Nile River: Lifeline and source of conflict for Northeastern Africa
Open Access
- Author:
- Pollack, Jason Samuel
- Area of Honors:
- Geography
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Robert P Brooks, Thesis Supervisor
Roger Michael Downs, Thesis Honors Advisor
Roger Michael Downs, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- Nile
Nile Basin
Egypt
Geography
African politics
current events
Nile disputes - Abstract:
- Over 238 million people live in the Nile River Basin. For many nations in this region in Eastern Africa, the Nile River is the sole source of freshwater. This has made the Nile one of the most contested rivers in the world. Egypt is the dominating power on the river with over 80 million of its people dependent upon the river. For centuries, Egypt has had a near monopoly over the Nile’s resources, which has proved to be a detriment to the hundreds of millions of other people who cannot fully utilize the Nile water within their country’s national boundaries. Recently, however, many of the 10 other Nile nations have signed a novel agreement known as the Cooperative Framework Agreement. This agreement is essentially a declaration from the Nile nations stating their right to use the Nile water resources within their national boundaries. The Cooperative Framework Agreement is also a rejection of centuries old Nile Water Agreements signed by European colonial powers, on behalf of their African territories, and Egypt. This thesis analyzes the legality of the current Nile Water Agreements, ways to increase water consumption and decrease water loss, and considerations for a comprehensive new agreement between the 11 Nile states. Related statutes of international law and water law are considered to determine the legality of the current Nile water treaties. Rapidly increasing populations and less stable precipitation patterns have placed strains on water and agricultural resources throughout the region. As tensions are rising, a new Nile Waters Agreement must be created. As ex-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat stated, “The only matter that could take Egypt to war again is water.” This thesis strives to propose ways to prevent such a war from occurring by analyzing the entire situation and suggesting tangible solutions.