Conflict, Cooperation and Coersion - Hydropolitics of the Nile Valley Part 1

ource - (World Bank, 2011)

ource - (World Bank, 2011)

Hydropolitics studies conflict and cooperation between states over water resources than transcend international borders (Arun, 1999). In this series of blogs I aim to explore the interactions between African countries and their negotiations of transboundary water resources. 

The first use of the term, Hydropolitics, came in the book Hydropolitics of the Nile Valley (Waterbury, 1979) and thus this blog post will be providing an analysis of the origins of water conflict in the Nile Valley. This entry will offer some historical context and cover the conflict up to the 1959 Nile Waters Treaty, the following post will look at how the Nile’s Hydropolitics have developed up to the present day.

ource - (World Bank, 2011)

Background to the Nile Valley

Source - World Bank, 2011

The Nile is the world’s longest river flowing for 6700 km through ten northeastern African countries – Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo,  Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt (Waterbury, 1979). Historically, the Nile has been esteemed as incredibly important; Egypt has sustained itself for 5000 years relying on the Nile for irrigation and to deposit nutrient-rich silt in which to plant crops (Collins, 1990). Furthermore ancient Egyptian culture viewed the source of the Nile as ‘the beginning of the world’ and Herodotus referred to Egypt’s existence as ‘a gift from the Nile’ (Lewis, 2009) highlighting the significance of this water source. The Nile also provides upstream countries with water for small-scale irrigation vital for both subsistence farming and larger-scale agriculture.

However, such a reliance on this water source has inevitably led to conflict over its allocation with fears dating back to 1273 where Egyptian scholar Jurjis al-Makin highlighted the potential for an Ethiopian diversion of the Nile (Carlson, 2013). This emphasises that Hydropolitics is certainly not a new phenomenon; conflict over water in Africa has existed for thousands of years.

Colonial-era Negotiations

The colonization of Africa brought further significance to the Nile; as Britain colonized Sudan and Egypt in the 1880’s they realised that the Nile was vital for transport and navigational purposes into Africa. Furthermore Britain needed to retain control of Egypt to operate the Suez Canal, their gateway to the east, and thus saw the importance of ensuring the continuing flow of the Nile for irrigation and providing livelihoods for Egyptians. (Carlson, 2013). Thus Britain engaged in treaties with Ethiopia in 1902 (from which 80% of the Nile’s water comes) and The Congo in 1906 (Collins, 1990) to ensure the undisturbed flow to Egypt. Furthermore Britain asserted a ‘significant amount of pressure’ on Italy and France whose upstream colonies could have interfered with the Nile (Collins, 1990). These concerns highlight that waterways, for both navigation and irrigation, remained a central part of African geopolitics during the colonial era. Interestingly, the British colonial administration managed to avoid conflict, potentially due to a fear of their military power within the region (Arun, 1999).

Ancient Egyptian Agriculture on the Nile
Source - http://sbmsworldcultures.weebly.com/uploads/2/2/8/8/22882768/1719915_orig.png

1929 Nile Waters Agreement

The decolonization of Egypt in 1922 led to renewed conflicts with Sudan over rights to the Nile, thus after some negotiation the 1929 Nile Waters Agreement was agreed on. The agreement saw Egypt and Sudan utilise 48 and 4 billion cubic meters of flow per year, with Egypt having a veto for construction projects on the Nile and a right to undertake projects without the consent of upper riparian states (Tafesse, 2001). Effectively, Egypt held a monopoly over the Nile with no water provided to any other riparian states.

1959 Nile Waters Treaty

In the post-WW2 era a British study made suggestions for the usage of the Nile River and how to increase the amount of water reaching Egypt. However this study viewed the Nile basin without consideration of the other recently independent upstream riparian states highlighting how post-colonial border changes escalated internal water management into international conflict (Lewis, 2009). The outcome of this study was the 1959 Nile Waters Treaty in which Egypt gained 55.5 BCM per year and Sudan was allocated 18.5 BCM Per year with the combined usage of other riparians estimated at between 1000-2000 MCM per year (TFDD, 2007). Furthermore a joint technical commission was established to secure the technical cooperation between Egypt and Sudan. Despite initial suggestions and fears of military conflict, the negotiations were actually fairly successful. Egypt and Sudan successfully monopolized the Nile’s flow; clearly then transboundary water cooperation occurs when it suits nations.

Conclusion

Overall, the early Hydropolitics of the Nile Valley highlight that water has played a critical role in the geopolitics of Africa not only in the last 100 years but also dating back to fears of an Ethiopian diversion in 1273. It is clear that the 1929 and 1959 treaties have greatly benefitted Egypt, and to a lesser extent Sudan, and largely ignored upstream countries. This suggests that downstream riparians are ‘not necessarily at a political disadvantage to their upstream neighbours’ (TFDD, 2007). Egypt successfully utilised its geopolitical power within northeast Africa to retain the largest share of Nile river flow necessary for its country to flourish. The case of the Nile Valley suggests that the necessity for water may foster cooperation over conflict between nations; pre-1959 none of the water treaties broke down into violence. However the clearly inequitable outcome of the water treaties may imply that Britain and then Egypt engaged more with coercion than cooperation.

List of References

Arun P. Elhance (1999). Hydropolitics in the 3rd World: Conflict and cooperation in International River Basins. US Institute of Peace Press. p. 3.

Carlson, A. (2013) Who owns the Nile? Available at: http://origins.osu.edu/article/who-owns-nile-egypt-sudan-and-ethiopia-s-history-changing-dam (Accessed: 26 October 2016). 

Collins, Robert O. (1990) The Waters of the Nile. Clarendon Press, Oxford

Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (2007) Case Study of the Nile River Basin. Available at: http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/ (Accessed: 26 October 2016).

Lewis, L. (2009) Egyptian Agriculture - The Nile River. Available at: http://www.egyptianagriculture.com/nile_river.html (Accessed: 26 October 2016).

T Tafesse. (2001). The Nile Question: Hydropolitics, Legal Wrangling, Modus Vivendi and Perspectives. London, Transaction Publishers

Waterbury, J. (1979) Hydropolitics of the Nile valley. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

World Bank (2011) World Bank Nile River Basin. Available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTAFRNILEBASINI/Images/map_full_size.jpg (Accessed: 26 October 2016).