Programmes or projects in any one of these areas will only be allowed to go on in one country if there is an agreement on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report between two or three East African (EA) countries.

The guidelines are designed to help pre-empt conflicts as well as cushion EA countries from negative effects that may arise from such activities that might be carried by either any of them.

Some of the shared ecosystems to be affected are: Kilimanjaro-Longido-Kajiado and Tsavo West shared between Kenya and Tanzania; and Lake Victoria shared by the three countries.

According to East African Community's (EAC) Deputy Secretary-General, Dr Kipyego Cheluget, the guidelines will become operational once approved by the region's three Heads of State.

The Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, which commissioned African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) to draft the guidelines says it will try to put them in a legal framework to facilitate faster and easier implementation once the three leaders gives consent.

But some analysts warn that if the issue is not handled properly, it might lead to tensions between EA countries, especially if the project under dispute is being fronted by powerful people in any of the governments and is being seen to benefit their citizens.

In such circumstances, a country might even cite sovereignty and go ahead with a project whose effects will be detrimental to the neignbour (s).

Speaking to a team of over 40 experts from EA at a recent meeting in Arusha held to put final touches on guidelines before their submission to the EAC Secretariat, Dr Cheluget seemed to be very optimistic of the future.

He said they expect the three countries to own and integrate the guidelines into their existing national regimes.

Echoing Cheluget's sentiments, Prof Raphael Mwalyosi of Tanzania, one of the consultants in drafting the guidelines said he hopes the EAC Secretariat will make a statement on how the procedures are to apply to on-going projects within or outside the shared ecosystems.