Water, say some experts, is a much more likely reason for countries to go to war than oil, and in the largely arid countries along the river Nile in northeastern Africa, the lack of water risks bringing neighbours dangerously close to armed conflict.
The Nile, the world’s longest river and in principle the base on which the Egyptian civilisation was founded, is becoming a source of serious disagreement between countries situated along the river or its tributaries.
Egypt is the greatest user of the Nile waters and has been able to irrigate large parts of land to feed its people.
A treaty from 1929, between Egypt and the then colonial power Britain, made sure no other countries along the river were allowed to use the water for irrigation or power generation.
But the treaty is being increasingly contested. A German organisation, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, said recently that the treaty must be regarded as obsolete, and only post-colonial agreements can be considered valid.
That is good news for Ethiopia. The source of the Blue Nile is Lake Tana in the northwestern part of the country. But so far, Ethiopia has used almost nothing of the river, despite frequent droughts which leave millions of people hungry.
Now, Ethiopia wants to irrigate the Blue Nile, saying it could help to make the country less dependent on foreign food aid.
But Egypt is unwilling to give up its 1929 claim on the Nile’s waters, saying it is needed for its own booming population.
”The disagreement between Egypt and Ethiopia proves that tensions exist and that they cannot be ignored. Egypt must be made to understand the importance of sharing [the water]”, said Bertrand Charrier, Vice President of Green Cross International.
The former United Nations secretary general, Egyptian Boutros Boutros Ghali, went a step further in an interview with the BBC recently, saying that military confrontation between the countries of the Nile basin was almost inevitable unless they start sharing the water equitably.
Other countries, such as Tanzania and Kenya, bordering Lake Victoria — the source of the White Nile — have also started pressing for a greater share of the water.
Booming populations in the region as well as the spread of the Sahara desert are two reasons the strain on the existing local water resources are becoming more apparent, making governments looking to the Nile for securing future needs.
The Green Cross International, an environmental organisation chaired by former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, says an international water convention is needed to ensure the world’s water resources are properly managed.
”There are so many actors in the water sector, the UN, the private and public sectors. It is very complex and there is no coordination. We need an international law. The goodwill of governments is not enough”, said Bertrand Charrier.
The Green Cross says that ”the only practical way of redressing the water crisis is through the consolidation of civil society and the creation of a legally binding mechanism for resolving all water- related issues”. – Sapa-DPA