Water and Politics

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

  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

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

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