, this is an issue of poverty, this is an issue of peace, and if any of us are concerned, indeed as we all are, with the future of Africa, this is a reflection of Africa, this is a challenge of Africa, you have 4 of the 10 poorest countres in the world, as part of this 10 group of countries, you have poverty, you have lack of education, you have Aids, you have lack of utilities, you have markets that are too small to be developed on their own. You have the need to come together in order to bring about appropriate economic development."

Comm: "Not just those directly involved, but many countries and international organisations have pledged support to what is necessarily going to be a long term investment."

Eng. Ahmed M. Fahmy Abdalla, Technical Advisory Committee, Egypt: "Water needs to be very well managed first of all, in terms of quality and quantity as well...so for us in the Nile Basin we have to have full cooperation among different countries in order to increase the yields of this great Nile for the benefit of all of us."

Dr. Osman El Tom Hamad, Technical Advisory Committee, Sudan: "We should revert back to nature and try and look at the Nile as a unit - a unifying element for the life of all these people. We should be looking at working together, operating together, having joint projects whether in agriculture, in hydropower generation, in communication, in trade, in all these areas...there is no room for isolating identities or nationalities now."

Comm: "Efficiently using limited water supplies for energy and food production, and rebuilding a severely damaged environment are big issues for all the countries of the Nile basin. Trying to give people a better life is an even bigger issue."

Dr. Patricia Kameri-Mbote, African Centre for Technology Studies: "Conflict is necessarily a community. People with resources, not at the lowest level, I think conflict, is a political thing at the higher level, I think as long as communities recognise a commonality of interest in sustainance of a certain resource such as water, they are not going to be fighting over it, because they realise it's counterproductive. It's in their own self interest to cooperate to get the resource going."

Patrick Kahangire, Technical Advisory Committee, Uganda: "We see the Nile water resources as key resources to use for socio-economic development. We need to develop it but in order to do that we need to have a framework in which all ten countries can work together with no conflicts...We need more interlinkage in trade and communication. It's very important."

Meraji Msuya, Nile Basin Initiative: "We'd like to see all these countries joined let's say by railways, roads, exchange of goods, free movement of commodities...what that can be is a very important engine for economic growth so the whole shared vision program is geared towards that...look at the EU in Europe, look at the Rhine, how it has contributed to the growth of the economy of those countries."

Dr. Patricia Kameri-Mbote, African Centre for Technology Studies: "Most of our countries having had non representative governments, community representation isn't encouraged. So you only have the few voices and many times those will be non-government organisations that give the voice to communities. And I think as long as comunities are not empowered to speak to government, NGOs are going to play a very important role in making sure that consent of the community are taken into account in the implementation of these projects that we are talking about. Most of which will actually effect communities in a very real way."

Comm: "Like anywhere else the problem is the balance between development and natural resources. With an initial plan for 3 billion dollars of investment from international donors, and a lot of soul searching, there's now a commitment to try to find sustainable solutions together. Solutions for global security, poverty alleviation and conservation."

Mohammed El-Ashry, Global Environment Facility: "The prime objectives are really on 2 sides, one on the environment side and the natural resources base itself and the water shed management and the land degredation that has taken place for a long time and the second of course, is in terms of development, development and poverty alleviation, because there are people who are living there, 300 million of them that require better lives and better livlihoods."

Dr. Muawia Shaddad, Sudanese environmentalist: "Clearly it's to do with sharing equitably the resources of the Nile Basin. If you can achieve that I believe you can achieve peace in the area."