Egypt would do far better if it recognises not Britain but the Basin countries as the rightful stakeholders of The Nile Basin and The Nile River. Referring to agreements with Britain is tantamount to rejecting the freedom of all the other countries in the Basin. Britain is not a stakeholder in the real sense, though all countries in the world can be considered stakeholders if we give it a wider meaning and consider peace and stability of the region, would have worldwide implications of different magnitude depending on vicinity and economic relations of each country with the region.
Egypt wants and has been trying to play a smart card, but the time and circumstances on the ground call for a wise card. Egypt must recognise realities on the ground and accept the changes that have been blowing over the region for over 60 years and that would be very wise.
Egypt wants and has been trying to play a smart card, but the time and circumstances on the ground call for a wise card.
The opportunities of the Basin are enormous if we open our eyes and stop the greed and accept to share the bounties. The Basin has a lot to offer and through cooperation and integration all the countries would grow and grow fast, if only the leaders could be wiser. There are things that each country must do and whatever is done in any of these countries could add value to the current potential and bring prosperity to all. When Ethiopia builds dams there are several benefits that will come with the construction of each dam.
First and foremost, water is conserved for use in a regulated manner for a longer period than if there is no dam.
Why did Egypt build The Aswan Dam?
It was not meant to be a monument, it is serving Egypt for power generation, irrigation, tourism, transport, fisheries and recreation, etc. When Ethiopia builds a dam, Egypt should have been quick to see the benefits that are coming at zero expense to its people and encourage and support Ethiopia in its efforts. Egypt should also recognise the benefits that will come with more dams to be built in the highlands of Ethiopia and be enthusiastic about the additional opportunities, the capacity of the regulated flow from the GERD will be ensured with the additional storage in the upstream dams on the Nile itself and the tributaries.
One dam cannot ensure the expectations of Egypt and Egypt will immensely benefit from more dams being built in Ethiopia. I don’t believe that Egyptian leaders, the professionals in the field and the media totally miss this. The problem I think is that Egyptian leaders have for whatever reason, considered that anything built on The Nile outside of Egypt and The Sudan could harm Egypt. Building structures, of any nature in the upstream riparian countries, which will enhance water and soil conservation capacities would only be a guarantee for sustainable water supply to the downstream countries and would not pose threats.
The story of Joseph is known in both the Christian and Islamic Religions, the 7 plentiful years followed by 7 lean years; they are meant to educate us on what we should expect and be prepared for. Throughout the ages there have been years of plentiful rain followed by years of drought. Sometimes the rains extend for longer years than we need them, and we have floods destroying livelihoods of millions and sometimes we have droughts extending over many years and consequently bringing havoc on millions. Our religious books have alerted us that these are events that we should expect and be prepared for.
That is why we should build more dams and create adequate storage to get through years of drought with minimal impact and years of heavy rains by storing the water and not suffer from the consequences of flooding.
Besides drought and flood mitigation, there are other huge opportunities these dams will create. One is power and the current Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (The GERD) is mainly a power generation dam for Ethiopia but would serve for flood control and regulated irrigation year-round for both Sudan and Egypt.
Egypt has been the sole beneficiary of The Nile thus far. Egypt has demonstrated extreme selfishness and absolute disregard for the wellbeing and development agenda of its southern neighbours. The insensitivity of Egypt regarding the plight and suffering of the other riparian countries, especially Ethiopia, which generates 86% of The Nile flow is inexplicable. What Ethiopia is currently doing and will be doing in the future in the domain of utilising its water resources would only be beneficial and ensure sustainability over the short and long term, hence Egypt’s concerns don’t reflect genuine good neighbourly intentions.
Egypt must go back to the drawing board and revisit the wrong assumptions and try to build the ruined relations with basin countries. It certainly requires a lot of goodwill, courage and honesty from the leaders. The Egyptian people have been fed lies about its non-existing rights at the expense of all The Nile Basin countries. The Egyptian people need to know the truth. The other riparian countries are not their enemies but their partners for an integrated regional development that should leave no country behind.
The fact today is, Egypt almost alone enjoys the fruits of The Nile; power for its people, water transport for freight and people, thereby reaping billions from tourism, irrigation, fisheries development and recreation and water supply for its cities and towns. All the riparian countries have every right to benefit from these boundless resources and opportunities in an equitable manner. The only way to do this is through negotiations using the already existing vehicles, such as the NILE Basin Initiative, The Nile Commission and if need be other institutions can also be created. These institutions need to be strengthened and not be undermined.
The game and the setting have changed, and Egypt must accept these changes. Decisions are not made by colonial powers but by the indigenous Africans and Egypt must swallow this basic truth and engage in dialogue with sincerity and honesty. There are boundless opportunities and Egypt can benefit from all the opportunities by changing its bullying tactics and recognise the power these countries have as the sources and contributors to The Nile Basin water resources.
By developing the necessary infrastructure, The Nile can be navigated all the way from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean. Imports and exports of the landlocked Riparian countries would find an alternative route and Egypt will grossly benefit. Tourists will find a unique route and destinations. It will be a trip of a life time with the possibility of exploring many cultures, fauna and flora of every description, animal life and biodiversity scientists would only dream of, all along one river course.
Every riparian country would reap benefits, more than any of them can benefit by going it alone. It would be a basin of peace, stability, and bustling with economic development. It will be a basin that the whole world would come to visit. They will be feeding from the fresh and uncontaminated agricultural, livestock, fisheries and other offerings of nature, at least until humans spoil the natural wealth through greed. It can benefit the basin countries even more than the Rhine and the Danube are doing in Europe. Of course, the goodwill, trust and belief of the leaders in a bigger, common future is the basis to achieve it all.
Do we have such leaders today and if not how long have we to wait, while our resources are squandered?
To do all these great things for our people, we must build dams on all the major tributaries, and we must conserve the water resources and make them available for irrigation, power, navigation, fisheries and our water supply needs, where needed and for entertainment of our prospering citizens and our visitors. The Baro River (Sobat, outside of Ethiopia) was used for navigation during the rainy season during the time when the British were ruling The Sudan. It can also be done today. We need to build dams on its tributaries, and store water during the periods of the rainy season for generating power, irrigation and to enable maintenance of optimum depth for navigation. The navigation needs of the basin can be met through integrated planning and execution of projects across the basin countries.
If the countries from where the rivers feeding Victoria Lake had built dams amongst other flood protection structures, the current flooding and destruction of overfilling of the Lake would not have occurred. During droughts the Maasai Mara National Reserve suffers and loses many of its wild life treasure, which attract lots of tourists and thus support the national economy. It is not rocket science to show that the benefits of building dams outweigh the concerns being expressed by Egypt.
Building dams is the right option for the Nile Basin Riparian countries and devising a mechanism of equitable benefit sharing should be the challenge. With current technology and the goodwill and trust between the nations, integrating the operation of the dams to maximise the benefits and minimise the harm to any country can be worked out.
In conclusion, the way forward should be building more dams, wherever feasible, and thereby conserve the water resources, the soil and the natural habitat of the basin for maximum integrated benefit for all the basin countries.
** Lemma Teklehaimanot is a civil engineer majoring in hydraulics, with many years of experience in irrigation and water supply projects study, design and construction as government employee and with consultants and contractors and currently in construction materials supply business. He can be reached at lemma.t@gmail.com
