REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT OFFICE FOR EAST AFRICA

General:  The staff members of the Regional Environment Office for East Africa (REO) report on trans-boundary environmental issues in a fourteen-nation region; advocate USG positions in international negotiations with key East African decision-makers; represent USG environmental, technical and scientific agencies; and implement projects funded by various USG agencies.
 
Principal Activities:  REO activities promote regional cooperation on water sharing; biodiversity; land, coastal and marine resource management; and the development of alternative energy sources in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, and the Comoros Islands.

Water-Sharing: the Nile Basin Initiative: The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) is a regional organization made up of the ten countries that share the waters of the Nile River and its tributaries. These states are: Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Congo-Kinshasa. The REO reports on the efforts of these ten states to develop the Nile Basin in a mutually beneficial and consensual manner.

Biodiversity: Collaboration with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - East Africa is world renowned for its flora & fauna. The U.S. government allocates funds for international conservation projects to protect specific species through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. REO/East Africa works closely with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on projects to protect African Elephants, Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees, and Cheetahs. REO/East Africa is also assisting a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service project to create a genetic database of African Elephants. REO/East Africa also works with the State Department's Office of Ecology & Terrestrial Conservation on issues relating to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Land, Coastal, and Marine Resource Management: Regional cooperation is strengthened when neighboring countries work in concert to address common environmental threats (i.e. desertification) or to benefit from common environmental opportunities (i.e. eco-tourism). REO/East Africa implements activities that assist countries in the region to cooperate in the enforcement of marine fisheries policies; protection of coral, sea turtles and other endangered marine species; and the preservation of trans-boundary & international watershed forests.

Alternative Energy: Limited access to reliable and affordable energy is a major hindrance to growth and development throughout East Africa. Despite vast wind, solar, and geothermal potential, the nations of East Africa remain dependent on costly imported petroleum products largely due to challenging domestic business climates, technical capacity constraints, and weak regulatory frameworks.  REO/East Africa works with local governments and offices throughout the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans, Environment, and Science; the Department of Energy; the U.S. Trade and Development Agency; and others to address these impediments to alternative energy development.