Water is an irreplaceable necessity to sustain life on earth. Its availability both in goodrnquality and enough quantity is under threat as the world is believed to be facing water crisis.rnThis paper dwells on the efforts in the Eastern Nile Basin to bring about sustainable developmentrnof the water resource. The Nile is one of the longest rivers of the world shared by 10 Africanrnnations, most of which are among the worldâ€™s poorest. The basin is home to more than 160rnmillion people currently, a figure expected to double in the next 25 years. The rise in populationrnnumber increases the demand for water for electric generation, agriculture and household usesrnputting the water resource under an even more stress. Environmental degradation, such as soilrnerosion and water pollution, are growing problems throughout the region, affecting agriculturalrnproductivity and exposing the population to water born diseases. At the face of such threat thernisolated and uncoordinated national development plans in the basin are presenting a challenge forrnthe efficient management of the river Nile.rnThe three main actors in the ENB are Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. The water usernprevailing in the basin currently is a lopsided one favoring mainly Egypt and to some extentrnSudan. This inequitable use coupled with pressure from population growth, climate change andrnenvironmental degradation are presenting a formidable challenge to the sustainable use of thernriver Nile. Therefore, the integrated management of the river in a manner that takes in tornconsideration both the social and economic interests of the basin states over the water and thernneed to protect and preserve the water resource and its ecosystem has become an imperative.rnThese countries, together with the rest basin states have resorted to a basin widerncooperation under the aegis of the NBI. The ENSAP, one of the subsidiary action programs ofrnthe NBI, has identified certain projects for the integrated development of the East Nile Basin,rnwhich is comprised of seven projects. They have in addition come up with a Joint MultipurposernProject that aim at facilitating the sustainable development and management of the Eastern Nilernshared water resources to provide a range of transformational development benefits acrossrnsectors and countries. These projects will have significant effect both in promoting sustainablernmanagement of the water resource and steering cooperation in the basin. Parallel to these effortsrnthe basin states as a whole have been negotiating a new cooperative framework whichculminated in the opening for signature of the CFA, which among other things includes severalrnprinciples and rules that are essential for the sustainable management of an internationalrnwatercourse, such as the Nile.rnSustainable development has become a familiar concept in international law. Howeverrnthere still is disagreement among scholars as to its definition and status as a principle ofrninternational law. Therefore the second chapter tries to look in to the development meaning andrnstatus of sustainable development under general international law and its place withinrninternational water law. In this part discussion on water use is made in line with the three pillarsrnof sustainable development.rnThe third chapter tries to give a general background to the ENB, focusing on therncooperative history in the basin, the bilateral agreements and the unsustainable manner ofrnutilization they have established, geopolitics and the interests the three states have on therncooperative management and utilization of the river.rnThe fourth chapter discusses current developments in the ENB, which will havernsignificant effect on the sustainable development of the river. These efforts range fromrninvestment programs to negotiating a new legal regime and institutional mechanism that willrnplay major role in the cooperative and sustainable management of the river. This part also looksrnin to the role of third parties, especially that of the WB, in assisting and facilitating the ongoingrncooperation efforts among the basin states. At the end of this chapter the way forward is lookedrnin to, where the challenges and prospects of sustainable management in the basin are presented.rnChapter five brings the paper to the end. In here concluding remarks are made andrnrecommendations forwarded in the hope that they might contribute to the sustainablerndevelopment of the Nile in the ENB for the benefit of the millions within the riparian states andrnthe many more generations to come.