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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Thu Jul 22 2010 - 22:04:24 EDT
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/egypt/turbulence-on-africa-s-river-of-life-1.656785
Turbulence
on Africa's river of life
Five nations on the continent have signed an agreement for equitable sharing
of the waters of the Nile, which has set them on a collision course with
Egypt and Sudan
- By Raghda El Halawany, Special to Weekend Review
- Published: 00:00 July 23, 2010
For almost 10,000 years, the Nile River never lost its charm and vitality
to Egyptians. In the same way that their ancestors appreciated and
worshipped the river, modern Egyptians still consider the Nile to be the
fundamental pillar for sustaining life and existence in general.
In a desert region, where it rains only a couple of times a year, the
longest river in the world presents a consistent source of water that helps
sustain life by providing water for agriculture and drinking. Its also acts
as the wellspring of one of the greatest civilisations in human history.
However, the fact that Egypt had long taken for granted — that the Nile will
always flow through their lands — may now, more than ever, face a dramatic
shift.
Five African countries have recently signed a treaty stating the equitable
sharing of the waters of the Nile among all ten Nile-basin countries.
The Ugandan town of Entebbe witnessed a historic move when Ethiopia, Kenya,
Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania agreed on a new framework to share the Nile's
waters more fairly, which will place them on a serious collision course with
their northern neighbours Egypt and Sudan.
*Optimistic outlook*
Despite the strong opposition from downstream countries, the other three
Nile-basin countries Kenya, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo are
expected to sign within the 12 months allowed by the accord.
Ethiopia's Water Resources Minister Asfaw Dingamo said the new agreement
promises a win-win outcome and benefits for the Nile-basin states, including
Egypt and Sudan. He said the agreement will ensure sustainable development
of the shared water resources of the Nile.
"We are sad that the ceremony has taken place in the absence of our brothers
from Egypt and Sudan," Dingamo said. "It was unfortunate that they have
refused to sign the agreement but we still encourage them to join as we move
forward."
Egypt bases its resistance to any new deal on the two agreements that took
place in 1929 and 1959 — which still stand valid under international law —
that guarantee Egypt preferential rights to use 55.5 billion cubic metres of
the Nile's total 84 billion cubic metres water a year.
But most of the countries in the Nile basin no longer consent to these
agreements, arguing that the 1929 and 1959 agreements are outdated
colonial-era arrangements that need to be revised because they were drafted
by foreign powers which had their own interests at heart.
The modern history of the Nile conflict began with the 20th century, as
Britain was quick to realise the importance the river would have for their
colonies in Africa. So many bilateral treaties were concluded between Egypt,
Britain and other powers between 1885 and the Second World War to regulate
the utilisation of the waters of the Nile.
At that time, the Nile basin was under the sovereignty of foreign, mainly
European, powers. So they committed themselves to respect Egypt's prior
"natural and historical" rights to the Nile waters, which Egypt asserted.
Ambassador Abdul Rahman Salah, the former foreign minister assistant, told
Weekend Review that in 1929, an agreement was signed between Egypt and the
colonial British Sudan which stated that the English acknowledged Egypt's
natural and historical right to safeguard the Nile.
"In addition to that, there were several other terms that were subsequently
agreed upon within the treaty.
"First, Egypt reserves the right to use all of the Nile's waters during the
dry seasons. Second, Egypt could veto any Nile construction or take down any
irrigation process that may affect Egyptian interests," he said.
But the African outlook has changed completely since the Second World War.
Most of the territories in the Nile basin have changed sovereignty, with
many acquiring full statehood as a result of wide decolonisation.
Subsequently, these "newly formed" states refused to be bound by old
treaties — which were purportedly concluded on their behalf — as they
thought these could no longer reflect the priorities and strategic interests
of many of the upper-riparian states that regarded access to the Nile waters
as a natural right and a prerequisite for development.
Uganda's Minister for Water Jennifer Namuyangu says discussions that are on
now represent a great opportunity for countries such as Uganda to correct a
historical anomaly.
"Uganda will not accept a lopsided pact over the use of the Nile," she says.
"Now, after 40 years, Egypt and Sudan still stand by these agreements, which
present a problem to the remaining eight riparian states badly in need of
the Nile's water, especially since the population is doubling. Most regional
development opportunities depend on this water."
Although being generally associated with Egypt, only 22 per cent of the
6,670-kilometre-long Nile runs through the country, with the rest of the
river being shared between nine other countries — Burundi, Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. The three million square kilometres the basin covers makes up
about 10 per cent of the African continent.
Finding the exact source of the Nile is a difficult task, though Lake
Victoria, Africa's biggest, is generally thought to be it. The northern edge
of the lake is surrounded by mountains, with waterfall streams tumbling down
into the lake.
The largest tributary of Lake Victoria, the Kagera River, with its
headwaters in Burundi, is now considered to be the true source of the Nile.
It is from here that the Nile is measured to be the longest in the world.
The Nile is formed from two main streams, the Blue Nile and the White Nile.
The latter originates in Lake Victoria and is a lot bigger than the Blue
Nile but because of losses along the way, it only contributes about 15 per
cent to the flow of the river. The remaining 85 per cent is contributed by
the Blue Nile, which originates in Lake Tana in Ethiopia and flows into
Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital of
Khartoum, after which it flows to the Mediterranean through Egypt.
Approximately 160 million people depend on the Nile for their livelihood and
about 300 million people live in the ten basin countries. Estimates indicate
that the region's population will double in the next 25 years, adding to the
demand for water, the constant threat of droughts and pollution from
land-use activities, which affects the quality of water.
Economic expert Mokhtar Shrief said the issue of the Nile is not only
economically important to Egypt but also a matter of national security.
"The status quo reflects the exact usage of Nile resources. Egypt is almost
completely dependent on the river — 95 per cent of the water it needs comes
from the Nile. Without it, Egypt would be nothing less than a desert. But
other countries in the region are not as dependent on the Nile — Ethiopia,
which leads the campaign, uses about 2 per cent, Kenya, Tanzania, 3 per cent
and 1 per cent of the Congo, Burundi, as intense rainfall in these countries
reduces the reliance on the Nile's water.
"However, that is not the case in Sudan, which relies on the Nile for 18.5
billion cubic metres of water — and this figure is likely to swell in the
coming years because of the many hydropower and irrigation projects on the
river banks.
"So immediately after its independence, Sudan renegotiated the use of the
Nile waters with Egypt. The 1959 agreement between Sudan and Egypt detailed
the control the countries would have over the Nile. The two countries agreed
to give Egypt access to more than 67 per cent of the waters, with Sudan
gaining access to 25 per cent. In addition to that, it allowed both
countries the right to construct the Aswan and the Rosaries dams. However,
the agreement did not allow other countries to embark on any large-scale
development project without Cairo's permission.
"In reality, the failure of negotiations did not come as a surprise because
the crisis has been bubbling under the surface for a while. A number of
ministers from these countries have been calling for a review of the
agreement," said Jamal Soltan, head of the Al Ahram Centre for Political and
Strategic Studies.
"Egypt's diplomacy is to be blamed for the inefficient relations with the
other countries in the Nile basin. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Africa
represented the real backyard for the Arab world and cooperation took on
several forms — to the extent that during the time Jamal Abdul Nasser was in
power, most of the African countries saw Egypt as the heart of the
continent. But now, in some parts of Africa, Egypt is even considered a
foreign country," Soltan said.
In the past two decades, the Arab world has drowned in a sea of problems and
conflicts and this has decreased its interest in sub-Saharan Africa. Egypt,
in particular, has distanced itself from Africa and the countries in the
Nile basin by de-prioritising them. As soon as the African neighbourhood's
fascination with Egypt's regional status, cultural precedents and
developmental role ended, ties with Cairo started being governed solely out
of interest.
On the other hand, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abul Geit said in an
interview on Egyptian television that "it is a pity that some people believe
that Egypt does not exist in the African continent. People who hold such
beliefs need to know that Egypt has the largest diplomatic presence in
Africa, as it operates 52 embassies and missions across the continent."
Geit has denied reports that Egypt has shifted its interest from the south
to the north, as Egypt plays an important peace-making role not only in the
Middle East but also on the African continent.
Egypt has helped resolve conflicts and provided humanitarian aid on numerous
occasions. It has also provided military assistance and training to a number
of African countries with the aim to bolster security and stability. In
addition, it is one of five member countries of the African Union that have
pledged to pay the maximum member rate of 15 per cent of the entire union's
budget.
Dr Mohammad Abdul Salam, professor of international law, told Weekend
Review: "To understand the Nile's position in Egyptian life, we should see
it through the eyes of the ancients. The Egyptians had a relatively
matter-of-fact attitude towards the river, as their entire civilisation has
grown up on the banks of the river.
"In ancient Egypt the Nile was worshipped as a deity. The deity Hapi, who
came in the shape of a frog, represented the Nile delta. Unlike most other
civilisations, the Egyptians oriented themselves to the south, from where
the river flowed, as they feared that a day may come when the waters of the
Nile would no longer reach their country. People believed that since the
flow of the Nile was so unpredictable, something had to be affecting it."
*Raghda El Halawany is a writer based in Cairo.*
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