A battle for control over the Nile has broken out between Egypt, which regards the world’s longest river as its lifeblood, and the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, which complain that they are denied a fair share of its water.
In the latest escalation in the dispute, which some observers believe could lead to a new conflict in east Africa, Tanzania has announced plans to build a 168km pipeline drawing water from Lake Victoria, which feeds the Nile. The project flouts a treaty giving Egypt a right of veto over any work which might threaten the flow of the river.
The Nile Water Agreement of 1929, granting Egypt the lion’s share of the Nile waters, has been criticised by east African countries as a colonial relic. Under the treaty, Egypt is guaranteed access to 55.5bn cubic metres of water, out of a total of 84bn cubic metres.
The Egyptian water minister, Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, recently described Kenya’s intention to withdraw from the agreement as an ”act of war”. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the former secretary-general of the UN, has predicted that the next war in the region will be over water.
The Nile treaty, which Britain signed on behalf of its east African colonies, forbids any projects that could threaten the volume of water reaching Egypt. The agreement also gives Cairo the right to inspect the entire length of the Nile.
It has been gravely resented by east African countries since they won their independence. Kenya and Tanzania suffer recurrent droughts caused by inadequate rainfall, deforestation and soil erosion. The proposed Lake Victoria pipeline is expected to benefit more than 400 000 people in towns and villages in the arid north-west of Tanzania.
”These are people with no water,” said the Tanzanian water minister, Edward Lowasa. ”How can we do nothing when we have this lake just sitting there?”
The Nile, which is over 6 400km long, is fed by the White Nile, flowing from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile, flowing from Ethiopia.
An estimated 160-million people in 10 countries depend on the river and its tributaries for their livelihoods. Within the next 25 years, the population in the Nile basin is expected to double, and there is a growing demand to harness the river for agricultural and industrial development.
The Ugandan commentator Charles Onyango-Obbo wrote recently: ”Egypt can’t enjoy the benefits of having access to the sea, while blocking a landlocked country like Uganda from profiting from the fact that it sits at the source of the Nile.”
While east African countries are eager to make greater use of the river, Egypt fears any threat to its lifeblood. Most of Egypt’s population lives in the Nile valley – on 4% of the country’s land – and any fall in the water level could be disastrous.
Diplomacy
The Nile treaty was drawn up at a time when Egypt was a British satellite, regarded as strategically crucial by London because of the Suez canal, which controlled access to India.
The agreement is now in effect enforced by international donors, who are reluctant to advance funds for major river projects that will upset Egypt, a key Arab ally of the US in the Middle East.
Sub-Saharan countries cannot match Egypt’s diplomatic clout, but they face a dilemma as a major untapped resource rolls through their territories.
”We have reached a stage where all the Nile basin countries are confronted by domestic development challenges,” said Halifa Drammeh, a deputy director of the United Nations environment programme. ”How many people have access to safe water? How many have access to sanitation?
”There is a tremendous pressure on these governments to sustain the needs of their populations, and to raise their standard of living.
”After all, there is nothing we can do in life without water. Wherever there is sharing, there is potential for conflict.”
Work is due to begin on Tanzania’s pipeline project next month, and it is due to be finished late next year.
The Tanzanian government has said the pipeline is not intended for irrigation, which requires large quantities of water, but for domestic use and livestock. It will initially benefit more than 400 000 people, but this number is expected to rise above 900 000 in the next two decades.
Kenya plans a conference of the Nile basin countries in March to seek a peaceful solution to the dispute. – Guardian Unlimited Â