From BikyaMasr, via StumbleUpon:
Egypt and Sudan are worried and frustrated over recent developments along the Nile River by countries south of their borders that they say could threaten their own water security.
Their anger comes after East African countries agreed to work together to implement a series of dams that could generate power to their countries and help their development, harnessing the Nile water.
Egypt said that it cannot afford to lose any more water as its burgeoning population continues to grow and the country already faces major water shortages.
All this also comes on the heels of Egypt’s efforts to bring in Ethiopia, which announced it wanted to erect a number of dams along the Nile, adding that it would “not affect” Egypt’s share of water.
[Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles] Zenawi provided the Italian company Salini Costruttori with a no-bid contract for the construction of the Millennium Dam. The company holds long-standing relations with Zenawi’s government, and managed the construction of several other plants in Ethiopia, including the catastrophic and the more than controversial Gibe 3.
“Gibe 3 is the most destructive dam under construction in Africa. The project will condemn half a million of the region’s most vulnerable people to hunger and conflict,” said director of International Rivers’ Africa Program Terri Hathaway.
The mounting tension between Egypt and Ethiopia finds its root in Egypt’s dependence on the Nile. Water for agricultural, industrial and domestic use and the country’s energetic autonomy depend greatly on the river’s flow. Diversifying water resources in Egypt can be a first step towards relaxing geopolitical tension related to the river’s water and providing the nation with a more reliable water system.
egypt-sudan-angry-over-nile-basin-development from bikyamasr.com – StumbleUpon.
