Water and politics in Africa

In my second post, I mentioned the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), a platform for transnational cooperation for the management of the Nile river. In this post, I would like to explore this initiative further, looking at its history, how it works, as well as the challenges it faces. The NBI, which aims to increase cooperation between the Nile riparian countries, was established in 1999. This intergovernmental collaboration includes 10 nations: Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC, with Eritrea as an observer state. It is an important step for countries looking for more positive interactions and collaboration.  The NBI's main goals include building "an inclusive framework for governing the river's water" ( Al-Anani, 2020 ), as well as focusing on shared interests and "build confidence through cooperation at practical levels" ( K ü ng, 2003 ). The NBI is focused on facilitating joint, coordinated action and mut...

In the second post, I briefly explained Egypt’s reliance on the Nile, as well as some of the worries concerning its historical right to the Nile being contested. In this post, I will delve deeper into these worries in the context of the GERD and look at the potential conflicts that may arise.  I will also look at how Egypt has responded to the looming threat of a reduction in its share of the Nile’s water because of the GERD. Egypt and Sudan's joint military drill  While there has been no direct armed conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia over the GERD, Egypt has shown it would be prepared if a direct confrontation ever took place. In April 2021, Egypt and Sudan conducted a joint aerial military exercise, whilst in the middle of tensions with Ethiopia over the dam ( Sabry, 2021 ).  In addition, Egypt has, on multiple occasions, objected to Ethiopia’s unilateral filling of the GERD without a deal with them and Sudan, going as far as writing an official complaint to...

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD): the biggest hydroelectric project in Africa since its launch in 2011, and the most controversial one as well ( Verhoeven, 2021 ). The GERD is not the only dam on the Nile river, as shown by Figure 1. However, it is the most controversial. Why is that? This post will consider the politics of the GERD, taking a particular focus on the benefits of the dam for Ethiopia, but also the other Nile riparian countries. Figure 1: The major dams in the Eastern Nile River Basin The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, located 45km to the east of the border with Sudan and 750 km northwest of the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, is a hydroelectric dam located on the Blue Nile. It is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa ( Burck, 2021 ). This huge project was funded internally, including through selling bonds to the Ethiopian diaspora ( Xinhua, 2018 ). The GERD started being operational on the 20th of February ...

 Welcome back! This post will delve deeper on the source of hope for economic development for certain countries as well as the source of conflict between countries, the Nile River and its basin, taking a closer look at Egypt's position. The Nile River Basin covers parts of 11 different countries, stretching from Egypt in the North to Tanzania and the DRC in the South, and is a source of water for over 300 million people. The transnational nature of the basin leads to uneven distribution and control of the water. The main users of water in the basin are agriculture and hydropower at about 85%, with almost all irrigation located in Egypt and Sudan ( Digna et al, 2017 ), but not all countries need the water to the same degree or for the same purposes ( Milas, 2013 ). Map of the Nile River Basin For example, Egypt, the country furthest downstream, views the Nile River as its sole significant water source and the reliability of its water flow as an extremely important matter ( Dadson et...

Hello and welcome to my blog! Over the next few weeks, I am going to research and write blog posts about the dynamics of water politics in Africa.  Before I start, I must admit that I do not know a lot about water and development in the continent of Africa. This lack of knowledge on such an important issue, and of Africa in general, has drawn me to choose this module. Africa tends to be presented to Western audiences by the media as a huge single entity, as 'one country', a point highlighted by Binyavanga Wainana in his article ' How to write about Africa '. This is something I have noticed in my everyday life. A non negligeable amount of people will talk about Africa without precising which country they are referring to, if any, something they wouldn't do for other continents. Inhabitants of Western countries sometimes see issues in a certain African country and generalise these same issues to be present everywhere on the continent. This is the case of water in Afr...