Water Security among Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan - Essay Example

Water Security Water Security among Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan The availability of water is an important catalyst for the social and economic development of any area. Water guarantees the existence of different ecosystems, the protection and maintenance of human health and promotes the continuity of food production. Perhaps a better use of water is in the provision of goods and services such as hydroelectric power thus ensuring economic development of a people. However, as populations grow and the demand for water increases, water security is threatened leading to water scarcity. The North Eastern region of Africa, which shares the Nile River, suffers this fate due to the ever increasing population (Kidd, 2014, pp. 98). The river originates from mainly two countries. The White Nile from Burundi joins the Blue Nile from Ethiopia to form the Nile Basin. The Nile Basin is the major source of water for this region supplying ten countries with water. Egypt is the traditional user of the water and has almost exclusive rights for extracting water from the River Nile. Though a non-contributing country, Egypt benefits from a bilateral 1959 agreement that gives it the largest allocation in the utilization of River Nile’s Water. Sudan, another noncontributing country, gets the second largest share of the river’s resources. Other nations especially, the contributing ones have, for a long time, suffered water scarcity due to the unequal distribution of this water. This has created animosity between neighboring countries and was a source of conflict amongst the countries in this region. Countries upstream have, in recent time, considered controlling the use of the water (Adar, 2011, pp. 73). Some have, for example, built large dams and canals to confine their waters. This issue has been a major concern which the UN lists as one of the most urgent political issues. Watershed countries in the Nile Basin have realized that a shift from the current state must be fueled by a more equitable sharing of the Nile water. This urge to exploit more water has been occasioned by the desire to achieve economic development. Ethiopia, for example, has initiated hydroelectric power projects along the river’s flow. Despite these efforts, however, economic development has not been achieved in many countries. Most of the countries in the region have long unresolved disputes that hinder the economic prosperity of the people (Jacobs, 2012, pp. 37). Civil wars, famines, strife, and internal and regional discord have been the order of the day in these countries. The disparities in the colonial agreement regulating the sharing of the river’s water have to be corrected for peace and stability to be achieved in the basin. Aggrieved countries have argued out their case on the basis that the Nile is the sole renewable water resource. Misuse of water through inefficient application and irrigation has added to the problem of water insecurity. The internal and regional conflicts and instability have not helped the situation either. Despite all these challenges, there is room for diplomacy and planning to avert the threat of conflict from this standstill. A number of experts have proposed measures to address the challenges, some of which include the efficient utilization of the water (Kibaroğlu, 2013, pp. 107). To better understand the issue of water scarcity in the Nile basin, it is important to first understand the demographics of the countries within the region. It is estimated that about 40% of the total African population live in the basin. Statistics show that the percentage will increase to more than a half of the total population in the next ten years. The increase in population means that the available per capita volume of water will decrease owing to increased demand for the scarce water (Vajpeyi, 2012, pp 72). Because most of the people in the Nile basin are moving to urban towns, the stress on the available water is expected to increase. This change is because people in urban areas tend to consume more water than their rural counterparts. The value of the Nile basin and the scarcity of water in the region have guaranteed a continuation of conflict over the utilization of the water. These conflicts date back to the biblical era of Pharaoh continued during colonialism and are present even in modern time. Initially, the Nile River was some form of copyright for the Egyptians and even represents a cultural symbol to them. Egypt has always been worried over the prospects of the water ceasing to reach the country and has over time fought wars to guarantee its flow (Choukr-allah, 2012, pp. 38). It has, for example, invaded Sudan many times including during the rule of Queen Sheba. It is during colonialism that the current agreement on the sharing of the Nile’s water was signed. The significance of the water to the development of the Egypt colony led Britain into signing an agreement with Ethiopia to guarantee the river’s flow. The 1959 agreement allocated the river’s waters to Egypt and Sudan, with Egypt getting the larger share. The agreement signed in 1959 is a major catalyst for the conflict that is witnessed today over the sharing of the water from River Nile. Egypt was to abstract about 69% percent of the total outflow of the river while Sudan was to get the remaining 31%. The two countries were wise and cunning, enough to dissuade other countries from making claims to the water resource. This was effectively done by making the deal a shareholding such that any country laying claim would be paid in the shares of the two nations. This agreement was signed without the consultation or involvement of neither Ethiopia nor Burundi – the two major contributing countries. Other countries in the East African region were also not consulted yet they lie in the same Nile basin. This noninvolvement has led to the invalidation of the agreement by most states in the region on the grounds that they were not consulted. The countries have been pushing for fresh renegotiations to be conducted to ensure that the resource is shared out equitably. The agreement gives an unfair advantage to the two countries on the development ladder because they end up having more resources than the other competing countries. The dams constructed in both Egypt and Sudan at the Aswan and Roseires dams respectively, ensure that hydroelectric power generation is sustained. It is estimated that about 80% of Sudan’s electricity comes from the projects initiated along the River Nile basin. The same hydro-electric water is then channeled for irrigation in large scale plantations whose produce is exported to other countries (Melesse, 2014, pp. 53). The electricity generated is also sold to other nations in Africa yet the resource used in generating the electricity should be benefitting all the countries. Complaints from countries such as Ethiopia over the use of the waters have been met with counter arguments stating that the agreement is irrevocable. In 1990, for example, Egypt blocked a loan from African Development Bank extended to Ethiopia. The reasons for this cancellation were that the project would have cut the Nile’s flow into Egypt. There have been countless, and successful, attempts to bar Ethiopia from the negotiation table over the use of the water. The two states, Egypt, and Sudan, have always maintained that Ethiopia can solely sustain its population using rain-fed agriculture. This assertion is a total fallacy because, in truth, the country experiences drought induced famines successively. These famines have been a common occurrence over the last thirty to forty years. Moreover, on the world map, Ethiopia remains as one of the poorest countries crippled by food insecurity. The argument that the country can support its population growth using the prescribed rain fed agriculture is, therefore, null and void. This is regardless of the fact that it is greatly endowed with natural resources and the potential for agricultural productivity. Despite the availability of these vast acres of arable land, Ethiopia has not been able to develop due to the limited potential for irrigation. It has actually only been able to develop about 3% of its hydroelectric and irrigation projects from its Nile water share. While a solution from Ethiopia’s food shortage would be irrigation of more land, Egypt feels threatened by this potential demand increase for water (Alsharhan, 2003, pp. 95). The political relations between countries in the Nile basin influence the negotiations and agreements over the utilization of the Nile water to a large extent. For instance, Egypt has invested heavily in stabilizing Sudan because inter-ethnic wars in Sudan could pose a threat to the current utilization patterns. Attempts have been made by African countries to increase cooperation with respect to the conflicts over the Nile River. In 1999, a joint mechanism was adopted for cooperation pending the eventual formulation of a permanent solution. Despite these advances, a solution doesn’t seem forthcoming in the immediate future because affected countries have stood their grounds and refused to renegotiate further. Theoretically, international waters, whether rivers or lakes, should be shared equitably among the countries within the water basin. International laws dictate that for global peace to be sustained, the interests of these countries should be addressed rationally. However, the negotiations over the distribution of the water from the Nile have been hit by legal hitches because of certain clauses in international law that favor the holders of previous agreements. For example, the application of the international guidelines is restricted to cases where no bilateral agreements are being enforced at the period of the conflict. It is indisputable that the Nile Basin poses a major threat to the water security of many countries in the Eastern Africa region. It is both a ticking time bomb and a double edged sword. If not resolved, many countries might go to war as they fight over the control of this water. Some militia groups are also bound to emerge as communities brace themselves against neighboring communities. Another scenario would be the eruption of violence if the agreements are renegotiated and more countries allocated usage rights of the river (Mohamoda, 2003, pp. 71). The Egypt economy would literally fall if even half of the water they receive was channeled elsewhere. This might turn out catastrophic as livelihoods are affected and might lead to the eruption of violence pitting Egypt against other countries. The solution to the issue of water security in the region must, therefore, be as holistic as possible to inculcate different interest groups. References ADAR, K. G., & CHECK, N. A. (2011). Cooperative diplomacy, regional stability and national interests: the Nile River and the Riparian States. Pretoria, Africa Institute of South Africa. ADVANCING COOPERATION IN THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS REGION (CONFERENCE), KIBAROĞLU, A., KIRSCHNER, A. J., MEHRING, S., & WOLFRUM, R. (2013). Water law and cooperation in the Euphrates-Tigris region: a comparative and interdisciplinary approach. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10757048. ALSHARHAN, A. S., & WOOD, W. W. (2003). Water resources perspectives evaluation, management and policy. Amsterdam, Elsevier. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10203560. CHOUKR-ALLAH, R., RAGAB, R., & RODRÍGUEZ-CLEMENTE, R. (2012). Integrated water resources management in the Mediterranean Region dialogue towards new strategy. Dordrecht, Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4756-2. JACOBS, I. M. (2012). The politics of water in Africa: norms, environmental regions and transboundary cooperation in the Orange-Senqu and Nile rivers. London [etc.], Continuum. KIDD, M., FERIS, L., MUROMBO, T., & IZA, A. O. (2014). Water and the law toward sustainability. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=926091. MELESSE, A. M., ABTEW, W., & SETEGN, S. G. (2014). Nile River Basin: ecohydrological challenges, climate change and hydropolitics. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=701355. MOHAMODA, D. Y. (2003). Nile Basin cooperation: a review of the literature. Uppsala, Nordiska Afrika institute. VAJPEYI, D. K. (2012). Water resource conflicts and international security: a global perspective. Lanham, Md, Lexington Books. Read More