Environmental Conditions in the Basin - River Nile - Essay Example

? Nile River Table of Contents Introduction 3 Relevant uses and users of water throughout the Nile basin 4 Social Conditions in the Nile basin 7 Environmental conditions in the basin 9 Trans-boundary issues 11 Conclusion 13 Bibliography 15 Introduction River Nile is the world longest river with extending over 6,000 km to the Mediterranean ocean. The river is a great water resource for Egypt since it has provided the country with vast water resources needed for irrigation and household use. The river originates from the Ethiopian highlands with their tributaries namely; White Nile, Blue Nile, and the Atbara both of which supply the water to the river. The basin is home to the estimated population of over 160 million people with overwhelming majority depending on it directly or indirectly for land, water, shelter, and energy sources (Rahman, 2013). The use of the water resources has over the years become a source of conflict for the ten countries that depend on it directly or indirectly. The population of the river is expected to double in the next twenty years thus pressuring the already strained water resources thus tampering with its ability to meet the world’s social, environmental, and economic challenges in the region (Rahman, 2011). The Nile river basin represents an area with a traditional history that is strongly linked to the river due to its importance in an environment that experiences water scarcity. The region lacks tangible water alternatives hence they purely rely on the river and its resources to provide them with the essentials of their daily lives. The water governance highly favours Egypt at the expense of riparian states thus breeding a lot of instability concerning water use in this region. The African communities are the most affected by the water resource problems due to persistent drought, increasing food security and political instability. Water is truly a strategic and vital resource and should thus be properly and sensitively managed to avoid pollution and prevent any possible conflict. The Nile water resource is subject to lots of pressures ranging from demographic, economic, growth of agglomerations, and ecological factors that threaten the smooth existence in the region. There are several organizations working round the clock to study and closely monitor the activities that are taking place in the Nile basin. There are several uses of water in this basin spreading in all the riparian states hence all of them want a voice in controlling the water usage. The continuous use of this water resource is exposing this basin to environmental degradation that threatens their ecosystems in the near future. In an attempt to control this rare resource, trans boundary issues are developing that threatens the political and economic stability in the region, hence resulting in signing of several pacts between the riparian states. Relevant uses and users of water throughout the Nile basin The Nile basin contains a wide range of unique and highly productive ecosystems that provide food resources, medicine, fuel, and construction materials despite providing water for irrigation, industry, hydropower, and household use (Allan, 2009). These ecosystems provide a number of important hydrological functions that include flood mitigation, flow regulation, and water quality in the whole region despite being aesthetic, cultural and heritage significance. The ecosystems provide an intrinsic value to over 160 million people who depend on the Nile basin to provide for a range of livelihoods that include agriculture, fisheries, and urban dwelling (Rahman, 2011). The ecosystems also provide direct services that include water shelter, medicine, fuel, fish, plants and animal feeds that they use throughout the year for their daily survival. According to Allan (2009), the river is of great importance since it provides up to 80% of the calorie intake provided by goods and services directly related to Nile ecosystems. According to Cascao (2009), most of the riparian states want to use the dam for their own economic and social use with less regards to the effect downstream. This is evident when Ethiopia announced its plans to divert the flow of the river Nile to build a huge grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam, which developed a lot of resistance in Egypt. Fig.1. (Riparian states and their percentage population in Nile basin. Source: Sutton, 2008) A country like Egypt still heavily depends on water since they receive very little rain ad there is no other tangible sources of water over from any other source. The Nile is still used for transportation purposes, especially in countries like Egypt where the water is moving slowly and the width of water is large. River transportation is still prevalent in Egypt as they transport agricultural goods from Upper Egypt to the Lower Egypt and vice versa although this method is declining due to improvement in other means of transport. Nile water fishing a big contribution to the economy of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia due to considerable growth of the fishing industry and increased demand for fish. The main tributaries to river Nile are characterized by fishing activities including Lake Victoria that contributes its huge chunks of water to the river. Fishing is a big source of livelihood for the communities around the river Nile basin together with other economic activities like farming and mining (Luzi, et al, 2007). Due to increased demand for electricity, there is an attempt by most of the riparian states to build dams along the river Nile and its tributaries for electric supply and irrigation purposes (Newton & Reynes, 2007). The success of the Aswan high dam in Egypt is giving hope for most countries in the Nile basin to construct their own dams along the river and its tributaries to enjoy the advantages of electric supply. Ethiopia is a good example of a riparian state with ambitious projects of building dams along the river Nile tributaries to cope up with increased energy demands as a result of increased population in that region. River Nile is a big source of a tourist attraction site in the east and North African region (Yohanes & Yohanes, 2013). The source of the river Nile in Uganda, which is Lake Victoria, has a huge fall that is an immense tourist attraction site. The tributaries of river Nile and how they join the river in style especially in Sudan is also a major tourist attraction in the region. Aswan high dam in Egypt is a tourist attraction site that draws tourist from all corners of the world who wish to see the infrastructure and the style of such a huge development. River Nile is a phenomenal in due to its big size and from that fact that it’s the longest river in the world and this makes it draw attraction from tourists from all places. There is also Nile cruise in the Nile especially in Egypt and they act as a tourist attraction site along the Nile valley thus brining many economic benefits to the riparian states. In Egypt and in some parts of Sudan, sporting activities is also witnessed along the waters of thus contributing immensely to recreational activities in the region (Newton & Reynes, 2007). Social Conditions in the Nile basin The Nile basin is a very important component of the African population since nearly 40% of the African population lives and depends on it for survival. This is equivalent to 300 million people drawn from about ten countries represents the riparian states and the number is projected to double by the year 2015 (Sutton, 2008). The ever increasing population growth is projected to decrease the available per capita water massively thus endangering the lives of communities around the Nile basin. The population distribution around the Nile basin is highly characterized by a shift towards urbanization, as witnessed in countries like Burundi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Uganda thus increase the water dependence in the Nile basin (Malm, 2013). The urban population more water per capita for domestic and industrial use than rural populations thus coming with their negative implications. The growth rate of GDP and GNP across the riparian states is also increasing and can be used as an indicator for increased water demand in the Nile basin. Increased GDP is considered as a good indicator of increased water demand for agricultural production consumes the largest amount of water per unit of GDP. Shenk (2004) also argues that the relative growth of various sectors of the riparian states will influence future water demands and this is likely to destabilize the social-economic set up of these countries in the future. The water quality and quantity is thus at greater risk if the water management measures are not formulated and implemented accordingly by the riparian states. The GDP of various countries exhibited growth in all riparian countries in 199s except Rwanda, Burundi, and DRC due to conflicts they experienced on those periods but are now on the path to recovery. The highest rate of industrialization experienced in Uganda in recent years also has consequences to the water systems in the Nile water basin. According to Becker & Sultan (2009), the communities living in the Nile basin are continually faced with numerous challenges that range from poverty, political instability, rapid population growth, and increased environmental degradation. The biggest challenge for these communities is that their sustained development highly depends on the use of water resources of river Nile and the same time uses the water responsibly (Allan, 2009). The political instability is likely to escalate in the region if mutual understanding and agreement does not fully take into consideration. Food security is directly tied to irrigation in most parts of the riparian states that receive minimal rainfall in order for them to sustain their living. Unlike Egypt, most countries in the Nile basin are classified by FAO as food insecure and they include some of the poorest countries in the world since they are below the poverty line GDP of less than 300 dollars with limited or negative economic growth (Luzi et al, 2008). Most of the Nile dependent countries are relying on low productivity subsistence agriculture to account for more than half of their GDP and employs over 70% of their labor force. Newton & Reynes (2007) also argues that the current food production in the Nile basin needs to increase by 35 to 50% in order to cope with the demand lest they depend on food assistance from other countries. The Nile economies are greatly handicapped by their limited economic infrastructure and capacity and are thus expected to attract sustained public and private investment to improve their agricultural production. The economies in the Nile basin are likely to rely on subsistence farming characterized by low value crop, livestock, forestry, and fisheries if no strategic plans are formulated and fully implemented. Environmental conditions in the basin The Nile basin is subject to a number of threats that undermine the community livelihoods with poor people most directly affected by the deteriorating environmental conditions along the basin (Allan, 2009). The agricultural and grazing lands are continually degraded and the water sources are constantly declining at an alarming rate. The Nile is also exposed to threats that result from declining wetlands and forest reserves, over exploitation of natural resources and continued exploitation of natural resources and urban pollution. These also result to increase the prevalence of waterborne diseases that pose danger to communities, animals and the aquatic life. In the recent days, the rate of flooding has increased immensely and the droughts are intensifying along the Nile basin thus endangering the life of communities. Land degradation is a major threat to communities living in Nile basin that leads to reduced biological productivity huge tracts of land along the Nile basin (Allan, 2009). The deforestation of the formerly rich forested areas, cultivation of unsuitable marginal lands, inappropriate and excessive use of advance agricultural technologies, over grazing among other land use techniques leads to land degradation. These exploitative agricultural practices led to reduction of soil fertility as well as wind and water erosion along the Nile basin and the surrounding environment. Becker and Sultan (2009) argue that soil erosion harm the productivity of the Nile basin, this result in ever increasing shortages in the production of food; thus, leading to decreasing food security and greater human poverty to the communities depending and leaving around the Nile ecosystems. The demand for wood by the urbanizing communities throughout the region has been driven by increased household and commercial fuel dependence (Becker & Sultan, 2009). The communities use the wood fuel to dry fish, cure tobacco, and bake bricks among other uses in their daily operations. These pressures have been exacerbated by the influx of refugees in addition to sugarcane, coffee, and tea plantations that are fast replacing the forest covers. In addition, the large plantations are associated with heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides in their bid to improve crop production techniques thus further interfering with the Nile water ecosystems. The areas around river Nile are experiencing a sharp increase in population over the years that have exacerbated the stress on forest and wetland systems thus further interfering with the smooth Nile ecosystems (Rahman, 2011). Due to increased population density, lack of sanitation infrastructure is increasingly apparent and water borne diseases are on the increase along the Nile valley. Wetlands in the area continuously threatened by drainage because of increased agriculture and industries filling of solid waste, dredging, and canalization, ground water extraction, siltation and pesticide discharge. In some cases, the waste products are on the increase to the extent that they impair the natural capacity of wetlands as a buffer and filter of sediments and certain pollutants that have a negative impact to the river ecosystems. The riparian states have prepared the pollution management plans and implemented them but the rate of ecosystem disturbance is still noticed along the Nile ecosystems (Luzi et al, 2008). The pollution management plans are largely targeted to leather tanning factories, fish and sugar processing industries, and breweries industries due to their potential damage to the water systems. Water quality is a major concern for the people who depend on the water resources since it has a direct impact on their lives. The major threats to water quality include insufficient treated domestic, urban, and industrial waste, non-point pollution from pesticides and fertilizers, residues, sedimentation and filtration of the nearby areas. The costs of these threats are invariably borne by downstream users since the river flows carrying these materials to their direction. The vulnerable people are the poor who live in marginal and less desirable areas and are highly susceptible to diseases as they consume the water. Trans-boundary issues The access to water is critical aspect of human survival and a good number of people still lack access to safe water especially for domestic use (Rahman, 2013). Due to this, many riparian states surrounding the Nile river are expressing direct interest in their water sue in order to secure the destiny for their country. The lack of adequate water sharing technique along the Nile River has a potential of escalating tension between the riparian states and should thus be given deep consideration. There are witnessed tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt due to their overdependence in the Nile water resources (Malm, 2013). Ethiopian has been the biggest complaint of Nile water use, probably due to failed Anglo-Ethiopia treaty of 1902 that never materialized (Sutton, 2008). Over the years, Egypt has denied other riparian states complete access to water resources since they want to have a complete control of the water sources. This has escalated to several conflicts leading to several negotiations and development of treaties to enhance the mutual understanding between the countries (Rahman, 2011). Egypt has described the Nile as their gift on several occasions thus angering other riparian states that also depend on the river for their livelihood. Egypt has thus excursive hegemonic powers in the control and use of water resources in the Nile basin for many years with less regards to other riparian states. According to Newton and Reynes (2007), Egypt used the water resources as an important trade route for the development of their economy and for international relationship with other countries. However, over the years, high population growth, global warming, economic crisis, national disasters, and political development have made other riparian states to engage Egypt in modalities of sharing Nile water resources. The independence of the riparian states coupled with increased electricity demand is driving the riparian states to renegotiate the earlier treaties in their bid to conquer the resources of river Nile. Rahman (2013) argues that the tension between Egypt and Ethiopia over the control of the Nile resources is likely to escalate to war due to ever increasing population of Ethiopia ad their heavy reliance on the Nile waters. “The riparian states that surround the Nile River are Rwanda, Eritrea, Uganda, Ethiopia, Burundi, Sudan, Kenya Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Egypt” (Rahman, 2011). Complete overdependence on Nile water resources cause the Nile water resources to deplete thus causing high rate of unemployment, diseases, and hunger in all riparian states leading to more concern for the Nile water resources (Cascao, 2009). The demand for the allocation of water resources has witnessed over 200 treaties in the last 60 years and about 37 reported cases of violence between different countries with regard to the river Nile (Rahman, 2013). Records show that water disputes can be handled diplomatically since the last 50 years has seen violent water disputes handled and sanity restored. The biggest paradox and the reason why other riparian states wish to renegotiate the early treaties is the realization that Egypt does not contribute to any of its waters to the river Nile since it is a desert country. This was also necessitated by the fact that some of these treaties that granted Egypt big control of the Nile River were signed before the countries got independence. The agreement Britain and Congo happened in 1906 thus modifying the agreement of Brussels signed 12 years earlier. In the year 1959, Sudan and Egypt signed an agreement for the utilization of shared water sources by Nile River to regulate the river waters and its flow into the Mediterranean. In the year 1998, an agreement between Egypt and Uganda took place for controlling water hyacinth and proper management of the upper Nile catchments (Rahman, 2013). The Egypt thus supported Uganda with a grant of 13.9 million dollars towards combating and controlling weeds, in the outlets and inlets of lakes Victoria, Kyoga, Albert, and Nile. In the agenda of 1996 bilateral cooperation, Egypt granted Kenya a contribution of 4.2 dollars to exhume a hundred groundwater wells in various arid and semi arid areas in the country. Sutton (2008) also argues that Egypt initiated the postgraduate diploma in the University of Cairo to train water resource professionals in the Nile basin countries in the management of rivers and the basins within the Nile basin. The development partners that have been included in the activities of Nile basin development includes the Nile Basin Trust Fund, World Bank, African Development Bank, Global Environment Facility, and Canadian International Development Agency. The United Nations through its agencies hare have also taken considerable interest in the development of the Nile basin (Wichelns, 2002). Conclusion River Nile is the longest river in the world with three main tributaries that supply it with most of its waters and they are the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara. The Nile basin is characterized by a highly productive ecosystem that serves over 160 million people on their daily survival from food, medicine, water, hydropower, fish, and tourist attraction among other benefits. The per capita income and GDP of most states surrounding the Nile basin directly depended on the Nile resources and thus are likely to be affected by the change in the ecosystems. The high rate of industrial growth especially in Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, which were formerly war torn, is likely to add more strain to the Nile resources. This is because they will need the Nile basin resources to sustain their increased industrial activities that are driven by increased population growth. Currently, there is food insecurity in all riparian states except Egypt and the condition is expected to worsen if the Nile ecosystems continue to deteriorate in the near future. The Nile ecosystems are characterized by poor environmental conditions that result from degradation, urban pollution, contaminated water bodies and the threat of global warming. This will result into reduced water levels, reduced water resources, and contaminated water body that result in diseases and poor living conditions around the river basin. Due to the high stakes involved in the consumption of Nile resources, all riparian states want to maximally exploit the it for their benefits thus resulting in a lot of tension between the countries. In order to solve the tension and prevent the possibility of war, there are over 200 treaties that have been signed in the past 60 years between the riparian states. The biggest tension always exists between Ethiopia and Egypt since they receive minimal rainfall and both of them want to exploit the water resources to solve the economic and social challenges that face their respective countries. Bibliography Allan, J. A. 2009. 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