From Africa’s sweltering heart to the warm shores of the Mediterranean, the Nile gives life as it tumbles and snakes through canyon, swamp and desert.
| "It was a dark and stormy night..." |
Increasingly, the mighty river also provides fertile ground for dispute. The 4,189-mile-long Nile and its African origins are governed by a colonial-era pact that angers upstream nations by giving effective control to Egyptian users far downstream. In the lands where the Nile originates -- home to some of the world’s most arid corners -- tempers are rising. "Egypt can go to hell," said Julius Juma, a Kenyan father of two who runs eight fish ponds in the village of Chemelil near Lake Victoria, the source of the White Nile. "If Egyptians try to invade Kenya because of our waters, then we are ready to die for what is rightfully ours...Kenya should forget the Nile Treaty and revert to the commercial consumption of Lake Victoria waters."
Such views are spreading among Kenya’s neighbors as black Africa pushes for a fairer share of the river among the 10 countries of the so-called Nile Basin... The problem facing many countries that would like to use Nile headwaters is paying for irrigation and hydroelectric projects. Analysts say the World Bank in effect enforces the 1929 treaty. "The World Bank will not give an upstream country money and a loan to build a dams unless it has an agreement with the downstream country," said Sharif Elmusa, head of the Middle East program at the American University in Cairo (AUC). Black African countries cannot match Egypt’s diplomatic clout. The United States sees Egypt as a strategic ally in the Middle East, and as a political and cultural leader in the Arab world. Its Suez Canal is also a critical bottleneck for shipping between the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and beyond. Egyptian officials say the Nile is crucial for Egypt’s survival, and any change in its level could be disastrous. Most Egyptians live in the Nile valley on 4 percent of the country’s land. Over 95 percent of Egypt’s water resources come from the river. "This is the main source for our life here," Abdel-Fattah Metawie, head of the Nile water department at Egypt’s Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry, told Reuters.
Sounds like the UN has this one under control. |