Politics of water resources

Battle of the Nile: the rule of the British Empire over the Nile still influences water politics In the last posts, I mentioned that the specific geography of the Basin is one of the main reasons for the difficulty of solving the conflict between Ethiopia and Egypt. However, I want to suggest something other than an environmentally deterministic conclusion that ignores social factors. In reality, the  potential solution benefits of sharing and cooperation  are hindered by the region's historical (colonial) legacies. When I asked locals' opinions about GERD during my time in Ethiopia, everyone was enthusiastic and satisfied with the project. They claimed it would 'compensate for the injustices of the past and bring a bright future to all Ethiopians'. This idea of injustice and strike back to Egypt appears in the following video (from 3:50). Ethoiphian leaders want to set the rules after the country's historical marginalisation on managing the water of the Nile. Simul...

Welcome to my blog about water and development in Africa!   In this blog, I will focus on the political aspects of the continent's water management. I found this theme intriguing for two intersecting reasons. First, questions of water allocation are inherently political because it is essential for our lives, while  its distribution is immensely unequal . However, it is not only about drinking; the resource determines regions' and countries' agriculture, industry, and energy supply. Second, as this shows, politics influences every aspect and scale of water usage. It is vital in conflicts or cooperation among countries in shared river basins and crucial in domestic water governance. Colonial legacies, negotiations on water distributions, economic interests and technologies are inherently political, giving me good material for the coming weeks. My topic will be the 'classic' case study around the conflicts of the Nile Basin between Ethiopia and Egypt. This is because, ...