Water Dispute Between Egypt and Ethiopia THE NILE

Water Dispute Between Egypt and Ethiopia

THE NILE

THE NILE ➔ Nile River is located in the northeast Africa ➔ It is the longest river in Africa which is about 6, 695 kilometers (4, 160 miles) ➔ Nile is the primary water source to Egypt and Sudan. ➔ Its drainage basin includes 11 countries such us: Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Egypt and the Republic of Sudan. ➔ Its major tributaries are the White Nile( located in Rwanda and Burundi) and the Blue Nile( located in Ethiopia specifically Lake Tana) however the blue Nile contains 85% of the water source.

WHY IS THE NILE SO IMPORTANT TO THE EGYPTIAN ECONOMY? ➔ The Nile River provided fertile soil for the Egyptians since most ancient Egyptians were farmers. ➔ The Nile River floods every year, leaving very rich silt behind and therefore it allowed the farmers to grow many crops. ➔ The Nile River was also used for trade, transportation and food as people could send the crops and other products by boat along the Nile River, and the fish from the River were a source of food.

Egypt’s problem Ethiopia is constructing a dam which Egypt is protesting as it will disrupt the river’s flow, with a detrimental impact on its population that is almost entirely dependent on the Nile. By building this dam Egypt will lose nearly a third of the electricity generated by its Aswan High Dam.

WHY ETHIOPIA WANTS TO CONSTRUCT THE ➔ The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) DAM? is the largest dam in Africa, Ethiopians’ aim to ➔ ➔ ➔ get a lot of benefits from the construction of the dam. Ethiopia hopes the dam will lift its people out of poverty. 60 percent of Ethiopians are living in darkness with no access to electricity This dam could get about 60 million ethiopians out of darkness On the other hand 99% percent of the egyptian population have access to electricity and clean water due to the presence of the Nile river. About 99% of Egypt's population is living along the Nile basin, totally dependent on the water, The egyptians use the water for irrigation and to produce electricity with the Aswan dam.

WHAT IS HAPPENING? ➔ For thousands of years, and more recently buoyed by British colonialism, Egypt has wielded political influence over the Nile. ➔ But the ambition of Ethiopia is changing all that. ➔ Yet despite its political challenges and its limited freedoms, Ethiopia seeks to transform itself into a middle-income country, and so it needs electricity. ➔ Africa's largest hydroelectric power station and one of the world's largest dams will do that, but with 85% of the river emerging from the Ethiopian highlands, Egypt is concerned its rival has the capability to control the flow of the river.

THE GIST:

IS RESOLUTION LIKELY? ➔ There a lot of diplomatic negotiations going on with the help of african union (AU) ➔ The main dispute at the time is when and how to fill up the dam ➔ The two countries have managed to agree on a lot of things, but the crucial questions of how and when to fill up the dam, and how much water it should release, remain unresolved. ➔ And now we are at a point where Ethiopia has done the first stage of dam filling to coincide with the rainy season.

Main Issues Two issues are at the core: ➔ What will happen during a drought ? Egypt wants the pace of the reservoir filling to be dependent on rains, to ensure a minimum flow if there’s a drought; Ethiopia says such a guarantee is unacceptable. ➔ What will happen during a dispute? Egypt and Sudan want a resolution mechanism with binding results, but Ethiopia doesn’t.

Currently……. . Construction of the dam was completed in July The filling of its reservoir started soon after amid heavy rains but before an agreement between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan was signed. The U. S. government, a top source of aid for both Ethiopia and Egypt, said in August that it would halt some aid to Ethiopia over what it saw as a unilateral move to progress with the dam.

References ❖ Zane, Damian. “Ethiopia's River Nile Dam: How It Will Be Filled. ” BBC News, BBC, 16 July 2020, www. bbc. com/news/world-africa-53432948. ❖ ❖ “The 'Water War' Brewing over the New River Nile Dam. ” BBC News, BBC, 24 Feb. 2018, www. bbc. com/news/world-africa 43170408. “Nile. ” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Sept. 2020, en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Nile.

THANKS Does anyone have any questions?