Sharing the Nile Waters: Will Egypt Oppose Dams Projects in South Sudan?
By Ater Amogpai, Juba, South Sudan
Thursday, September 10, 2020 (PW) — Four Nile water agreements were signed between Britain, Italy, and France starting from 1891 to 1925 on how to deal with Nile water affairs. Finally, Britain managed to exclude the rest of the two colonial powers from east Africa and Nile water affairs.
The first Nile water agreement involved Egypt as the Nile basin country signed in 1929. In this agreement, the annual Nile water flow of 84 billion cubic meters divided between Egypt 48 billion cubic meters and Sudan 4 billion cubic meters.
In 1959 Agreement signed between Egypt and Sudan recalculated the 1929 agreement on Nile water. For instance, 55.5 billion cubic meters for Egypt and 18.5 billion cubic meters to Sudan. The agreement allowed Egypt to build the High Aswan Dam and Sudan to build Roseires Dam.
The Aswan Dam started in 1960 and finished in 1971 while, Roseires Dam began its construction in 1961 and completed by 1966. The agreements, 1929 and 1959, complicated the usage of the Nile water by riparian states. However, most of the nation’s states were not independent then; therefore, they are not bound by these agreements after independence.
Since the 1959 agreement, Egypt keeps trying to increase its share from Nile water through Sudan. After Addis Ababa Agreement signed between the Southern Sudan Liberation Movement and the government of Sudan in March 1972, Egypt managed to convince Sudan’s government to start Nile water projects in the current state of South Sudan.
In 1976, the Jonglei Canal project initiated to decrease the White Nile’s loss while it passes through the Sudd swamps in the south of Sudan. The length of the Canal was 360 km and could secure an annual flow of water of around 4.7 billion cubic meters to Egypt. Sudd is Africa’s largest wetland and one of the most extensive tropical wetlands in the world. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) identified the Sudd as a globally key, unrepresented ecological system.
In 1983, one of the reasons why the SPLA/M revolted was the Jonglei Canal project. The founder of the SPLA/M, Dr. John Garnag de Mabior, did his doctoral thesis titled “Identifying, selecting, and implementing rural development strategies for socio-economic development in the Jonglei Projects Area, Southern, Region, Sudan” in 1981. One of his most definite recommendations in this project was that it could be an environmental disaster.
By 1984, the Canal’s digging had stopped when fighting erupted between the SPLA/M and Sudan’s government. The construction of the Jonglei Canal started in 1978, and only 10 km remains to finish. And this ended Egyptian efforts in the 20th century to increase its share of Nile water from South Sudan.
The Canal project’s main objective was not only to decrease the loss of water in the Sudd but also to collect the water from Nile tributaries and directed into the Canal towards Egypt. The result is the loss of the Sudd conservation site and the people’s lives in the area.
In 1999, the Nile Basin Initiative was established to include ten (10) countries, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt Eritrea as an observer. This initiative’s main objective is “to achieve sustainable socio-economic development through the equitable utilization of, and benefit from, the common Nile Basin water resources.”
In 2011, South Sudan got its independence and became a sovereign country and a member of the Nile basin countries. Thus, Egypt would reconsider its role to support its previous projects to increase its water share. Egypt is badly planning to expand its water share through the Jonglei Canal and cleaning the Nile tributaries basins projects in South Sudan.
Egypt was one of the countries to quickly recognize the state of South Sudan and immediately established diplomatic ties. Further, Egypt offered diesel generators to the government of southern Sudan before independence to start the construction of power plants throughout the country. Also, Egypt gives scholarships for South Sudanese students at her universities every year. And other several supports in the form of training for government officials, medical aids, humanitarian aid, and others. Al these gifts are win to win cooperation between Egypt and South Sudan, probably for the exchange of Nile water projects.
Currently, South Sudan is busy with its internal issues, and the Jonglei Canal project is not one of a country’s priorities. Electricity projects will start anytime from now by initiating dams’ projects, mainly in Nimule and elsewhere. South Sudan will expect Egypt not to oppose the construction of dams’ projects in the country.
The author, Ater Amogai, is an academician and researcher of renewable energy at the School of Engineering and Architecture, University of Juba. Also, he is a consultant engineer in the oil & gas industry of South Sudan. You can reach the author via his email address: ater.amogpai@gmail.com
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