INTRODUCTION

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 Africa, with people thinking that the entire continent is in a perpetual state of water scarcity, (Naik, 2016) with a lack of access to safe water supplies.

Africa is a huge continent, the second biggest in fact, representing 20% of the Earth's land surface, and it is comprised of 54 sovereign countries, the most of any continent. It can contain nearly the entire Western world! Therefore, it is important to not make any generalisations about Africa, as different countries experience the issue (and attempt to tackle it) of water and development in different ways.


 Western countries superimposed on the African continent


The politics surrounding water in Africa are not so much about the amount of water available, but more so about the distribution of it. The continent holds 9% of the world's freshwater resources (Gaye and Tindimugaya, 2018) but the access and control of these water resources are not equally shared among African countries, which can lead to potential conflicts over water (Goldenberg, 2014).

This is the case of the Nile river in East Africa. The most important branch of the Nile river (the Blue Nile) finds its source in Ethiopia, flowing through Sudan and Egypt before emptying in the Mediterranean Sea (Milas, 2013). The Upper Blue Nile River basin (one of the main tributaries of the Nile river) is the source of more than 60% of the river's water, and plays a central role for the economic and social development of the three aforementioned countries (Gebremicael et al, 2013). 


(Allan et al, 2019)

In this blog, I will focus on the Nile River Basin in East Africa, the politics surrounding water of the riparian Nile countries, as well as the possible conflicts and cooperation between the different actors involved.

I hope this blog will help you understand a bit more about the complexities of the relationship between water and politics in Africa, as much as the research for this blog will help me understand it better too! 

Thank you for reading!

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Nile Basin Initiative: an attempt at cooperation

Image
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 ΓΌ ng, 2003 ). The NBI is focused on facilitating joint, coordinated action and mut...
Read more

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: conflicts

Image
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...
Read more

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: introduction and benefits

Image
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 ...
Read more