Issues, Challenges, and Cooperation in Transboundary Waters
Environmental Issues and the Hydro-politics of the Eastern Nile Basin: Conflict and Cooperation in a Transboundary Watercourse
1. Environmental Issues and the Hydro-
politics of the Eastern Nile Basin:
Conflict and Cooperation in a
Transboundary Watercourse
By:
Zerihun Abebe Yigzaw
June 2011
Dilla University
2. Environment and Politics
Environment: What it Consists?
“… the natural resources and ecosystems
upon which humanity is dependent on for
survival….” (Mason 2004).
Land
Water
Biodiversity
air
3. Envt and …
politics of environment
environmental issues are at the center of the 21st
Century Global/International politics. These includes
• climate change
• environmentally induced conflicts over scarce
resources
• poverty in the third world as a result of
environmental degradation and poor policy issues
and matters
4. Envt and…
environmental issues and problems never knows
boundary-we can not chose our neighbors
environmental issues in transboundary rivers are
aspects of politics, b/c these issues
• involves sovereign states
• involves power
• requires political commitment and decision making
transboundary environmental issues and problems
also entail both cooperation and conflict
spillover effect of environmental related issues
5. Envt and …
Hydropolitics
Politics is about answering who gets, what,
when and how (Harold Dwight Lasswell
1936).
Based on David Easton`s (1995) Definition of politics ,
Turton (2002) define hydropolitics as the authoritative
allocation of values in society with respect to water.
Water policies
Environmental policies, has to do with political
decisions especially in transboundary watercourses
6. Envt and..
Some of the major environmental hazards
common across the world includes;
Land degradation
Deforestation
Desiccation
flooding
soil erosion
Pollution (water, air, soil,…)
Climate change
Lose of biodiversity
7. Envt and…
Why states cooperate?
Cooperation in transboundary
watercourses have a lot of importance
Sadoff and Grey (2002) identified four types
of cooperation and benefits
A. Increasing benefits To the River-
Environmental Benefits to the river-
Maintaining the health of the river
8. Envt and…
B. Increasing Benefits From the River-
Direct Economic Benefits- Irrigation,
Hydroelectric power, fishery, tourism,…
C. Reducing Costs Because of the River-
move away from conflict to cooperation,
from insecurity and instability to stability
and peaceful co-existence, avoiding
competition and scarcity induced conflicts
9. Envt and…
D. Increasing Benefits Beyond the River-
Integration of regional infrastructure,
markets and trade, Common Market….
The base for any moves of the riparian
states to generate economic as well as
political benefits is based on the first
benefit maintaining the health of the river.
10. Geography of the Nile
Two Tributaries
1. White Nile-14 % of the total flow –Source from the
Equatorial Lakes Region
• Less runoff and low sediment-due to the large
swamps in South Sudan
2. Blue Nile-86 % of the total flow-source from
Ethiopian highlands. Consists of three major sub-
basins and their tributaries-Abbay, Tekeze-Atbara
and Baro-Akobo-Sobat.
• High runoff and sediment
• 10 + 1 Riparians-Burundi, D.R.Congo, Egypt,
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan,
Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan
11.
12.
13. Environmental Problems/Issues in the
(Eastern) Nile Basin
The major environmental problem in the Eastern Nile
Basin is Water Scarcity which is a result of multiple
environmental problems and degradation.
Water scarcity is a result of imbalance between
demand and supply
This could happen when
• Demand rises while supply decreases
• Supply decreases while there is no a change in
demand-due to envtal degradation, water quality
deterioration, CC, drought, over consumption
• Structural scarcity- Mismanagement of water
hinders effective use due to disproportionate,
unequal distn and/or access
14. Ctd…
shortage of water-water scarcity is due to
different environmental hazards,
• Drought
• Deforestation-Desertification
• Land degradation-Erosion
• Lose of biodiversity
• water pollution-siltation
• Climate change
15. Problems… ctd..
These environmental problems are a
result of rapidly growing population in the
riparian states. As a result
The demand for land
The demand for water, increases which in
turn aggravates the destruction of the
environment, the ecosystem
16. Ctd….
Water scarcity in the Eastern Nile Basin is
not a result of the environmental hazards
as a result of rapid population growth only
Politics do play its part
Lack of cooperation
Conflict between the riparians on the
question of the Nile
War and instability in the region
17. Country Priorities and Policies
Egypt
• Three policy pillars until 2017
A.Optimal utilization of the available water resource
B.Water Quality Protection
C.International cooperation with other Nile Basin
states (ICID 2005).
• Egypt`s policy highly focused on
Non-water allocation issues such as trade and
investment
Environmental priority is on water quality-Siltation
Availability of water--- the need for more water
18. Ctry… Egypt
Less emphasis to upstream water shed management
• Lack of political commitment
• Adhered to prior agreements, 1929 and 1959 and
prior use, historic or established rights
• Emphasis on the availability of water in upstream
states-like rain and other river basins
• The Fall of Hosni Mubarak in Cairo…. Eclipse….
The Egyptian Public Diplomacy Delegation
The Visit of the PM Essam Sharaf
• The Future Government in Egypt- New Policy on
the Nile?
20. Country…
Sudan
• More beneficiary from cooperation-more
concerned with
Weary of upstream land degradation
Flood
Water availability-the need for more water
Watershed management
Siltation
Sedimentation-70 – 80 mln USD/yr for cleaning
up canals
Desiccation
21. Ctry…Sudan
Sudan…
• Hydropolitical dilemma (Tesfaye
2001).
Nature of the regime
North-South Conflict
Close to Egypt, religion, ideology, the 1959
agreement, Arabized Sudan, economic,
political, the big-brother syndrome
Lack of political commitment
Adhere to established or historic rights
23. Ctry…South Sudan
South Sudan
The formal secession of South Sudan on July
2011 will change the hydropolitics of the Nile
One new Nile State
The Sudd Swamp and the Jonglei Canal- twin
crimes against nature and humanity
(Yohannes 2008).
Position not clearly stated but can be
speculated
24. Ctry…Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Solving the Nile issue is beyond
environmental issues
Major environmental problems include
• Deforestation
• Land degradation-sever soil erosion
• Growing desertification
• Climate Change
• Food insecurity as a result of environmental
hazards
•
25. Soil erosion and deforestation in upstream Ethiopia along the Abbay River
26. Ctry …. Ethiopia
Politically committed to solve the Nile
Question
Equitable and reasonable utilization-
cooperation is the solution-equal footing
New Nile Agreement-the CFA is the
solution
27. The Hidase Dam-overall
implications
•Hydropolitical Implications
•Relations between Riparians
•Upstream-Downstream
Riparians –Balance of Power
•New era of cooperation or
new era of dead-lock?
28. Hidase….
Environmental Implications
Low Sedimentation in downstream
Watershed management in upstream
Reforestation in upstream to elongate the life
of the Hidase Dam-multiple implications
Water regulated downstream
Minimizing Siltation
29. Why Cooperation is a
Necessity
To challenge the challenges
• Environmental challenges needs the cooperation
of the riparians from source to mouth to solve the
common problems they faced
• For regional Stability
• Averting environmentally induced conflicts-which
could led to war
30. Why coopn…
• Enhancing cooperation and regional integration –
beyond the river
• To the river, from the river, because of the river,
and beyond the river
• Establishing a stable and peaceful Nile Basin: a
home for citizens of all the Nile Valley.
31. The Future
Government Change in Egypt
South Sudan-the New Player in the Game
Ethiopia`s proactive moves---
The CFA-Article 6
NBI-ENSAP-ENTRO Projects-
Watershed management
Flood preparedness
External actors and finance
Swim together or sink together…