From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Jul 28 2009 - 05:17:56 EDT
Egypt says historic Nile River rights not negotiable
Jul 28, 2009 12:47pm EDT
By <http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=Maha.El>
Maha El Dahan
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt is working alongside other Nile Basin
countries to reach a framework on use of river water for all states but will
not compromise its historic rights, the country's water minister said on
Monday.
Under a 1929 agreement, heavyweight Egypt has the right to veto projects
upstream on the Nile that would affect its water share of 55.5 billion cubic
meters a year, the lion's share of the river's total flow of around 84
billion cubic meters.
Nile Basin countries have been eager for a more equitable distribution of
river water to support power generation projects and agricultural growth.
But with agriculture accounting for 83.3 percent of Egypt's water
consumption in the fiscal year 2007/08, securing water is vital for the
country's food security. Egypt has been cutting down on water-consuming
crops such as rice, an Egyptian export, in order to save water.
Water Minister Mohamed Nasreddin Allam said it did not matter if other Nile
Basin countries were not convinced of the rights given to Egypt, the most
populous Arab country, in previous agreements.
"It doesn't matter if they are convinced. It matters that we are convinced,"
Allam told reporters on the sidelines of the 17th meeting of water ministers
of the Nile Basin Initiative.
The 1929 agreement was signed between Egypt and Great Britain, which at the
time was acting on behalf of its east African colonies. The 1959 Egypt,
<http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/sudan> Sudan agreement acts as a
supplement to the previous accord and gives Egypt the right to 55.5 billion
cubic meters of Nile water a year.
RESENTMENT
Both agreements have created resentment among other Nile states and calls
for changes to the pact, resisted by Egypt.
A meeting of Nile Basin water ministers that took place in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo in May fell through when Egypt refused to sign a new
framework governing the Nile River.
"The main hurdle is water security and the historic rights of Egypt and
<http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/sudan> Sudan," Allam said.
The World Bank and other donor countries to the Nile Basin Initiative, a
cooperative commission formed in 1999 bringing together nine Nile states,
sent a letter on June 29 to all relevant parties expressing concern with the
outcome of the Kinshasa meeting.
"The first inclusive Nile agreement is close to being fully realized," David
Grey, senior water adviser at the World Bank, said in opening remarks at the
conference. "But there is a difficult issue to be resolved," he said,
without elaborating.
Egypt, with a population of close to 77 million people, lies below the water
poverty line of 1,000 cubic meters per capita per year at around 800 cubic
meters per capita per year.
Egypt has said its water needs would surpass its resources by 2017. The
North African country is heavily dependent on the Nile River, which
comprises around 87 percent of its total water resources as it has little
rainfall.
"We can't fix everything in one day. An agreement for all basin countries
will take time, so we have to have patience but I'm sure there will be a
solution," Allam said.
(Editing by James Jukwey)
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