The Precursor of the Nile Conflict
Water-politics has existed even before the creation of modern nations. The fundamental necessity of water compels nations to maintain their water holdings. In a different context, the sea can also be considered water politics. In the 17th Century, we witness competition for dominating the Caribbean Seas. After that, several seas, like the Mediterranean, had also been contested. The Strait of Hormuz is the current dispute for the water-politics. This applies similarly to rivers. Rivers, like the Mississippi, Zambia, and Yangtze, has been a battle for foreign nations to control trade, land, and influence.
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa and is the longest river in Africa. The Nile, which is about 6,650 km long, is an "international" river as its drainage basin covers eleven countries: Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of Sudan, and Egypt. In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt and Sudan.
The Nile has two major tributaries – the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile is considered to be the headwaters and primary stream of the Nile itself. The Blue Nile, however, is the source of most of the water, containing 80% of the water and silt. The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa, with the most distant source still undetermined but located in either Rwanda or Burundi. It flows north through Tanzania, Lake Victoria, Uganda and South Sudan. The Blue Nile begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and flows into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet just north of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.
The northern section of the river flows north almost entirely through the Sudanese desert to Egypt, then ends in a large delta and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptian civilization and Sudanese kingdoms have depended on the river since ancient times. Most of the population and cities of Egypt lie along with those parts of the Nile valley north of Aswan, and nearly all the cultural and historical sites of Ancient Egypt are found along river banks.
Throughout the centuries, many disputes happened in this river. Egyptian civilization has sustained itself utilizing water management and agriculture for some 5,000 years in the Nile River valley. The Egyptians implemented basin irrigation, a form of water management adapted to the natural rise and fall of the Nile River. Since around 3000 BCE, the Egyptians constructed banks to form flood basins of various sizes that were regulated by sluices to floodwater into the basin where it would sit until the soil was saturated, the water was then drained, and crops planted. This method of agriculture did not deplete the soil of nutrients or cause salinization problems experienced by modern agricultural methods.
Dated from Egyptian Sultanate of the 19th Century, many treaties have been written for sharing the Nile. In 1959, an Agreement between the Sudan and Egypt, both under British Administration, for full control utilization of the Nile waters. After that, the agreement nullifies after the rise of the United Arab Socialist Republic, and Nasser decided to take a step.
Nasser attempted to push Egypt out of Nile’s dependency by creating his largest hydro-projects of Africa, Qattara Depression Project. The Qattara Depression Project, or Qattara Project for short, is a macro-engineering project concept in Egypt. It intends to create an artificial lake of the Qattara Depression. The Qattara Depression is a region that lies 60 m below sea level on average and is currently a vast, uninhabited desert. By connecting the region and the Mediterranean Sea with tunnels and/or canals, water could be let into the area. The inflowing water would then evaporate quickly because of the desert climate. This way a continuous flow of water could be created if inflow and evaporation were balanced out. With this continuously flowing water, hydroelectricity could be generated. Eventually, this would result in a hypersaline lake or a salt pan as the water evaporates and leaves the salt it contains behind. This would return the Qattara Depression to its current state but with its sabkha soils tens of meters higher. To contain the salt, Egypt would boost a salt industry on the artificial lake.
But, Nasser realized that water problems aren’t only in Egypt, but also in Syria and Iraq. Therefore, several water projects also created in the region, particularly in Tigris and Euphrates. Still, most of the projects need money, and Nasser needs a foreign backup. So he turns to France. In 1973, France arrives to conduct a treaty of friendship with the new Arab Republic. A tower is erected to solidify the friendship. Until the 80s, French influence is high in the new republic, and both the United States and the Soviet Union envied such relations. Nasser holds a large percentage of Middle East’s oil. Unsurprisingly, both superpowers would battle in the oil regions, especially after tensions erupted in 1976.
Water-politics has existed even before the creation of modern nations. The fundamental necessity of water compels nations to maintain their water holdings. In a different context, the sea can also be considered water politics. In the 17th Century, we witness competition for dominating the Caribbean Seas. After that, several seas, like the Mediterranean, had also been contested. The Strait of Hormuz is the current dispute for the water-politics. This applies similarly to rivers. Rivers, like the Mississippi, Zambia, and Yangtze, has been a battle for foreign nations to control trade, land, and influence.
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa and is the longest river in Africa. The Nile, which is about 6,650 km long, is an "international" river as its drainage basin covers eleven countries: Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of Sudan, and Egypt. In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt and Sudan.
The Nile has two major tributaries – the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile is considered to be the headwaters and primary stream of the Nile itself. The Blue Nile, however, is the source of most of the water, containing 80% of the water and silt. The White Nile is longer and rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa, with the most distant source still undetermined but located in either Rwanda or Burundi. It flows north through Tanzania, Lake Victoria, Uganda and South Sudan. The Blue Nile begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and flows into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet just north of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.
The northern section of the river flows north almost entirely through the Sudanese desert to Egypt, then ends in a large delta and flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptian civilization and Sudanese kingdoms have depended on the river since ancient times. Most of the population and cities of Egypt lie along with those parts of the Nile valley north of Aswan, and nearly all the cultural and historical sites of Ancient Egypt are found along river banks.
Throughout the centuries, many disputes happened in this river. Egyptian civilization has sustained itself utilizing water management and agriculture for some 5,000 years in the Nile River valley. The Egyptians implemented basin irrigation, a form of water management adapted to the natural rise and fall of the Nile River. Since around 3000 BCE, the Egyptians constructed banks to form flood basins of various sizes that were regulated by sluices to floodwater into the basin where it would sit until the soil was saturated, the water was then drained, and crops planted. This method of agriculture did not deplete the soil of nutrients or cause salinization problems experienced by modern agricultural methods.
Dated from Egyptian Sultanate of the 19th Century, many treaties have been written for sharing the Nile. In 1959, an Agreement between the Sudan and Egypt, both under British Administration, for full control utilization of the Nile waters. After that, the agreement nullifies after the rise of the United Arab Socialist Republic, and Nasser decided to take a step.
Nasser attempted to push Egypt out of Nile’s dependency by creating his largest hydro-projects of Africa, Qattara Depression Project. The Qattara Depression Project, or Qattara Project for short, is a macro-engineering project concept in Egypt. It intends to create an artificial lake of the Qattara Depression. The Qattara Depression is a region that lies 60 m below sea level on average and is currently a vast, uninhabited desert. By connecting the region and the Mediterranean Sea with tunnels and/or canals, water could be let into the area. The inflowing water would then evaporate quickly because of the desert climate. This way a continuous flow of water could be created if inflow and evaporation were balanced out. With this continuously flowing water, hydroelectricity could be generated. Eventually, this would result in a hypersaline lake or a salt pan as the water evaporates and leaves the salt it contains behind. This would return the Qattara Depression to its current state but with its sabkha soils tens of meters higher. To contain the salt, Egypt would boost a salt industry on the artificial lake.
But, Nasser realized that water problems aren’t only in Egypt, but also in Syria and Iraq. Therefore, several water projects also created in the region, particularly in Tigris and Euphrates. Still, most of the projects need money, and Nasser needs a foreign backup. So he turns to France. In 1973, France arrives to conduct a treaty of friendship with the new Arab Republic. A tower is erected to solidify the friendship. Until the 80s, French influence is high in the new republic, and both the United States and the Soviet Union envied such relations. Nasser holds a large percentage of Middle East’s oil. Unsurprisingly, both superpowers would battle in the oil regions, especially after tensions erupted in 1976.