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Conclusion

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  The sun sets on the Nile... and this blog series ( Source ) I admit this has been a GERD dominated series, but I hope its been clear why... This is the foremost hyropolitical issue on the African continent that is shaping a new geopolitical landscape.  I hope this series has been an informative journey from why dams are built and their ecological and political consequences, particularly how the GERD is illustrative of how conflict can arise when societies fail to adapt to hydrological changes. The Nile basin is a story of states balancing basic human needs, ecological integrity, transboundary commitments and economic development. At the end of the day decision making in the developing world will favour economic growth, thoughts to political and environment consequences usually come later. Dam building is but one aspect of where a macro political vision exposes the disproportionate voices of water users, triaging the needs of populations and other riparian states. I also acknowledge t
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Cooperation in Drylands: The Nile Basin Initiative

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The 2017 Nile Basin Initiative Heads of State Summit in Kampala ( Source )  The Nile basin is particularly vulnerable to conflict due to the seasonal variability and inconsistent availability of surface water resources, especially in dryland areas in downstream riparians. As such, communities are used to imaginative water management interventions, hence the concentration of significant dam and irrigation schemes. This also encourages knowledge exchange between riparian states. This blog has hinted that transboundary agreements could go some way to improve management and sustainability of water flows in the Nile Basin, of course this is easier said than done. The World Bank concludes that lack of cooperation over management of the Nile has been exacerbated by challenges that already beset the region, further complicate by its the transboundary nature.  I will concede the blog's talk of water wars and political squabbling takes away from the immense efforts riparian states have taken
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Floodplain Wetlands

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Rice cultivation in the Sokoto Valley ( Source ) This blog series is not a case against dam building in the Nile Basin, its too late to back down from the GERD and AHD, but there is a need to further dissect ecosystem impacts and how those become political, particularly when understanding Sudan's more reluctant support for the GERD. Some of the most prominent ecosystems affected are floodplains. After all, one of the primary motivations for dam construction is the reduction in flooding and more consistent river flow to facilitate intensive agriculture.  As with 'Dam Discourse I' this is n ot just a Nile Basin issue, with case studies from around the continent important for understanding the implication of dams on Nile riparians.  The impacts of the Bakolori Dam on the Sokoto Valley in Nigeria is useful for understanding how the GERD is worrying communities downstream in regard to their agricultural practices. Sudan's supposed benefit from the GERD is the  control of flo
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Water Wars II: Conflict in the Nile Basin

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  Disagreements are largely between Egypt and Ethiopia ( Source ) To bring the discourse back from Darfur to the Nile Basin, will the GERD cause a conflict? In 2010, Ahmed al-Mufti, a prominent human rights lawyer and water expert, quit the Sudanese delegation negotiating with Egypt and Ethiopia about the GERD. He has publicly claimed the project " will cause a water war ”. The Nile Basin has been categorised as a basin ' Negotiating Current Conflicts ', as there has not been a situation where riparian states have conflicted at such a large scale before. But, it is worth remembering no two countries (or in this case three) have ever gone to war over water ... yet.    The GERD is a huge source of national pride for Ethiopia and as such it is well prepared to defend its completion ( Source ), reportedly installing anti-aircraft batteries around it. Egypt and Sudan's objections to the dam go far deeper than just hydrological impacts. The GERD represents a geopolitical s
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Water Wars I: The Darfur Conflict

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UN Peacekeepers in Darfur, Sudan ( Source ) “There are layers and layers of conflict, so we started with what they could agree on, and everyone agrees there is a problem with the environment, with water by far the biggest priority”  - Atila Uras , head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Sudan Water conflicts are arise  as communities experience d isruptions over access and distribution of portable water, constraining stakeholders to attempt to obtain or exploit more shared water resources, leading to  diplomatic tension and/or violent conflict.  As discussed in the introductory blog post, the Nile Basin is seen by many political commentators as the breeding ground for a contemporary water conflict , where Ethiopia's building of the GERD is seen as a threat  that can influence the flow of the River Nile's flow, and wield disproportionate economic power by downstream riparians Egypt and Sudan.  However, t his notion that there is a looming conflict should be ap
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Dam Discourse II: The Aswan High Dam

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The Aswan High Dam in operation ( Source ) As discussed in the previous entry, dams face the dichotomy of being exceptional engineering achievements, yet significant environmental and social threats . While the GERD has the most recent publicity in the Nile basin as a significant dam project, the Egyptian Aswan High Dam (AHD) must not be disregarded. Until the GERD, the AHD was the most ambitious infrastructure project in the Nile Basin, cementing Egypt's status as the dominant riparian. In the context of conflict in the region, there is much the three riparians of GERD discourse can learn from, especially Egypt worrying about threats to its physical water flow.   The location of the AHD in Egypt ( Source ) "Truly Egypt is the Nile and the Nile is Egypt" ( Source )  Whenever we think about Egypt, we cannot see it as its outline on a political map, you have to realise 95% of its 105 million population live along the length of Nile . Thus, controlling the waterscape is vita
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Dam Discourse I: Why Build Dams?

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Construction work on the GERD ( Source ) The question must be asked... why are dams such a popular modernisation intervention in Africa? Alongside the GERD, there has been a resurgence of dam construction across the African continent . Dams were popular development solution throughout the 20th Century, bringing the African continent to have the world's largest capacity of large dams. In today's environmental discourse, there is a now a renewed interest from the World Bank to  expand lending for hydropower projects , seeing dams as a balance between low-carbon technology and meeting development needs around energy. It is the particular belief from development agencies that energy is central to countries development needs with hydropower percieved to have considerable potential of providing clean, cheap, and most importantly, dependable electricity to hundreds of millions of people who do not yet have it.  60 million Ethiopians alone lack direct access to electricity , which is
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