While diplomats lobby for their respective countries' water rights, technicians seek ways to distribute the Nile waters more equally, writes Gamal Nkrumah Technical experts from 10 Nile Basin states met in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Monday to iron out differences with regards to the sharing of Nile waters. The meeting was attended by representatives from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The talks were held under the auspices of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), an intergovernmental body launched in 1999. The focus of the talks was the 1929 treaty which governs relations between the Nile Basin nations on questions of water sharing. NBI Executive Director Maraji Msuya pointed out that there is a pressing need to re-evaluate certain aspects of the treaty. "The most important thing for everybody is that all countries are genuinely ready and willing to discuss [Nile water] issues," he said. Rumours about the construction of hydroelectric projects along with recent statements by certain top-level officials in a number of Nile Basin nations rang alarm bells in Egypt. Kenyan and Tanzanian ministers have openly questioned their obligation to abide by the agreement reached between Britain -- then representing its East African colonies -- and Egypt. Egyptian officials have made it clear that they will contest any attempt to change or violate the 1929 treaty. Egypt's Minister of Water and Irrigation Mahmoud Abu Zeid insisted that any unilateral change in the 1929 Nile Basin Treaty would constitute a breach of international law. But Egyptian officials are carefully cultivating close economic and political ties with their southern neighbours. They believe that closer cooperation between Nile Basin nations is the surest guarantor of peace and stability in the region. Sustainable socio-economic development and the collective management of Nile Basin water resources are key to easing regional tension. Still, certain upstream African countries are seeking to redraw the terms of Nile water sharing, to the extent that there are voices in Kenya calling for the withdrawal from the 1929 treaty. Similar calls are being echoed in Tanzania and Uganda. Tanzania's Minister of Water Resources Edward Lowasa last month categorically stated that Tanzania has no obligation to abide by a treaty that was signed on its behalf by a colonial power. Egypt has been working hard to ensure that peace and harmony reign in the politically volatile region and Cairo has lobbied hard to avoid a scenario whereby water could become a catalyst for regional conflict. It is in this context that Cairo is seeking to cultivate close bilateral ties with individual Nile Basin nations as well as working collectively within a regional framework. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Fayza Abul-Naga met this week with a visiting Ethiopian parliamentary delegation in Cairo. The Ethiopian parliamentary delegation also met with Abu Zeid, who emphasised the importance of cordial ties and close cooperation between Egypt and Ethiopia on issues relating to the Nile waters. Egyptian officials want to see closer cooperation between the Nile Basin countries on the official level as well as on the grass-roots level. "The Ethiopian delegation agreed to a proposal for a common parliament for Nile Basin countries," Abu Zeid told reporters in Cairo. Chairman of the Ethiopian Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee Haile-Kiros Gasessa praised Egypt's African policy. Gasessa said that the talks with Egyptian officials were "very positive". He added that the talks which touched on the prickly issue of the Nile water quotas were aimed at "strengthening cooperation between Egypt and Ethiopia regarding the NBI". But behind the diplomatic niceties an undercurrent of tension still runs, for not only do African countries question why they should abide by the colonial era agreement but they also recognise that the problems posed by the Blue Nile are different from those of the White Nile. Furthermore there is resentment that Egypt, the country furthest downstream, utilises the lion's share of the Nile waters. In the past some upper riparian nations have accused Egypt of infringing on the rights of other riparian states by guzzling down more than its fair share of the water. Cairo in turn argues that the upstream states are not as dependent on the Nile for agricultural purposes. They all receive plentiful rainfall and are not reliant on irrigation for crop production. With a much more developed economy than the other countries, Egypt is keen to cement economic ties in the Nile Basin. It is especially interested in providing technical know-how and expertise in the fields of agriculture and irrigation. The Egyptian authorities are encouraging the Egyptian business community to invest and set up joint ventures with their counterparts in the private sectors of upstream countries. "The Egyptian authorities understand the pressing need for the upper riparian nations to electrify their countryside, develop manufacturing industries and improve the quality of life of their people," Major-General Said El-Salehi, professor of politics at the Nasser Military Academy in Cairo told Al-Ahram Weekly. A 1959 treaty guarantees Egypt access to 55 billion cubic metres of Nile water a year. Egypt's population now stands at a staggering 72 million and it is estimated that the country needs some 80 billion cubic metres of water. "Egypt must preserve its historical share of the Nile waters. It is a matter of national security and survival," El-Salehi said. Egypt is a net food importer, bringing in 35 per cent of its grain needs. "Egypt cultivates 11 million feddans and the country will need to cultivate 22 million feddans in order to achieve self-sufficiency in grain production. That means that we will need twice as much water as we do today," he added. The intense competition over limited water resources is bound to grow over the next few decades. At current levels of population growth rates, the 150 million-strong population of the Nile Basin countries of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan will swell to 340 million by 2050. The population of Egypt alone is expected to reach 90 million by 2020. Water shortages constitute the single greatest threat to regional food security. The countries of the Nile Basin are all short of water even though a few have potentially vast water resources. Water is very unevenly distributed in the region -- a fact that might prompt conflicts over water in future. The countries of the Great Lakes region are well endowed with water resources, while those downstream have scarce resources. Water scarcity is defined as less than 1,000 cubic metres of water available to each person per year. Other countries have insufficient water resources and unreliable or erratic water supplies. In addition to recent criticism of the 1929 treaty from Kenyan and Tanzanian officials, experts believe that Ethiopia will inevitably emerge as a pivotal country in determining the future of water distribution in the region. Ethiopia, which controls the headwaters of the Blue Nile, is the source of no less than 85 per cent of Egypt's water.
