The problems facing transboundary water management in the Nile and why it's so important

This post should do what my first post did not, which is to discuss the potential problems facing countries which share transboundary water resources and explain why it is important that freshwater resources are evenly distributed among riparian states. This post will focus specifically on the Nile basin.

The Nile river basin is a great example of why transboundary water resources should be distributed fairly across resource sharing nations. Prior to the Entebbe Agreement, which shifted power over the Nile away from Egypt and Sudan, the two countries, but more specifically Egypt had almost complete control over the Nile and its resources (Di Nunzio 2013). This led to stark inequalities in the region. Such inequality can be seen in the map below (figure 1) which demonstrates the wealth of Nile Basin nations. It is clear to see that the most economically developed country is Egypt, followed by Sudan, due to the previous monopoly over the Nile. As a result economic development in countries nearest to the source was limited, as these countries could not utilise the potential of the water resources.

(Figure 1)

The Nile's other riparian states also suffered discrimination in the sense that their freshwater accessibility was being determined by another state, which may not consider their interests at all, threatening water security even further.

Following the Entebbe Agreement, Egypt has very little option but to peacefully cooperate with other Nile nations to avert a serious water scarcity crisis, especially due to its high dependence on the Nile. It is estimated that Egypt relies upon the Nile for 97% of its water needs and with its previous overuse of resources and increasing population (Rahman 2011), its dependency on the Nile may increase further in the future. It is not just Egypt, however, that relies heavily upon the river. The Nile's flowing waters is the most important source of freshwater for the entire Nile basin with over 200 million of the basin's 450 million population directly relying on the river for food and water security (Di Nunzio 2013). It is therefore imperative that the Nile Nations manage the Nile cooperatively and in a manner that benefits all parties.

However, there are problems associated with successful cooperation over the management of transboundary water resources. For example often states act in their own interests. In recent years several upstream nations such as Ethiopia and Uganda have experienced population and economic growth, which has resulted in the development of infrastructure along the Nile,  including irrigation networks and dams (Di Nunzio 2013). The current construction of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is one such example. When it is finished in 2017 it will be Africa's largest hydro-electric dam and will produce enough electricity for domestic use and to sell to several African countries including potentially Egypt. Egypt's claim to the Nile stems from colonial treaties and agreements dating back to almost 100 years ago. In 1929 Britain and Egypt signed a water agreement giving Egypt absolute control over the Nile, including one clause that gave Egypt the power to reject and prohibit any construction project in the Nile basin (Rahman 2011). The fact that Egypt uses dated treaties such as this to legitimise its claim to the Nile is part of the problem of implementing effective transboundary water management.

Longstanding inter-state disagreements surrounding the control of the nile has caused serious tension in the region which has the potential to lead to conflict. Even as early as 1988 Egypt's foreign minister stated that the River Nile would cause Egypt's next war. Indeed former vice-president of the world bank Ismail Serageldin stated that the wars of the 21st century would be fought over water (1995). Although talk of conflict may seem extreme, given the political instability of the African continent as a whole, as well as potential instability in the Nile basin, conflict over freshwater resources must be seen as a realistic possibility. Especially given that climate change may exacerbate the water scarcity situation in the region.