RICCARDO M. GALANTE

PROF. MARCO SCARAMASTRA

FINAL PROJECT

INDEX

NILE WATER

IMPORTANCE OF WATER

THE HISTORY OF WATER

OUR WATER TODAY

WHAT CHOICES HAVE WE GOT?

THE NILE BASIN COUNTRIES

ANNUAL FRESHWATER WITHDRAWALS, AGRICULTURE

ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION FROM HYDROELECTRIC SOURCES

ELECTRIC POWER CONSUMPTION

GEOPOLITICS

HISTORICAL BACK GROUND

DIVISION

CONFLICT

COOPERATION

THE IMPORTANCE OF WATERWith two thirds of the earth's surface covered by water and the human body consisting of 75 percent of it, it is evidently clear that water is one of the prime elements responsible for life on earth. Water circulates through the land just as it does through the human body, transporting, dissolving, and replenishing nutrients and organic matter, while carrying away waste material. Further in the body, it regulates the activities of fluids, tissues, cells, lymph, blood and glandular secretions.

An average adult body contains 42 litres of water and with just a small loss of 2.7 litres he or she can suffer from dehydration, displaying symptoms of irritability, fatigue, nervousness, dizziness, weakness, headaches and consequently reach a state of pathology. Dr F. Batmanghelidj, in his book 'your body's many cries for water', gives a wonderful essay on water and its vital role in the health of a water 'starved' society. He writes: "Since the 'water' we drink provides for cell function and its volume requirements, the decrease in our daily water intake affects the efficiency of cell activity........as a result chronic dehydration causes symptoms that equal disease..."

THE HISTORY OF WATER

Water has been used since antiquity as a symbol by which to express devotion and purity. Some cultures, like the ancient Greeks, went as far as to worship gods who were thought to live in and command the waters. Whole cities have been build by considering the location and availability of pure drinking water. The place of gathering was around the wells, which is perhaps the following trend in building fountains in the middle of piazzas.

Traditional and modern medicine have been makings use of the psychological and physiological diverse properties of water, in all forms of hydrotherapy (composite Greek word: hydro, of water and therapy. We all know of the simple, yet effective, calming qualities of a warm bath or the invigorating qualities of a cold shower. For centuries, numerous healing springs located all around the world have been recognised for their benefits. The famous Belgium spas in the Ardennes is a fine example. Historical records of these cold springs claim 'cures' since the fourteenth century. The hot Californian spas, the healing spas of Loutraki in Greece, the Dalhousie hot springs in the border of South Australia and Northern Territory, Moree in NSW, Hepburn mineral spas in Victoria are just a few examples.

OUR WATER TODAY

Contrary to the past, our recent developed technological society has become indifferent to this miracle of life. Our natural heritage (rivers, seas and oceans) has been exploited, mistreated and contaminated.

The population decline of the marine and riparian life, the appearance of green algae in the rivers and the stench and slime that comes as a result of putrefaction in the water, are clear signs of the depth and extent of disruption that has been caused to this intricate ecosystem (a composite Greek word: eco, home and systema, a combination of things or parts forming a complex or unitary whole).

Government bodies and water authorities will have us believe that it is 'safe' and we should not worry about this global alarm. Awareness and action lies entirely upon us, as we need to become our own educators, physicians and innovators. Socrates had once said: "an unexamined life is not worth living....", Jesus took it a step further: "seek, and you shall find......the truth shall set you free..." So questioning everything and anything that anyone tells you until it makes sense, is of uppemost importance.

WHAT CHOICES HAVE WE GOT?

Dr Batmanghelidj talks about the shrinking of the vital organs due to insufficient hydration. Dr Bragg postulates how inorganic minerals in water turns people into 'stones' and advises the use of pure water. John Archer alarms of the dangers and condition of public (sewage) water.

“You are what you drink so make sure what you drink is pure”

Ten years ago the prospect of drinking only purified or bottled water was a fiction, or a novelty for most people. Nowadays, it is becoming a necessity in maintaining and preserving good health. Finding pure water is becoming more than just food for thought and with our brain being 85 percent water, we better start thinking of the choices. It is my opinion and as well of others that tap water should not be drunk at all if other sources are available. However, if tap water is your only option, then boil the water for a few minutes, expose it to the sun for a while in a clear glass container and then aerate it by pouring it back and forth from one container to another. Keep in mind that boiling will only kill bacteria and that harmful chemicals and minerals will still remain in the water.

THE NILE

The Nile (Arabic: an-Nīl; Ancient Egyptian: Iteru Coptic Egyptian: P(h)iaro; Amharic: ʿAbbai) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is 6,853 km (4,258 miles) long. The Nile is an “international” river as its water resources are shared by eleven countries, namely, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt. In particular, the Nile is the primary water resource and life artery for Egypt and Sudan.

-Blue & White-

The Nile has two major tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile. The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa, with the most distant source still undetermined but located in either Rwanda or Burundi. It flows north through Tanzania, Lake Victoria, Uganda and South Sudan. The Blue Nile is the source of most of the water and fertile soil. It begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia at 12°02′09″N 037°15′53″E and flows into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.

The northern section of the river flows almost entirely through desert, from Sudan into Egypt, a country

whose civilization has depended on the river since ancient times. Most of the population and cities of Egypt

lie along those parts of the Nile valley north of Aswan, and nearly all the cultural and historical sites of

Ancient Egypt are found along riverbanks. The Nile ends in a large delta that empties into the Mediterranean

Sea.

Nile Delta

Annual freshwater withdrawals, agriculture (% of total freshwater

withdrawal)

Electricity production from

hydroelectric sources

(% of total)

Electric power consumption (kWh per capita)

Annual freshwater withdrawals refer to total water withdrawals, not counting evaporation losses from storage basins. Withdrawals also include water from desalination plants in countries where they are a significant source. Withdrawals can exceed 100 percent of total renewable resources where extraction from nonrenewable aquifers or desalination plants is considerable or where there is significant water reuse. Withdrawals for agriculture are total withdrawals for irrigation and livestock production.

Sources of electricity refer to the inputs used to generate electricity. Hydropower refers to electricity produced by hydroelectric power plants.

Electric power consumption measures the production of power plants and combined heat and power plants less transmission, distribution, and transformation losses and own use by heat and power plants.

http://data.worldbank.org

Historical Back Ground

Treaties

This regional issue over domination of the river has deeper

roots which could be linked to the colonial era, where the

British played a major role in affirming their hegemony

over the Nile. In fact, British “waterlordism”, as Arsano

describes it (Arsano, 2011 pp.2-4), started in 1891 with the

Anglo-Italian Protocol demarcating the respective spheres

of influence, and culminated in 1906 with the tripartite

agreement between Great Britain, France and Italy, where

the latter two countries ceded the commercial rights of the

Nile basin to the British administration. A further

confirmation of British hegemony is testified to by another

inter-colonial agreement signed by King Leopold II of

Belgium (colonial ruler of Congo) and Great Britain. One

of the most relevant agreements, which is still under

debate, is the Anglo-Egyptian agreement of the 1929. After

Egyptian independence in 1922, the High Commissioner of

Great Britain in Cairo conferred the ‘historical and

natural rights’ of Egypt over the Nile. Though Britain

revealed concerns is with the other European powers when

they bestowed these rights to Egypt, the British did not

bother to consult any of the other Nile basin countries.

The most controversial agreement was signed in 1959

between Egypt and Sudan, which gained

independence from Great Britain 1956. Under this

agreement, Sudan was allowed to use 18.5 bcm

(billion cubic meters), of Nile water annually,

however, this bilateral agreement did not include or

take into consideration the other upstream countries.

As a result, Ethiopia has always denied the validity of

this treaty and even the United Kingdom, which was

still ruling over Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda,

criticized the Egyptian-Sudanese accord. After their

independence, these countries refused to recognize

any treaty on water management signed during the

colonial era. The so-called Neyerere Doctrine (named

after Julius Nyerere, the first prime minister and later

president of Tanzania) took its inspiration, rejecting

any obligations that might be construed from the 1929

Agreement which it describes as ‘a living ghost’.

Division

Disagreement about

management of the Nile has

basically divided North-

African Egypt and Sudan

against a coalition of more

Southern-African states.

Indeed, two major political

streams, and alliances,

emerged due to the need to

reassign the commercial

rights connected to the

energy resources of the Nile.

The first side is formed by Sudan and Egypt, which has traditionally held control over the energy. This

is a commercial bond bored on the support that Egypt provides to Sudan’s political elite. In return for

this political support, Sudan acquiesces with Egyptian hydro-hegemony. The opposing party is formed

by all other countries which have so far been prevented from benefiting from the Nile because of their

systematic exclusion from all significant commercial treaties in the river’s area. These include nation-

states like Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Rwanda, which could finally see a chance to get their share of

the profits (Salman, 2011).

The power relation among countries in the same basin is a delicate one, where the upstream ones use

water to get more power while the downstreamers use their power to get more water. In the specific case

of the Nile, the hegemony of Egypt and the special interest of some upstream countries, like Uganda and

Ethiopia, are at the core of a silent conflict. A fundamental explanation to the current situations is that

“the absence of war does not mean the absence of conflict” (Zeitum, Warner, 2006). Another important

theory that explain the power relation of the hydro-hegemonic country is in identify two types of forms: a

‘negative’ or a ‘positive’, but in both cases it will be the main actor to benefit. The ‘negative’ one is to

exercise a superior power or dominant imposition, while the ‘positive’ one is to adapt a form of

leadership, granting benefits to all riparian states. The negative and dominative form, in a scenario

where the weaker states are denied of their rights to the water or the partitions of the water are

inequitable, the level of conflict will inevitably arise.

This negative outcome of hydro-hegemony has allowed Egypt to

maintain is hegemonic position, even though the upstream

country refused the validity of this bilateral accord. In order to

ensure power position countries may use international support,

which is a useful source of power. It is efficient in securing access

to regional or international funds for water infrastructure or

enjoying a favored political position globally which may result in

a favorable position in the competition over water. Egyptian has

played this card during the colonial era with the British Empire

and more recently is using its favored position of alliance with

the US in order to have more influence over regional disputes.

An important aspect of the silent conflict over water

disputes is the lack of international law. The main sources

are the customary international water law and the

definitions of “equitable and reasonable use” as defined by

the 1997 United Nations Convention on the Non-

Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UN ILC,

1997). However, in more complicated cases such as the Nile

one, the lack or no universally recognized international law

is the major obstacle to problem solving, especially when

national interest is the key driver of water politics. Even

though the literature on water wars is skeptic about the

possibility of a declaration of war only for water matters, the

authors provide tactics, including examples, in case a

country alters the flows of a river. The possible scenarios

are the use of military force, covert-action, and coercion-

pressure. The military force is the last option that a country

would undertake in case of imbalances in the distribution of

water.

ConflictThe military force is the last option that a country would undertake in case of imbalances in the distribution of water. However, as in the conflict between Syria and Israel, the bombing of a dam is a possible scenario. Covert operations are an efficient tool. It aims at weakening the competitor, through destabilizing the political equilibrium of the opponent country. An example is the Egyptian support of the Eritrean Liberation Front and the Somali irredentism in order to weaken the Ethiopian side. In addition to the above two more extreme forms, a more diplomatic strategy can be adopt in order to achieve water control. It is the coercion pressure, in which one country uses military threats, economic sanctions or political isolation in order to force the opponents to drop their claims (Zeitoun, Warner 2006). In August 1994, Egypt planned an air raid on a construction of a dam in Sudan which resulted in the project being canceled. In 1995 tensions increased due to an attempt to assassinate president Mubarak of Egypt.

In addition, Egypt blocked an African Development Bank loan to Ethiopia for a project which would have increased Ethiopian utilization of the Nile water, affecting its flow with negative consequences for the downstream countries like Egypt.In the rare occasion when a country has constructed a dam or started any hydro-project, it has been a cause of military threat and political tension with Egypt. A specific example is the Ethiopian’s Renaissance Dam which is still under debate. On the whole, however, Egypt has been able to block any attempt by other countries to build dams that would reduce Egypt’s own hydro-electric capabilities. This balance of power, dominated by Egypt seems likely to continue but in a less hostile and more cooperative configuration.

CooperationThrough game theory is possible to interpret the behaviors of the actors and the possible outcomes, using both cooperative and non-cooperative game theory. In a standard game, players usually make decisions in order to achieve their goals, maximizing payoffs and anticipating the other player’s decisions. The author provides several games. In the Prisoner’s dilemma example of the two farmers, the relevant aspect is the lack of trust which drives the players in an increase in exploitation of water (Madani, 2009). However, this only maximizes the short-run profits and provokes the Hardin’s tragedy of the commons, where players will face scarcity of natural resources and the impossibility of exploiting it. This problem could be avoided in the evolution of the game. The new structure of the game includes that the experiment is repeated many times, communication between players is allowed and players trust each other. In addition, it suggests that for a higher level of trust and cooperation a third party or a regulating agency supervises the decisions and ensures penalties for defection from cooperation. The resulting strategy would be a cooperative one and players would abandon the non-cooperative strategy (Madani, 2009). A practical example applicable to the Nile basin countries is the creation of the Nile Basin Initiative, which increasing trust and cooperation may lead to a solution to the conflict over the Nile. During these talks Egypt was able to impose his agenda on the other states, showing his dominant position of hegemony over the Nile hydro-politics. As Amdetsion (2012) argues, water interests are underestimated; they have influenced the past regional relations and inevitably will play a major role in the future of the Nile basin. An attempt at a peaceful solution was the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), which started in 1999, where for the first time all riparian countries gathered together. The NBI in cooperation with the World Bank promotes projects throughout the region.

“Peace Through Cooperation”